Race in Black Swan Green

The chapter "knife grinder" is the first time (I think) that race is brought up as an issue in the novel. The first Gypsy we meet is the knife grinder, and it is obvious Jason doesn't know who Gypsies are, describing the knife grinder just as "an old man in a tweed cap...His suit had no obvious color. He had no obvious color..." When Jason brings this up with his parents, his father is shown to be quite racist, calling Gypsies "layabouts who pay nothing to the state and flout every planning regulation in the book." It is clear that Jason's mother does not share the same sentiments as his father, and the two again get into an argument about Jason's mother doing business with the knife grinder. The scene in the village hall once again demonstrates the racism of many of the villagers, who think eating hedgehog is uncivilized and believe that the Romani coming into the village would only lead to chaos. We see Jason again isolated from the rest of the village in his views. He does not share the racist ideas of many of the villagers.

Later, Jason gets lost in the woods hiding from Ross Wilcox and stumbles into a Gypsy camp. Here, Jason gets a better understanding of the Gypsies. They are not as bad as many of the villagers led him to believe. He does make an interesting point about how the Gypsies and villagers are similar. He says he had been "thinking how the villagers wanted the gypsies to be gross, so the grossness of what they’re not acts as a stencil for what the villagers are." About the Gypsies, he says "I'd been thinking how Gypsies wanted the rest of us to be gross, so the grossness of what they're not acts as a stencil for what they are." He realizes that the villagers and Gypsies share a dislike for each other and becomes a sort of ambassador for both sides. I found it fitting that he ended up gaining friends from the Gypsies, people who, like him, have often been marginalized.

Two Tests

Jason has undergone two tests so far. Although they test two different aspects of Jason, they are actually quite similar. In one, he attempts to join the Spooks. In the other, he seeks to improve his poetry. Both start with an invitation. The Spooks send him a magazine-cutout message to begin his initiation and "vicar" calls Jason to the vicarage. Both tests require him to go through a sort of obstacle course: with the Spooks it is a physical one, but with Madame Crommelynk it is a more mental one. Interestingly, Jason has to hide while he performs both these tests. If he gets caught running the race for the Spooks, he fails. If he is caught visiting Madame Crommelynk, it will be the end of whatever social reputation he once had. He does end up passing both tests: he completes the race for the Spooks and has to some extent earned Madame Crommelynk's respect.

But in the end, both tests force him to make a choice. If he rings Mr. Blake's doorbell, he will lose his status as a Spook and the Spooks will hunt him down. If he doesn't ring the doorbell, then he is abandoning his friend. In the case of Madame Crommelynk, Jason realizes he's no great poet, and wonders whether he should just give up poetry. In some ways, he went through these tests for nothing. He lost his Spook status for not abandoning Moran and does not understand the lessons Madame Crommelynk has taught him. Although both tests end on a uncertain note, I hope Jason will be able to conquer any fears he has as a result of the tests. Hopefully he will be able to stop worrying about his social standing, either by not caring or doing something about it. And hopefully he does not give up poetry and better understands the lessons Madame Crommelynk was trying to teach him.