Jasper Character Analysis

Jasper is a pretentious, braggadocious, and moneyed student at the School for wizards on the Isle of Roke. When Ged first meets Jasper, he is envious of the boy’s devil-may-care attitude and fine possessions—yet the more Ged gets to know Jasper, the more he comes to see that Jasper is plagued by self-doubt and an unyielding thirst for rivalry. Jasper’s pursuit of power—and his desire to constantly best his classmates, especially the talented Ged—represents the corruptive thirst for glory, pride, and fame against which Ged must struggle during his early years as a wizard. When Jasper challenges Ged to a duel on Roke Knoll, Ged decides that he will perform a dangerous summoning spell in order to impress and silence Jasper once and for all. Sick of enduring taunts about his humble beginnings on Gont, Ged believes that if he pulls off an impressive spell, he will establish himself as undeniably powerful and capable—but Ged’s own pride gets the best of him when his summoning spell unleashes a terrible shadow creature into the world. Jasper does not attend to Ged or help him during his bloody initial struggle against the shadow, and after receiving his staff from the School, Jasper fades into obscurity. Ged’s rivalry with Jasper teaches him that the pursuit of power and glory for their own sake is dangerous, corruptive, and violent. Without Jasper, Ged would not be able to grow into the humble, introspective mage he ends up becoming.