A Gray Cat

The symbolism of a cat is described as balance between direct opposites, such as, inner and outer. The cat has been found to hide in places where it is dark and unknown. They are also known to represent patience, independence, spirit of adventure and courage. They also represent a connection with ones self and an act of curiosity with things that are unknown. 


Throughout Black Swan Green I noticed that there was a repetition of cats randomly appearing throughout the text. Each time a cat was mentioned, it was described as, "a moon-gray cat".

The first moon gray cat is mentioned on page 38 when there is a cat watching Jason from Mr. Castle's dry porch. In this passage, Jason talks about how he wishes he was a cat. He says that if he was like a cat or any other kid, he would be able to explore where the Bridle Path went. This cat foreshadows that Jason and Moran will take a walk on the Bridle Path and full fill their curiosity about it. The cat, in this instance, is symbolic of a young boys' curiosity and need to explore something that is unknown

The second gray cat is found on page 138 when it crosses the lawn while Jason is on his adventure for the Spooks. The cat crosses the lawn and almost rings the chimes. This cat symbolizes the adventure of Jason while he finds his way through another obstacle in this coming of age story.

The third cat is described on page 283 when Jason's Dad arrives home to pack his things after we learn of the divorce between Jason's parents. When Jason's dad walks through the door, he surprisingly finds that Jason is at home. The cat in this scene represents the independence that both Jason and his father have received by the end of the book.

Each situation involving the cat is also a part of the book where Jason is able to find a deeper connection with himself and is able to grow due to the things that are happening around him. He gained knowledge and the ability to later stand up for himself after his adventure with the Bridal Path. He also is able to learn more about his true self after being accepted into the Spooks, but not joining after going back for Moron. He is also able to obtain knowledge about his family after he sees his father come home and meets his future step-mother.

http://www.spiritanimal.info/cat-spirit-animal/ (used to find the symbolism of a cat)

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Fight Song

The voices inside my head
I want to find them
There are voices in my head
But which one is really me?

There's a voice for anger
That I constantly fight with
It's an outrage
It's a constant struggle to
Conceal.

There's a voice for greed
That I must prove wrong
I must tell myself that I don't need what I long for
This voice makes it hard to show that I am caring
that I care about others
and what they want
This voice makes it hard to show that I'm not greedy.

There's a voice for adventure
That encourages me to have fun
Take a few risks
I like this voice
Except when it gets the best of me.
It pushes me to be daring
Sometimes Too far beyond my limits.

There's a voice for success
That urges me to reach farther
To push myself
to work with a stronger passion.
This voice gives me drive
And the energy I need
To keep up with my own thoughts.
The trouble is
I can't do everything the voice tells me.

There's a voice for fear
That makes me scared of anything
And everything.
This voice becomes overwhelming
It makes me worry
About what others think
About school
About success
And about my other voices.
This voice is very hard to overcome.

All these voices in my head
They overwhelm me
They speak to me time after time
But what I want to know is
Where is my voice
The voice that I can control.

Based from lyrics from the song "Fight Song"

St-tt-ammer

St-st-st-stutter

St.........AMmmer!

What'd you say?

Hangman was blocking something

Hangman loves giving me grief

At this rate I’m going to have to learn sign language

 

My stammer's nearly as embarrassing as stammering itself

You can’t read aloud without stammering

Stammerers can’t win arguments

You can’t stammer in court

You can’t stammer in a classroom

Couldn’t even say "I do"

Speaking is a complex one

Every letter in the alphabet was a stam-mer-letter.

Words beginning with dangerous letters

A double stammer.

I'm going to have to stand up in front of my entire class to read

There will be dozens of stammer words

Which I can't substitute and I can't pretend to know.

I’d look like a total flid it if I tried to spit the word out.

My voice'd gone all bendy

What'd you say?

I can speak like a normal person

Nobody who matters was around to hear

*****What's wrong with Jason Taylor?*****

Whats wrong with Jason Taylor?

Jason isn't exactly the acest name you could wish for

Whats wrong with Jason Taylor?

"Am I normal,” I said

I'm certain,

I'm thirteen,

made of flesh and blood.

Whats wrong with Jason Taylor?

I was going to die

Id never have to say a word

anythings better than getting labeled 

the fear that my secret'll be discovered 

if they knew Eliot Bolivar was me,

theyd gouge me to death,

so I beat around the bush.

Whats wrong with Jason Taylor?

if you chicken out your a homo,

if you tell a teacher your dead.

i envy anyone who can say what they want.

Whats wrong with Jason Taylor?

Nothing. They just don't like me.

Those kids must hate me.

No point denying it

Hate doesn't need a why

That's a harsh statement

Okay.

Giving you a hard time aren't they?

Is Taylor the school Stutterer going to cry?

It's all right, Jason!

They're dickheads.

-Lines from David Mithell's Black Swan Green

The Woods and Freedom

In the chapter Knife Grinder, Jason finds himself in yet another situation where he is running or feeling scared due to the bullies that surround him. On this "escape" Jason finds himself in the woods after the woods invited him on in. Within the woods, Jason is able to find a comfort in nature that he has not been able to feel during his progressing life in Black Swan Green. His stammer always seems to get in his way when trying to stand up and feel comfortable in his own skin, but in the woods, "Stammers act invisible to reduce the chances of being made to say something we can't". No one is there to interrogate or intimidate Jason because of his troubles with speech. Also, the woods are able to take away the thoughts of his parents fighting and he is able to travel away from "The Triple Invisible Boy". The woods draw him into a sleep that allows him to find his true self again and stay true to who he really is. Jason is himself in the woods, and truer to himself than he is in his poetry. Nature seems to bring out a truth in Jason because he feels free.

I relate Jason's connection with nature, with that of a Gypsy. It was in the woods where he met the Gypsies and they seem to relate to Jason in many ways. In a sense, they are free to live how they wish and be true to themselves, just as Jason had in the woods. Also, the gypsies do not make fun of Jason for his stammer. Another way that Jason relates to the gypsies is having a bad reputation with others. Jason seems to be scared and running away from bullies because the bullies seem to dislike Jason in some way or another. When Jason tells the gypsies that the bullies bully him because "they just don't like me", it relates to the gypsies and how a majority of the people don't like the gypsies and are willing to sign a petition to make sure they do not inhabit their town.

My name

What is my name?
Does it represent fame?
my pain?

Why have a name?

My name is a game
it causes me shame.
I am inflame
my name is lame.
Why should I acclaim
for a name that is lame?
Jason Taylor.

All the struggles I attain
is what my poetry became.
For now I can blame
it all on my name.
Eliot Bolivar.

I must refrain
from changing my name.
It may be mundane
but it is claimed.

Definition of "name"
a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to

Limericks of Black Swan Green

At the Lake

There was a boy who wanted to fit in
so he went down to the lake for a spin.
Then he met a lady
who seemed a bit shady
and he got a sick feeling within.

How shall I pay?

I was walking through the town yesterday
still thinking about how I will pay.
Then I went by a shop
that had a really nice clock
but the money I needed was far away.