Hangman
A hangman is an executioner. In Black Swan Green, hangman becomes Jason Taylors public executioner. The beginning of Hangman as a “character” in the novel stems from an experience Jason had playing a game of the same name in Miss Throckmorton’s class, where he struggles to say the word “Nightingale.” In that moment, Jason’s deepest fear—being publicly outed as a stammerer—takes over. The intensity of his anxiety is captured when he reflects, “It wasn't funny for me, though. Miss Throckmorton was waiting. Every kid in the classroom was waiting. Every crow and every spider in Black Swan Green was waiting. Every cloud, every on every motorway. even Mrs. Thatcher in the House of Commons'd frozen, listening, watching, thinking, What's wrong with Jason Taylor?” (Mitchell 26). Jason’s sense of time stopping shows the pressure he feels and sets the stage for the persona of Hangman and the torment it will cause Jason. Jason is so afraid of his stammer becoming public that he prefers appearing clueless.
Jason has an image in his head describing Hangman. He portrays him as having “pike lips, broken nose, rhino cheeks, red eyes ‘cause he never sleeps. … His snaky fingers that sink inside my tongue and squeeze my windpipe so nothing’ll work” (Mitchell 26). The idea of Hangman as a physical invader clearly shows how suffocating Jason’s stammer feels. Hangman isn’t really just an impediment, but it is a force that completely controls how Jason interacts with other people. We see throughout the novel how Jason self-censors and self-edits to prevent anyone from catching on. Jason claims that “the only way to outfox Hangman is to think one sentence ahead, and if you see a stammer-word coming up, alter your sentence so you won’t need to use it" (Mitchell 27).
Jason’s public execution happens when Mr. Monk, a student teacher, asks him to read aloud in class. Unlike Miss Lipetts who understood and protected Jason, Mr. Monk was unaware. Jason’s nightmare plays out as his stammer is exposed. The moment becomes even more humiliating when Gary Drake mocks him in from of the whole class “He got me. … My head burst into flames of shame” (Mitchel 208). This experience isolates him from everyone else and really begins the “rock bottom” phase in the novel. By the end of the novel, we see Jason become a “hangman” of sorts. Strategically, Jason exposes Neal Brose to Mr. Nixon and the whole school. But instead of voluntarily “grassing,” Jason is taken to the office after breaking Neal’s calculator. Here we see Jason take back some power. In a similar scene to Jason’s “execution” Jason says “Reputation is what gets damaged, miss, once a secret’s out. … It’s like Neal Brose, too, isn’t it? … He had quite a secret going, didn’t he?” (Mitchell 267). He regained strength in the same class that he had lost it all.
- Rishabh
Hi Rishabh, I always found the naming of Hangman quite clever. David Mitchell did a great job of relating the way Hangman operates and also where the speech impediment first originated from. In the end though, Jason learns how to deal with Hangman and no longer is afraid of being "socially executed" which allows him to move past Hangman.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that he becomes the very thing that controls him to gain back his own control. It's a really cool plot point because we finally get to see him using this inner monster to hurt someone who really deserves it. I also think it's interesting that as Jason becomes more comfortable with himself, this opposing force no longer annoys him; they just coexist.
ReplyDeleteHello Shabi, I believe while Hangman is a speech impediment, it also represents Jason fear of rejection. Throughout the majority of the novel, we read about the bullying against Jason, however, eventually he learns to gain some backbone and Hangman, while still real, becomes less of a nuisance as he becomes more confident in himself.
ReplyDeleteHangman's representation was one of my favorite parts of the book, how Jason's speech problems were personified as an executioner, as you said. Jason only starts to vanquish Hangman when he experiences the worst repercussions from him. Hangman still remains though, but he worked around it and eventually defeated his fear of him. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThree cheers for Miss Lippetts! I love that scene where she and Jason seem to conspire to roast Neal Brose in front of the whole class, and I agree that it's special vindication after the horror in that same classroom during "Maggot" (when Jason notes that Lippetts gets what's going on but knows she can't do anything at the time without making it worse). Appropriately, the English teacher is the one who teaches him to do battle with words--that what he SAYS can have devastating and surprising effects.
ReplyDeleteI also like that description you cite, where Jason experiencing his stammer for the first time ever has this hyperbolic sense of the entire world holding its breath waiting for him to speak. It reminds me of his sharp observations about how the crowd passively participates in the bullying in "Maggot," making him feel as if *the entire school* is taking part in "Get Taylor Day," or when he notes that Ross's power comes in part from the illusion that he speaks for "the whole school". The person at the center of the mob's attacks indeed feels like the entire universe is aligned against them, which is why it's so vital when Holly Deblin (another hero!) is nice to Jason and also supportive at this low point. At the very least, he can be sure that not *everyone* is against him--and this "new girl" might actually have some valuable insights into how he is enabling these attacks by the way he makes himself such a satisfying target.
I really liked your interpretation of hangman as a public executioner. My interpretation of hangman was of the game where you have to guess letters to form a word and if you get a letter wrong you have to add a body part to hangman. I think both out interpretations are valid because while hangman is blocking him from using certain letters in his speech, it is also causing him public humiliation that a hangman (as in someone who hangs someone), would similarly cause a person.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't really connected the hangman as being a public executioner, that's clever. It makes complete sense that Jason views his speech impediment as a "final death", because for much of the book he's terrified of saying the wrong thing around the wrong person. At school when he almost had to present, he couldn't function from the fear of being put up in front of everyone. He views his impediment as social suicide, which I guess is the same as public execution.
ReplyDeleteThe point you bring up about how Jason sorta becomes a Hangman at his public execution is really interesting. The first thing that came up for me was also the game Hangman, but I can see how Hangman can be interpreted as a literal execution for Jason. The point you bring up about Hangman's physical interference on Jason is interesting, and I agree that the impediment truly isn't just a mental block but something that extends to every section of his life.
ReplyDeleteI like how you explained Hangman as more than just a stammer and made him feel like a real character. I agree that Jason exposing Neal Brose shows how much he has grown by the end of the novel. I also think it is really interesting how you connected Jason’s lowest and strongest moments both happening in the classroom. You made a lot of great points about how Jason takes back his power. Great post!
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