Karakteristik af Jack i Ian McEwans 'The Cement Garden'

Jack is a young boy, with 3 younger siblings. Jack is the second oldest, he has a big sister named Julie, a little sister named Sue, and a little brother named Tom. Jack is a very unhygienic boy with long hair, and a lot of pimples. Jacks father and mother are dead and therefor the children must take care of themselves. Jack doesn’t show his feelings, even when his father and mother past away. After the death of their mother, Jack doesn’t wash himself. Jack is emotional isolated, and he is jealous of the other family members. Jack is jealous of the relationship between Tom, Julie and his mother. When Julie gets a relationship with Derek, is Jack jealous, he wants to be in Derek’s place. Jack is very perverted, and I think that he is jealous everything about Julie because he is sexually attracted to her. Jack and Julie have the father and the mother the role of the house after their parents have passed away. “the impossibility of knowing or feeling anything for certain gave me a great urge to masturbate” (page 89 in line 6-7). I think that Jack masturbate, when he is in situations where he can’t do anything, and I think he use that to avoid showing his feelings. An example could be that after Sue, Julie and Jack had played ‘Doctor’ he masturbated to the thought about Julie touching Sue, and this can be led back to that he is sexually attracted to Julie.