I couldn’t help but relate to Julia in Black Swan Green, as she is in nearly the same situation as I am now. I’ll try to use some of my experiences to help explain what Julia might be feeling, and how her character develops from the beginning to the end of the novel. Of course, I’m not her, so I can’t say for sure what’s on her mind.
My little brother is three years old, not thirteen like Jason. His name is Jake and he’s a whole lot of fun! I think we fail to embody the stereotypical sibling dynamics that Julia and Jason do because of our relative distance in age. I am more like a cool aunt than a big sister, I think. Nevertheless, I will have my early-novel Julia moments where I’ll catch Jake being a little stinker and have to lay down the law. How much Jake looks up to me is similar to Jason’s admiration of Julia. It's an amazing feeling to be a role model for a little kid. I’m not sure is Julia finds the same satisfaction in being so cool to Jason, but I think it is rewarding to be inspiring to anyone.
I think another part of what make Julia relatable is how she is able to talk back to her parents, and how Jason finds that so incredible. I am at a time in my life where I have just crossed the back-talk threshold and I can finally have a say and effectively defend myself in family situations. I think it's totally awesome and I still can’t believe it sometimes. Maybe part of why Julia sasses Uncle Brian so much is that she is finally permitted to go nuts at the dinner table without consequences. Maybe she endured years of listening to Uncle Brian’s weirdo rants and realized she could say something about it. Coincidentally, I have a grandfather named Brian and he thinks Barack Obama is a reincarnated ancient Egyptian pharaoh, and a lizard man, so I get to have my own fun on the holidays.
By the late chapters in the novel, Julia is in college and she has cleaned her hands of a consistent daily interaction with Jason. This development in their relationship has allowed Julia to bypass the constant strain that comes with a nosy little brother in order to become a helpful and protective authority for Jason. Although I am not yet in college, I am no longer required to babysit daily. Which is super nice. As a result of this, I no longer have the stress associated with interacting with Jake. There’s not a whole lot of emotional support I can offer a three-year-old who likes letters and the planets, but I find myself being an advocate for him much more! More than that, when I do babysit, we have much more fun because it becomes a special occasion. I guess the parallel here is a little strained since there’s not very many toddler dances in our area, and Jake doesn’t need to pop off on some tots in order to win the girl. That would be wild.
The point is that Julia kept me thinking of my own family situation. I wonder if maybe you felt the same. How do you relate to Julia? Do you think she is a good big sister? I think she is, but maybe that’s because I’m a lot like her.
