Jason's Struggle with Identity
In Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, Jason Taylor struggles to find his identity while going through the battles of fitting into societal expectations. Throughout the novel, Jason hides important parts of himself that he wishes to embrace, in order to avoid getting bullied. His fear of standing out led him to create a standard, less-authentic version of himself only to be granted approval by others. Jason's experiences reveal how, sometimes, our identity does not only reflect who we are, but also how others expect us to be. One crucial component of Jason's true identity is his passion for poetry, but it is kept hidden. He hides behind the name “Eliot Bolivar” because he is afraid of being judged or seen as “weird” by his peers. While he sees poetry as a pastime and a way to express the thoughts that he cannot say outloud, he separates this passion from his public life and does not feel confident enough to reveal that aspect of his personality. T...