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The Destruction of the Natural World
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Jerusalem, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The people who visit Johnny “Rooster” Byron—many of them teenagers—come to him in search of alcohol, drugs, and experimentation. Throughout Jerusalem, multiple people accuse Johnny of providing an environment that recklessly endangers minors. While much of Johnny’s behavior is dubious (not to mention illegal), the play frames him as an antihero who isn’t afraid to disrupt the social hierarchy and challenge authority to protect society’s vulnerable outcasts.
Early in the play, Wesley, a local bar owner, criticizes Johnny for letting teenagers drink on his land. In response, Johnny calls Wesley a hypocrite because he knows Wesley lets underage kids into his bar all the time. What’s more, Johnny claims that he is providing those who come to him with a valuable service: a safe place to engage in reckless behavior—or, at least, safer than some of the other areas they might visit. As rough as his lifestyle may be, he insists, it is better than what the young people who come to him have at home. Otherwise, they would not come to him in the first place. This is true not only for the young characters like Pea and Tonya, but also Wesley himself. Wesley comes to Johnny in search of drugs and a sympathetic ear when his stressful work life overwhelms him.
Johnny’s defense of his defiance of authority is particularly convincing when the play later offers more details about the homelife of Phaedra, a teenage girl who has been missing since the start of the play. Eventually, it’s revealed she has been staying with Johnny the entire time, having sought refuge there from her abusive stepfather, Troy. In providing Phaedra with shelter, Johnny once more demonstrates a willingness to challenge traditional hierarchies of power, protecting a young girl against an abusive authority figure. As such, although the broader community treats Johnny as a menace and a corrupting force, the play suggests that he performs a valuable role, challenging authority and accepting and protecting society’s outcasts and misfits when no one else will.
Related Themes from Other Texts
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Authority ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Authority appears in each act of Jerusalem. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Authority Quotes in Jerusalem
Below you will find the important quotes in Jerusalem related to the theme of Authority .
Act 1 Quotes
DAVEY: You know what I reckon. I reckon she’s been got by a werewolf. She’s been turned away from The ‘Rakers, wandered off into the night, in tears, whereupon a werewolf has heard her tragic sobs, and he’s followed her through the brush and he’s pounced. He’s torn her arms and legs off and eaten her virgin heart. Seriously. In a day or two, someone’ll find a bloody patch of turf in a clearing, with just these pink fairy wings flapping in the breeze.
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This moment comes from the play’s first mention of Phaedra, a teenage girl who is missing and won’t reappear until the very end of the play. Davey’s theory about a werewolf eating Phaedra plays into the play’s larger interest in how English folklore interacts with contemporary society. Before the beginning of Act II, Phaedra comes out alone on stage and sings a cover of a contemporary song about a werewolf that, while violent, deserves love. Notably, later in the play, Butterworth reveals that Phaedra has been staying with Johnny all along. As such, Johnny represents the werewolf she sings about Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciu
DAVEY: They’ve got a point, though, haven’t they? I’m not being funny, right, but if you’re sat in your brand-new house you’ve sweat your bollocks off to buy, and find out four hundred yards away there’s some ogre living in a wood…I bet it never said in the brochure: ‘Detached house, three beds with garden overlooking wood with free troll. Free ogre what loves trance music, deals cheap spliff and whizz, don’t pay no tax, and has probably got AIDS. Guaranteed non-stop aggravation and danger.’ I bet that weren’t in the brochure.
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After Johnny leaves to go inside his trailer, Davey, Lee, and Ginger discuss his situation with the local authorities. Here, Davey takes the side of those who want Johnny to leave—he chooses not to defend his friend and the place where he often spends his time. Davey’s position is not exactly a betrayal, though calling Johnny an “ogre” is not exactly a ringing endorsement either. Rather, Davey is more accepting and understanding of the wants and needs of regular people than someone like Johnny who could not care less. This is an important moment in the play because it places Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Ac
GINGER: He’s dead. They pronounce him stone dead. St. John’s put a blanket over him. Paperwork, everything. All the mums are crying, how they should build a statue to him in the town square, when suddenly everyone turns round and he’s gone. He’s vanished. There’s just a blanket with nothing under it. They follow this trail of blood across the field, past the whirler-swirler, into the beer tent, up to the bar, where he’s stood there finishing a pint of Tally-Ho.
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Here, Ginger relates a story about a time when Johnny attempted a daredevil stunt and ended up “stone dead.” It is a notable moment because, throughout the play, Ginger goes out of his way to invalidate Johnny’s fantastical stories. More than any other character, Ginger strives to keep Johnny honest and does not allow him to self-mythologize. However, in this moment, Ginger does some mythologizing for Johnny. The story he tells is seemingly impossible according to the laws of medicine and science. The fact that Johnny survived (or was resurrected) reinforces his mythic character in its suggestion that there is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore
JOHNNY: They’re fifteen-, sixteen-year-old kids. Course they’re bloodying drinking. It’s not like you don’t serve kids. Bloody What’s-it’s Stringer, sat at the bar, he’s fourteen year old. Orderin’ Maker’s Mark and Coke.
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This quote comes from an argument between Johnny and Wesley. Wesley criticizes Johnny for allowing teenagers to drink and do drugs on his property, and, in return, Johnny calls him a hypocrite. Johnny does not believe he is endangering teenagers any more than Wesley; the only difference is that while Wesley operates a bar—a socially acceptable place to drink, albeit not for underage teenagers—Johnny’s behavior is more perverse. Johnny’s feelings reflect the play’s larger concern about what happens to society when people like Johnny, who live life on their own terms, no longer control their own destiny. Johnny’s home is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Ve
Act 2 Quotes
DAWN: I get here and you’re sitting around, getting pissed with a bunch of kids. The police are coming. They’re going to bulldoze this place. You’re having a party.
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Dawn confronts Johnny because, rather than taking their son, Marky, to the fair, he is partying with a group of teenagers and Ginger. Although Johnny wants to avoid the question of what will happen to his home, Dawn confronts it directly and confirms it will be demolished. From Dawn’s perspective, Johnny is trying to hang on to something he has already lost—and ruining his son’s day in the process. In addition to Johnny’s illegitimate claim to the land (at least from the local council’s perspective), the people of Flintock dislike Johnny because they believe he is a negative influence on Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis.
DAWN: Just make sure there’s nothing in there when the police get here. Just do that for your son. Me, I don’t care. I don’t want him growing up on the bus to and from prison.
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As Dawn and Johnny are wrapping up their conversation about what to do with Marky, Dawn appeals to Johnny’s position as a father one final time. If Johnny wishes to follow his individualist philosophy to its logical extreme, he will end up in jail, and Marky will no longer have an active father figure in his life (if one can even call Johnny “active” to begin with). Notably, Dawn is not asking Johnny for much. All he has to do is remove the drugs from his trailer before the authorities arrive. Dawn’s concern that he will not do so suggests Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde
TROY: And, you know what they done? They undone their flies and they pissed on you too. All overs you. On your face. In your hair. In your mouth. Took photos with their phones. Sent it to everyone. I bet Lee there’s got it on his phone. Pea. Tanya. I know Davey has. He filmed it. Show him, Davey. Show Rooster what you done. They told me all the stories, Rooster. Took me right back. Nothing changes up here.
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This moment comes at the end of Act II, as Troy and Johnny get into a fight about Phaedra. After Johnny humiliates Troy by implying that he sexually abuses his stepdaughter, Troy humiliates Johnny in return by telling a story about how two men urinated on him while he was passed out. While the story itself is not particularly surprising—Johnny’s drinking and partying has led to all manner of questionable situations—Johnny interprets his friends’ knowledge of the situation as a major betrayal. As much as he likes to think of himself as an individualist, Johnny fancies himself the leader of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt.
Act 3 Quotes
FAWCETT: This land belongs to Kennet and Avon Council.
JOHNNY: Says who?
FAWCETT: The law, Mr. Byron. The English law. I am showing the recipient a legally recognised petition of local complainants concerning the illegal encampment and activities hereabouts.
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Fawcett and Parsons return to Johnny’s home to remind him that time is running out and that they will soon evict him. This time, Johnny actually answers the door and confronts them because he knows there is nowhere left to hide. Their interaction directly stages the conflict that Johnny has been running from since the start of the play. He knows the answer to his question before he asks it but feels the need to ask it anyway. No matter how many times Johnny hears that “the law” requires him to move, he refuses to comply. Johnny wants a person—or Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut a
JOHNNY: School is a lie. Prison’s a waste of time. Girls are wondrous. Grab your fill. No man was ever lain in his barrow wishing he’d loved one less woman. Don’t listen to no one and nothing but what your own heart bids. Lie. Cheat. Steal. Fight to the death. Don’t give up. Show me your teeth.
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This moment comes from the last conversation Johnny has with Marky before burning his home to the ground. He speaks to Marky as if it is the last time they will ever talk, suggesting that he plans to do something radical. Rather than give Marky good advice about how to advance in society, Johnny takes the logic of his individualist philosophy to its extreme and passes all of its worst features on to his son, encouraging Marky to do things on his own terms with no regard for how his actions affect others. The speech comes from a place of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corru
