Sibling relationships

     In Black Swan Green, we see that Jason and Julia do a lot of name-calling and bickering, as most siblings do. However, they do have their occasional calm moments where Julia gives her insight on things that Jason may need help with. This is definitely the same with me and my siblings. My parents would most likely tell you that the house is rarely quiet because of all the running around, shouting, you name it. There is definitely a bond that siblings share that is different from the others. we grow up "hating" each other, but sticking by each other's sides through the end, however the dynamic is so complex. 

    Sibling relationships can be quite complicated. It may feel like the other sibling is a world away from you and you don't even understand them. Because Jason and Julia have quite an age gap, they both see different parts of the world that the other isn't seeing, which would make it hard to understand each other, yet they both rely on each other for support, especially in the aftermath of the fallout of their parents. 

For Jason, Julia is someone he can look up to and be inspired by, especially in music tastes. He is especially envious of her because of her college freedom. However, he does think that she is very smart and cool, and wants to be like her. From Julia's perspective, Jason is a "thing", but a thing whose company she secretly enjoys, even with all their fighting and name calling. She wants to be the one giving him advice and helping him. 

At home, my siblings and I do some name calling, but a lot of roasting and pretend fighting. Most of the time it is all out of good fun and just annoying each other for the hell of it. It can be fun to see the other's reaction. In times when one of us needs support, we all come together to help each other. overall, we're very close-knit as a unit. 

I think the namecalling more done out annoyance and pissing the other off, but also out of admiration, jealousy, and closeness. If Jason and Julia weren't as close as they are, I doubt they would have that much interaction, as well as the opportunity to bug each other like they do, and the same for my siblings and I. 


Comments

  1. JanakiMay 13, 2023 at 7:39 PM

    You did a really nice job of situation Julia and Jason's relationship in the broader contet of sibling relationships. I have one older sibling and we have a pretty big age gap but I still saw a lot of similarities in our relationship to the one in the book. I was definitely envious growing up of the freedoms he was afforded being older and more mature and while I look up to him a lot, a sibling bond can also get messy and out of hand sometimes. The novel does a really good job of summarizing these tensions and how beautiful these relationships can be.

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  2. KaraMay 17, 2023 at 8:51 AM

    Great post! I really like how you describe sibling relationships. I can total relate about the sibling relationship because that happens at my house too. If Jason and Julia didn't have the name calling, jokes, and contact they wouldn't be as close as they are in the book. I think your right about Julia she does want to be the one he looks up to and the one that gives him advice. When she moves for college that call with Jason and Julia really shows there true relationship even though he used to be called thing, it seems like deep down there was always that love. This is usual of all sibling relationships though, there has to be some arguing, and fighting to get that true love of your sibling. Good work!

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  3. Emily SMay 18, 2023 at 8:54 AM

    yeah, definitely. anyone with siblings knows the strange ass bond that siblings have. you can hate each other as much as you want, but at the end of the day they're blood and you have to love them somewhat. i think you really touch on the like natural kindness that julia shows to jason even though she seems to hate him, but i think it can also be applied to reggie and benji. while they're so separate as far as personality, they still have to rely on each other (or don't, for ex the maggot pot). i feel like part of the coming of age journey is learning to get along with your sibling, but maybe for reggie and benji it's growing apart from your reliance on them

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