Jason's Morality

As we see throughout the book, Jason goes through the full spectrum of popularity.  In the beginning, he's not quite an outsider, but he's certainly not the most popular either. When we see him get tested by the Spooks, he finally gets the chance to join the elite group of popular boys which we know he has wanted for some time. Of course, as we see, Jason doesn't become a Spook and he instead falls even lower on the popularity spectrum when the boys find out about his stammer. 

When I was reading this book, I found Jason's wide range of popularity to be quite interesting. We could easily see that Jason was very aware of where he stood in the popularity rankings at the beginning of the book. I think that a lot of people his age can relate to his descriptions and his wishes to be popular. Many teens change their personalities to try and fit in with the 'popular crowd', but Jason doesn't. Throughout the book, although he almost wavers sometimes, he stays true to himself and follows his conscience. This moral victory Jason has is what made him a great character for me. Even though he could have easily become a Spook, he chose to save Moran and I feel that, without a doubt, Jason doesn't regret his decision. If he would have chosen the Spooks, I don't think he could have ever truly enjoyed his newfound popularity because, in the back of his mind, his guilt would have overridden any joy. The same goes with returning Ross Wilcox's wallet. In both instances we see Jason chose the right moral path. It's difficult for many people, let alone teenagers, to make that decision, and most don't always stick to their morals. His unwavering loyalty and moral compass is what makes Jason such a respectable and enjoyable character for me.

Comments

  1. locally locayleeMay 18, 2021 at 8:52 PM

    I think that the way Jason stays true to himself and to his morals makes him more mature in a way that I don't even think he understands yet. Overall, the trials that he goes through now just show how much of a better person he is than those other kids but that doesn't really help him now, which kinda sucks.

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  2. Joanna's BlogMay 19, 2021 at 10:58 AM

    I think that Jason's growth was not really about his internal personality, but learning to embrace himself and his interests without the approval of his peers. For example, he published his poems under a fake name in the beginning, but ended up owning his identity as a poet, regardless of what this would mean for his social standing. In this regard, rejecting the Spooks was the ultimate test of Jason's character and maturity.

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  3. Eliza D. TerzievMay 24, 2021 at 3:07 PM

    I agree that the returning of the wallet reaffirmed Jason's commitment to doing the right thing. It absolutely is a difficult decision, and we see him teetering from one side of right and wrong to the other for a few solid pages in that scene, and in other times throughout the whole book. I really enjoyed reading all the blog posts that dealt with the question of Jason's morality, I think it's a really interesting question. Good blog post!

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