Hugo and Holly Deblin are two of the characters in Black Swan Green who seem like they couldn't be more different, but both help shape Jason into who he becomes by the end of the novel. Despite their clearly contrasting personalities, Hugo and Holly also have similarities underlying their differences that help Jason figure out what type of person he wants to be.
The most obvious similarity I noticed between Hugo and Holly is that they both seem eager to act as "mentors" to Jason and give him advice on growing up. Hugo and Holly both appear at points in the novel where Jason seems particularly insecure about himself, and both jump in to help. Beyond that, however, the similarities between Hugo and Holly largely end. Hugo and Holly both enter Jason's situation as friends but Hugo does so with selfish purposes in mind, whereas Holly is genuinely curious and concerned for Jason's well-being amidst getting bullied. These intentions are evident in the ways Hugo constantly pressures Jason into doing things he's uncomfortable with, such as shoplifting, for his own gain, while Holly gives Jason advice and leaves him to decide whether to accept the advice or not. Furthermore, Hugo's "mentorship" focuses more on teaching Jason concrete behaviors, such as smoking, to assist him in seeming "tougher" and more grown up, whereas Holly's advice centers on more abstract ways to help Jason reflect on himself and develop his character. As a mentor, Hugo behaves more authoritatively towards Jason, often acting like he's much older despite being only a year Jason's senior ("I was you myself, Jace, once"). In contrast, Holly takes more of a friend-to-friend approach with Jason, giving him advice but not in a conceited or bossy way.
Hugo's and Holly's presence in Jason's life culminate with major coming-of-age milestones in Jason's life, namely his first time smoking and his first kiss. Despite these events both being milestones for Jason, they occur under very different circumstances—Jason is reluctant and awkward with smoking but not kissing. He also comes out of the smoking experience feeling even more insecure about himself, while kissing Holly makes him feel more confident with himself. Although the differences in awkwardness between these two events can be attributed in large part to Jason's overall character growth throughout the year, the differences between Hugo's and Holly's behaviors are also significant factors. As I mentioned earlier, Hugo acts as more of an authority towards Jason and consequently Jason caves into smoking in order to impress him and gain skills to rise up the social hierarchy. On the other hand, Holly acts more as a friend and equal to Jason, and Jason spends time with her for his own personal enjoyment.
Both Hugo and Holly help Jason figure out what type of person he wants to be and aid him in becoming more comfortable with expressing himself amongst his peers. However, Jason ends up seeing Hugo as more of an anti-mentor since Hugo becomes an example of someone Jason doesn't want to become, whereas Holly's authenticity helps him open up and she consequently acts as a more valuable role model and guide. This effect is also illustrated in the way Jason eventually distances himself from Hugo and gets closer to Holly by the end of the novel.
Hugo's and Holly's similarities, though hard to identify initially, set the two characters up to be strikingly different. As a result, they affect Jason in contrasting ways but ultimately guide him to achieving a state of greater maturity by the novel's conclusion.
Holly and Hugo acting like mentors to Jason is a super interesting idea that I've never really thought of before, but it totally makes sense. I think Holly's mentorship can kinda be extended towards all of the main female characters Jason interacts with in the novel (besides Dawn). In particular, Julia and Madame Crommelynck really help Jason question whether or not he truly wants to be like Hugo, eventually leading to his realization that Hugo is the exact opposite of what he wants to become. (Kinda random but this also makes me think about how Jason said he wanted to be a girl sometimes at the beginning of the book)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I thought was interesting was that both Hugo and Holly found Jason weak and pointed this out as one of his negative flaws. Hugo tells Jason that the reason he's picked on is because he wants so badly to be popular and the other kids realize that. Holly, in the kissing scene, tells him that she always liked him but she thought he was a bit spineless. In his act of breaking the calculator, he's shattering both of their expectations of him and proving that he's better than they expected. Like you said in your closing, their expectations and advise to him "ultimately guide him to achieving a state of greater maturity".
ReplyDeleteIt is odd that, for all of the ways Hugo's influence seems terrible, and we're glad to see Jason stop idolizing him, we also see him "benefit" in a few ways from Hugo's tutelage, as when he now knows how to convincingly fake smoking a cigarette in "Bridle Path," or when he credits Hugo with the idea for the black thread "cherry knocking." But these are both ultimately aspects of Jason that we don't want to see him pursue, and in essence Hugo's idea gets him his "in" with the Spooks (and we know Jason isn't "Spook material"). Holly's influence is more positive overall, and one detail I always notice, which ties this point together, is when she uses the word "smarmy" to describe Neal Brose, and Jason in the next chapter uses this new word to describe Hugo's behavior over Christmas to his father ("smarmy as ever"). Holly has given him a vocabulary to describe Hugo and what is so "non-stick" about his "charm," and this represents a subtle shift in their influence.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blogpost! I agree that Holly and Hugo are both pivotal characters and teach Jason a lot, from how to kiss to how to smoke to how to really not give a toss. I like how you compare the two and also contrast how they are. I'm glad Jason isn't like Hugo, although I can recognize that they have some similarities by the end of the book which I am glad about.
ReplyDeleteHugo is what happens when you let the dickheads define you, except because Hugo is so good at meeting their expectations, it's initially difficult to recognize his social position as undesirable. But when he changes his accent in front of the London boys, it shows that Hugo isn't confident in himself at all, just in his ability to chameleon himself to meet other people's standards. Holly on the other hand seems to have real confidence and passes some of that on to Jason.
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