Michael’s a B*tch

    In a teenage boy’s life, a father shapes you a lot. You learn how to carry yourself, speak, and what kind of man you want to become. But sometimes a father teaches you in the opposite way. Certain times you learn from his mistakes, weakness, and the things he does wrong. In Black Swan Green, Michael Taylor, or “Dad,” ends up being one of the most important people in Jason’s life for that exact reason. He matters not because he is the epitome of a great father, but rather because Jason is constantly watching him and slowly realizing the kind of man he does not want to be. Early on in the story, Dad is already portrayed as distant and secretive. His office is described like a “forbidden chamber,” and when Jason answers the phone, he hears Sesame Street in the background, then a crying baby before the line goes dead. Right away, it is obvious (to the reader) that something is off with Dad.
    As the novel goes on, Jason keeps picking up on the cracks in his father. Jason never truly feels that close connection to him, and the tension in the family only makes that worse. Once the arguments between the parents start building, Jason pulls back even further. He does not want to take sides, but he definitely sees enough to know that his father is not the dependable figure a son hopes for. In a way, Jason feels like he is slowly losing respect for him as he watches his dad slowly fade from the outside.
    The vacation trip is where Michael starts to completely fall apart in Jason’s eyes. At first, Jason is excited because his dad promises him something simple and normal: they are supposed to go watch a movie together. Jason waits for him, hoping for a real father-son moment, but then that hope dies. Jason hears footsteps in the hall and thinks, “Right! Off we go!” but instead, “They didn’t come back” (page 179). Later, Dad brushes it off by saying, “The world of work’s about these kinds of sacrifices” (page 180), which honestly says everything about him. He acts like missing time with his son is just part of being an important man in his workplace.
    However, it only gets worse. Dad returns completely drunk, and Jason ends up seeing “the grossest sight I ever saw” (page 183). This sequence of events is amusing in a gross, chaotic way, but also is sad because this is Jason seeing his father at his lowest and most pathetic. Instead of being a source of stability, Dad becomes embarrassing and childish. Jason is disgusted, and more importantly, disappointed. That scene destroys whatever image of maturity or authority Jason still had left for him.
    What makes Michael more complicated, though, is that the novel does not present him as terrible all the time. The morning after one of his lowest moments, he suddenly seems warm and engaged again. He gets excited about Jason’s kite, saying, “What a beaut!” and takes him out early to fly it on the beach (page 180). Later, in the fossil shop, he reconnects with Jason in a genuinely sweet way, correctly identifying the ammonite as “Lytoceras fimbriatum” and even buying it for him as “Your first fossil” (page 185). For a brief moment, Jason gets the version of his father he has always longed for and deserved. That is what makes Michael such a complicated character: he is not awful because he is incapable of goodness, but because Jason is given just enough glimpses of the father he could be to feel the disappointment when that version is not present.
    But then Craig Salt shows up and once again everything is ruined. Jason gets knocked down, and instead of standing up for his son, Dad immediately tells him, “Apologize to Mr. Salt!” (page 186). That alone is bad enough, but it gets worse. Craig obnoxiously takes Jason’s fossil, wrongly calls it a trilobite, and when Jason looks to his father for backup, Dad folds. He avoids Jason’s eyes and ends up with nothing but a “weedy smile” (page 186). That is the moment that really exposes Dad and shows that Michael Taylor is a coward. Around his boss, Michael becomes a submissive, spineless piece of shit. He would rather protect another man’s ego than defend his own son, even when he knows Jason did not do any wrong.
    These reasons are truly why Michael is such a crucial character in Jason’s life. He teaches Jason a lot, but not in the leading way a father should. Dad teaches him how disappointing a man can be when he cares more about status than loyalty, dignity, or family. In that sense, Michael matters deeply to Jason, but mostly because he fails him, and honestly, that is what makes him such a b*tch.