Tom Yew: Haunting the narrative.
Tom Yew is a minor character in Black Swan Green. While we get snippets of his character in several chapters, I think his role in Jason’s coming of age is larger than the writing allotted to him. He symbolizes Jason’s loss of innocence, or a shift in his thinking, in different ways. First, by Jason watching Tom sleep with his girlfriend, Debby Crombie, in the woods while hidden in a tree, he is exposed to his first real life encounter with sex. As much as I’d rather not dive into the significance of a teen boy's first exposure to intercourse, it's definitely a significant milestone in puberty, and one example of Tom Yew’s impact on Jason. Perhaps the most obvious instance of Jason losing innocence.
However, what's more notable happens afterward in page 90, when Tom is awoken by a nightmare and his girlfriend reassures him and comforts him. Tom is reluctant but confides in Debby, explaining he was having a nightmare about enemy fire and combat. Despite the brief explanation, he allows Debby to comfort him. This is an intimate show of vulnerability, especially coming from a guy. Jason is not used to men being vulnerable and finding comfort in relationships with women, as the norm of the culture is basically that having feelings and crying is gay. Most of the men he is around either objectifies and sexualizes any women they come across, or like his parents, are simply emotionally unavailable and withdraw from their partners. I think this instance is the first significant instance of male vulnerability Jason has witnessed that was in a positive or neutral light.
Likewise, Tom Yew, who is a part of the royal navy, also serves as a symbol that crushes Jason’s romanticized view of war and military service. Young men, especially during this period, were essentially groomed to be extremely patriotic. Considering Jason’s parents' rather conservative perspectives, it's not difficult to imagine his life could’ve had significant positive military influence. The town of Black Swan green itself even considers Tom a “Local legend” for his military service on page 9. Boys are encouraged to play soldiers, and consume media glorifying being a martyr and doing whatever it takes for the cause. However, in chapter 5, we find out his ship, the HMS Coventry, had been sunk. The entire town is faced with Tom Yew’s death. Jason previously watched Tom grieve the idea of going to war, his trauma expressed through nightmares, and is now faced with his death in the Falklands War. This is a harsh reality check for Jason, where he can no longer see these soldiers as one dimensional heroes with plot armour, but actual people. He watches as Tom’s family grieves, and watches as Debby finds out she's pregnant and keeps the child, now a single mom.
Overall, despite Tom Yew playing a minor character, he leaves a lasting impression on Jason. Tom represents significant milestones for him, challenging what he knew of war and patriotism, as well as masculinity and intimate relationships.
Hi Ashton!
ReplyDeleteAs always, you deliver interesting and emotionally intelligent analysis. I like how you highlight Jason's parents' emotional unavailability—that did not occur to me when reading but when you put words on it, it immediately made sense. I guess this is part of why it took Jason 13 years to work out that you and your Mum need to like each other, even though Mum is objectively the better parent to him.
Your analysis of gender roles and war games also is also a kind of chilling recontextualization of British Bulldogs, but it makes sense. I feel like Mr. Nixon also tried to be a good male role model, and even if Jason didn't exactly pick up on what he meant in the speech, it's clear that he came to the same result by the end of the chapter.
Hi Ashton! I love your blog! I truly hadn't thought about Tom Yew all that much, so I was intrigued when I saw his name in the sea of blog titles. His place in the novel is small, but I see now after reading your blog that he did have a lasting impact and effect on Jason and how we see the novels themes. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the scene where Jason is up in the tree hiding from Tom Yew's sight is uncomfortable to discuss in any detail, or even to ponder in any detail, but I think you nail the most important moment of growth/insight for Jason--it has to do with the even MORE intimate/vulnerable moment he glimpses, with Tom's nightmare and Debbie comforting him (remember, this is the last time the two of them will be together before Tom's death). So later, when the "local legend" loses his life in the Falklands, Jason always feels he has this special connection to the story: he has overheard Tom's false confidence about how nothing serious could happen while he's cruising around the South Atlantic, and he has witnessed Tom's terrifying fear of apocalyptic annihilation. Later, as we see Debbie getting progressively pregnant, Jason feels like he has a special insight into this tragic "joke" the world is playing on her--as when he says "poor Debbie Crombie" as everyone is reacting to Tom's death. For better or worse, Tom is responsible for a range of losses of innocence for young Jason.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashton! I completely agree that while he got little screentime per se, his story is one of the biggest factors that pushed him to question all the right-wing, Fox News-type patriotic media he was consuming on TV. This led to a serious reckoning about what is just and fair, and Julia helped him get there as well. Having concrete political views and strong opinions on what is wrong and right is a big step in coming of age, especially when you decide to change them from the "popular" ones.
ReplyDeleteHey Ashton, great post! I agree that Tom Yew played a vital role despite his lack of direct affect on the events of most of the story and lack of real proximity to Jason. It was a huge impact for Jason, as it would be for any adolescent boy, to see two incredibly intimate moments between Tom and his girlfriend. Through this he is able to mentally frame his own coming of age, that is until Tom is killed in combat, and alongside side him a great deal of Jason's innocence.
ReplyDeleteHello Ashton, I like how your blog shows how Tom Yew symbolizes Jason Taylor's loss of innocence when Jason watches Tom sleep with his girlfriend and shift in his thinking where he can no longer see these soldiers as one dimensional heroes with plot armor. Tom also is the first significant instance of male invulnerability Jason has witnessed in a positive or neutral light when Tom allows Debby to comfort him.
ReplyDeleteHello Ashton! Often I kind of worry that "haunting the narrative" has become a buzzword in media. And so when I first saw your title, I was a bit skeptical, but you have sufficiently swayed me and I think you're completely right. Tom Yew may not be a very main character, but his moments definitely create signifigant impacts on Jason's life, so I think he totally fits the description "haunting the narrative."
ReplyDeleteHi Ashton! Even though Tom Yew doesn't appear in the book as much as other characters, he is definitely one of the more important ones. I like how you highlight the importance/impact of both major Tom Yew scenes, and how he not only shifted Jason's views on war but also showed him that men can be vulnerable. And even though he dies, that impact he leaves on Jason is only heightened, opening his mind even more. Nice post :)
ReplyDelete