The presence of Pete Wishart in the novel and his conflicting identities relates to the quote, ‘Life is about working out who the bad guy is.’ He’s the Shire President, therefore seen as a caring and a ‘can do no wrong’ person by the town when behind closed doors he’s an abusive alcoholic making him no better than the criminals he locks up. This novel explores the relevance of the quote ‘Life is about working out who that bad guy is’ through the characterization of Pete Wishart, Ruth Bucktin, and ‘Mad’ Jack Lionel with their dialogue, actions, and intertwining in the plot.

It follows Charlie, Jasper Jones, and Eliza Wishart on a mission to discover the reason Laura Wishart was found dead hung from a tree which turns into a never-ending spiral of learning truths and secrets from people they should and shouldn’t trust.

This novel is set in the 1960s Australia which explains this racist and stereotypical thought of Aboriginal people as well as being a gothic bildungsroman novel that looks at dark and taboo topics with an abundance of suspense and mystery. This quote is from Charlie Bucktin, the protagonist, who is filled with the prejudices’ that his corrupted town has fed him. This is a quote from the first chapter in the novel Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, describing a character whose presence lingers throughout the novel, even if he’s not physically there. He’s the rotten model that parents hold aloft as a warning’. His mother is dead, and his father is no good. ‘Jasper Jones has a terrible reputation in Corrigan.