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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.
Jasper Quotes in A Wizard of Earthsea
The A Wizard of Earthsea quotes below are all either spoken by Jasper or refer to Jasper. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4 Quotes
Only for a moment did the spirit glimmer there. Then the sallow oval between Ged’s arms grew bright. It widened and spread, a rent in the darkness of the earth and night, a ripping open of the fabric of the world. Through it blazed a terrible brightness. And through that bright misshapen breach clambered something like a clot of black shadow, quick and hideous, and it leaped straight out at Ged's face.
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Jasper Character Timeline in A Wizard of Earthsea
The timeline below shows where the character Jasper appears in A Wizard of Earthsea. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...explore the school, he runs into a tall, pompous young man who introduces himself as Jasper and offers to show Ged around. Ged can tell that Jasper is wealthy, and he...
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...At the Long Table—rumored to be enchanted to accommodate an endless number of people—Ged and Jasper sit near Vetch, a heavy-set boy even darker-skinned than Ged himself. Ged immediately takes a...
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Jasper and Vetch lead Ged up into the lush woods beyond town. At the base of...
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...Not all rocks, he says, can be diamonds. After leaving the Master Hand, Ged encounters Jasper in the hall. The two exchange barbs, and Ged finds himself offended even more deeply...
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...and states that those who keep wild beasts are those gifted in the Old Powers; Jasper, however, declares that Ged is just keeping a “rat” in his cloak. The Lord of...
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Chapter 4
...spring, as Ged resumes his training at the school, he sees little of Vetch and Jasper—as new sorcerers, they now study with the Master Patterner in a secret grove off-limits to...
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...day, the whole town sleeps in. On the second night of the festival, Ged, Vetch, Jasper, and several of their fellow students have a picnic and practice illusions beneath the stars....
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...the two that duels are forbidden. He urges them to come to their senses, yet Jasper and Ged remain resolved to prove themselves. Ged transforms himself into a falcon on the...
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Up on the grassy, empty knoll, Ged and Jasper stand several paces away from each other. Ged prepares to perform his summoning—but he no...
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Jasper hides his eyes, and Vetch alone watches in horror as the faceless, child-sized shadow tears...
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As Ged returns to daily life, he notices that Vetch and Jasper are seemingly gone from the School. He does not attempt to make any new friends...
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Chapter 10
...form of his father. Stunned, he blinks, and finds that it takes the form of Jasper. As Ged raises his staff to better see the shadow, it takes the form of...
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