Themes of Prejudice in Jasper Jones Natasha Hiotis 11th Grade

The recently famous novel Jasper Jones, written by Craig Silvey tells a tale of a young boy named Charlie Bucktin and his friend Jasper Jones finding the killer of a girl named Laura Wishart. As Charlie searches for his identity, he faces racism and ignorance in the narrow-minded country town Corrigan, Australia. Throughout the text our beliefs are challenged by racism, we are disturbed by ignorance, and discover identities. Craig Silvey explores multiple themes in his writing to bring the story to life and confront his audience.

The white dominated town of Corrigan emphasized the theme of racism and prejudice the townspeople hold for Jasper and the Lu family. Jasper Jones faces persecution for his Indigenous background and blamed for the issues that arise, Charlie narrates, “In families throughout Corrigan, he’s the first name to be blamed for all manner of trouble.” Through this description, the audience begins to perceive Jasper Jones as a questionable individual who could possibly be leading the protagonist, Charlie, into unnecessary trouble. After finding Laura’s body, we are first confused at why he did not approach the police and instead asked Charlie for help causing the audience to distrust Jasper. It is when Charlie...