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LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Jerusalem, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Johnny “Rooster” Byron practices a sort of radical individualism that Jerusalem presents as rapidly disappearing in English life and culture. Johnny lives on his own in the woods and does not expect anything from anybody. When he gets the chance to impart life lessons to his son, Marky, he encourages him to lie, cheat, and steal to get the things he wants. Despite his hardened view of the world and how to survive in it, Johnny has a soft spot for misfits like himself who do not conform to the status quo. Even though Johnny lives alone, he spends almost the entire play with at least one friend by his side because people constantly come around to spend time with him. Despite playing the part of the radical individualist, Johnny forms a community of his own, one that includes Ginger, Professor, and the local rebellious teenage population. Perhaps paradoxically, Johnny creates a community of individualists who enjoy spending time with one another because they are all free to express themselves how they wish without fear of condemnation.
Meanwhile, the broader community Johnny lives in is not fond of his antics and wants him removed from the land, which they say does not belong to him in the first place. The characters Parsons and Fawcett, government officials who come to remove Johnny from his land, represent the broader community’s rejection of Johnny’s individualism. They dress the same, are a stickler for rules, and always make sure they use proper legal terminology when speaking. Unlike Johnny’s friends, who are all easily distinguishable from one another, Parsons and Fawcett might as well be the same person.
Ultimately, however, while the play sympathizes with Johnny’s struggle to assert his individuality, it also reveals the futility of his efforts against a community that values conformity over self-expression Despite Johnny’s insistence that he be allowed to stay on his land, he is powerless against the council members who have come, official documents in hand, to evict him. Johnny responds by burning his trailer to the ground, an act of defiance that allows him to assert himself one last time—but that ultimately brings about his demise and destroys his personal oasis. So, while the play celebrates individualism and self-expression, it also shows that these qualities can also alienate a person from their broader community, leaving them defenseless in their hour of need.
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The Individual vs. Community ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of The Individual vs. Community appears in each act of Jerusalem. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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The Individual vs. Community Quotes in Jerusalem
Below you will find the important quotes in Jerusalem related to the theme of The Individual vs. Community.
Act 1 Quotes
JOHNNY: I ain’t scared of Kennet and Avon. I been running rings round that lot since before you were born. There’s council officials ten years dead, wake up in cold wet graces hollering the name of Rooster Byron. I’m in their dreams and their worst nightmares. Besides. My lawyers in New York deal with all that. Here, Davey? Did you smash my telly up?
DAVEY: No, son. You did. With a cricket bat.
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Davey asks Johnny about Parsons and Fawcett, whom he saw walking through the woods. He presumes Johnny is in trouble with the law and thinks it is serious this time. Several times throughout the play, different characters confront Johnny with a version of Davey’s concerns, and each time Johnny’s response downplays the severity of the situation. Here, Johnny suggests that he has a better claim to the land than any bureaucratic structure ever could. However, his urge to quickly change the subject implies that he is less confident than his words would suggest. Furthermore, Davey’s response to Johnny’s question reinforces 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.
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
DAVEY: Who can say these days. You ask me, BBC Points West has lost its way.
GINGER: What?
DAVEY: Points West used to be solid local news. First they’ve done the cuts, merged with Bristol, now it’s half the bloody country.
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After Johnny tells his story about the giant, Davey and Ginger get into a fight about the story’s veracity. Davey takes Johnny’s side because he is skeptical of the media in recent years. Davey’s critique of the media speaks to the play’s larger theme of how England treats communities like Flintock. In the same way that Flintock leaves Johnny behind, there is a sense that England is leaving Flintock behind. As the country’s population grows and larger news organizations absorb local news broadcasts, the concerns of a small town like Flintock do not make it to air. In the same 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 ne
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: Marky comes home every day in floods. Scratches. Bruises. His bag-handle torn. ‘Your dad don’t pay no tax. Your dad’s a gyppo. He’s going to prison.’ ‘Not my dad, Mum. My dad’s great.’ My dad’s the best.’ ‘He is, Marky. He’s amazing. He a one-off. He can’t even take his own boy up the fair. Can’t keep a promise to a six-year-old child.’ Question: Do you have drugs in there? Where your son is.
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This quote is part of Dawn and Johnny’s conversation about how Johnny is failing Marky as a father. In Dawn’s reenactment, Marky looks up to his father and wants to see the best in him, even though everyone else mocks him for doing so. Johnny’s relationship with Marky demonstrates the flaw in Johnny’s desire to live according to his own whims without worrying about anything else. Because he lived wildly, Johnny ended up with a son he did not want and doesn’t know how to care for. Now, it seems, he has little to no desire to accept his responsibility 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 volupta
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: How many houses are you building? Who gets the contract? Who gets the kickback? You’re right. Kids come here. Half of them are safer here than they are at home. You got nowhere else to go, come on over. The door’s open. You don’t like it, stay away. What the fuck do you think an English forest is for?
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This quote comes from Johnny’s conversation with Parsons and Fawcett, who have warned him to vacate his property immediately. Johnny is skeptical about whether the upcoming construction is as beneficial to society as Fawcett and Parsons claim. He seems to suspect that someone is undertaking it to line their pockets rather than supply the residents of Flintock with the housing they need. Also, for the first time, he defends his grove in moral terms, claiming that he is providing a valuable service for the community’s youth, who otherwise have no place to go. In particular, he is surely thinking 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
GINGER: I thought we were mates.
JOHNNY: Mates.
GINGER: I thought we were. Friends and that.
JOHNNY: I see. I see. Well. Listen to me now. Listen very careful. (Beat.) We’re not friends. I’m not your friend. I’m Johnny Byron. I’m nobody’s friend. Is that clear? Now get. You and all these rats. Just leave me alone. Or yours is what’s coming.
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This conversation is the last time Johnny and Ginger speak to each other in the play. Throughout the play, it seems that Ginger is the person who knows Johnny best: he is around the most, and he has known Johnny for a long time. Although Ginger tends to give Johnny a hard time, he also appears to have genuine respect from him and is hurt when Johnny tells him they are no longer friends. This moment is a major turning point for Johnny’s character because, with the possible exception of Phaedra (who is still hiding inside his trailer), he has 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. Commo
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
JOHNNY: Come, you drunken spirits. Come, you battalions. You fields of ghosts who walk these green plains still. Come, you giants!
Relentlessly he beats the drum. Faster. Faster. Staring out. He pounds on and on until the final blow rings out and…
Blackout
Curtain.
The End.
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These lines mark the end of the play, as Johnny burns his property to the ground and bangs on the giant’s drum. Earlier in the play, Johnny’s suggested that the giant’s drum was an object of great power that would summon giants to help him. However, in reality, its power is merely symbolic, as no giants are coming to help him. As such, Johnny bangs on the drums as an act of a desperate man who has nothing to his name and no one left to support him. The play ends on an ambiguous note, as it is unclear what 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 omni
