Moral Responsibility in Black Swan Green
In Black Swan Green , one of the pivotal moments is Jason’s decision to return Ross’s wallet to him after finding it at the fair. Though Jason eventually comes to the right decision (in my opinion), his indecision and failure to hand back the wallet to Ross earlier leads to the chain of events that leads to Ross getting into an awful accident on a Suzuki bike. We discussed a lot in class what degree of responsibility Jason holds for Ross’s accident: in my opinion, he holds almost none. I think one of the central takeaways of Black Swan Green is lessons regarding personal responsibility. Jason should not feel guilty over Ross’s accident. Though he was part of the chain of events that led to the accident, it is not his fault. In life, every decision can be traced back to an earlier moment that began a chain of events culminating in the choice you decide upon (I don’t believe in free will although that is unrelated). Regardless, humans hold responsibility for the actions they event...