Son of a Trickster
by Eden Robinson
Sarah is Mr. Jaks and Mrs. Jaks’s granddaughter and Jared’s girlfriend. After the Christmas break, Sarah’s mom sends her to help care for her grandparents after Mrs. Jaks is diagnosed with leukemia. Sarah is sarcastic and politically active—she is very involved in First Nations issues and brings Jared to attend the Idle No More protest to advocate for better environmental policies. Soon after Jared meets Sarah at the Jakses’ house, they have sex, though Jared doesn’t remember exactly how they ended up together. Over the following weeks, they grow closer, often getting high together. Sarah tries to get Jared to be more violent in their sexual relationship, but Jared admits this makes him uncomfortable and that he doesn’t want to hurt her or be hurt. Jared feels the most in love with her when they’re being playful together or caring for the Jakses. Though Sarah doesn’t know it, she is a witch, and she often feels like she’s asleep and is trying to “wake up” (that is, engage with her supernatural abilities). To do so, Sarah often cuts herself and takes LSD or psychedelic mushrooms in order to feel more alive. Ultimately, Sarah cuts herself so severely that she is hospitalized both for her injuries and for psychiatric treatment, and because Jared refuses to engage in magic with her, they break up.

Sarah Jaks Quotes in Son of a Trickster

The Son of a Trickster quotes below are all either spoken by Sarah Jaks or refer to Sarah Jaks. 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:
Dysfunctional Families, Responsibility, and Maturity Theme Icon
).

Chapter 17 Quotes

“Are you going to the Idle No More walk?”

“The what?”

“Seriously? Do you live under a rock? It’s all over the news.”

“Kinda busy lately.”

“Wow. Just…wow. Dude, Native people are rising up. We’re protesting the omnibus budget bills that are stomping all over the treaties and this oil company called Enbridge—”

“Oh, that.”

“Oh, that?”

“It’s pretty much a done deal,” Jared said. “The environmental review is a dog-and-pony show to shut everyone up.”

“Way to bend over.”

Related Characters: Sarah Jaks (speaker), Jared Martin (speaker)
Page Number and Citation: 135
Explanation and Analysis:

Chapter 21 Quotes

He took her hand and put it on his ribs. “My mom dated this douche named David. He didn’t like my grades, so he broke a couple of my ribs. Slowly. He got a boner when I started screaming.”

Sarah flinched. “That’s messed up.”

After a bit she kissed him, then took her hand back and reached up for the j. She inhaled deep before she curled into his side.

“I feel numb,” she said, “all the time, like I took sleeping pills and can’t wake up. I just want to feel something.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Jared said. “And I don’t want to be hurt.”

Related Characters: Sarah Jaks (speaker), Jared Martin (speaker), Maggie Moody/Jared’s Mom, David
Page Number and Citation: 163-164
Explanation and Analysis:

Chapter 29 Quotes

“Give me the knife.”

“Not while you’re wasted. No cutting.” He wiped her blood off his face, tasting salt. His hand came away red.

“No cutting,” Sarah agreed.

Jared let her go. She traced his face with her fingertip.

“Blood,” she said.

“Your blood.”

“You’re mine. Now and forever.”

“Awesome,” Jared said. He wished people could make undying declarations of love and loyalty to him when they weren’t half-cut or stoned out of their gourds. Or sorry.

Related Characters: Jared Martin (speaker), Sarah Jaks (speaker)
Page Number and Citation: 212-213
Explanation and Analysis:

Chapter 30 Quotes

The ape man leaned on his knuckles, sniffing the air. His head swung back and forth. He bent down and sniffed the floor. Jared lifted his feet onto the couch. There goes the neighbour’s house. Off to Kansas.

[…]

Other hands scrabbled through the floor, their nails clicking on the linoleum.

I’m here, Jared thought. Alone in the living room. I’m watching TV. Nothing else is real. I know the difference between real and not, and this isn’t real.

Related Characters: Sarah Jaks, Jared Martin
Related Symbols: Jared’s Rooms/The Basement
Page Number and Citation: 216
Explanation and Analysis:

Chapter 33 Quotes

“You loved your dog because you were her master,” Fake Sarah said.

“What?”

“You only love the ones that crawl to you and beg for food.”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything to you.”

“Human,” she said. “We’re dying because you’re killing us.”

“I’m not killing anyone.”

“You’re killing the world and you have the nerve to wonder why we hate you.”

Related Characters: Fake Sarah (speaker), Jared Martin (speaker), Baby Killer, Sarah Jaks
Page Number and Citation: 239
Explanation and Analysis:

Chapter 37 Quotes

He heard the fireflies coming with her down the hallway, and he didn’t want to see them. He willed them away, but they wouldn’t go.

“Come back,” Sarah said. “I can’t hear them if you aren’t there.”

“No,” Jared said.

“I’ve never felt anything like that.”

“You’re coming apart,” Jared said. “It’s taking you apart.”

“We’re joining.”

“No, you’re shredding.”

“I’m not scared.”

“I am.”

Related Characters: Sarah Jaks (speaker), Jared Martin (speaker)
Page Number and Citation: 280
Explanation and Analysis:

Chapter 39 Quotes

The bites had healed. He didn’t feel his missing toe anymore. He should be over it by now, he thought, but as he treaded water, he wanted to get drunk, immediately. He wanted to not feel terrified or dumped or used anymore. He wanted to get out of his head and never, ever crawl back in.

Related Characters: Dylan Wilkinson, Jared Martin, Nana Sophia, Sarah Jaks
Page Number and Citation: 306
Explanation and Analysis:
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Sarah Jaks Character Timeline in Son of a Trickster

The timeline below shows where the character Sarah Jaks appears in Son of a Trickster. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 16
Escapism and Confronting Problems Theme Icon
Just then, Mrs. Jaks calls to Sarah—the girl—to close the door and stop letting the cold in. Jared says goodbye, and as... (full context)
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The next day, Jared wakes up naked next to Sarah under his sleeping bag. He tries to remember how they got there: they spent a... (full context)
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After hunting down her clothes, Sarah leaves, but Jared stays in bed all day. He then cleans up the vomit in... (full context)
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...Mrs. Jaks is wearing makeup, though it doesn’t hide her sallow skin from the chemotherapy. Sarah and Jared set the table and serve dinner for her, and when Mrs. Jaks tells... (full context)
Chapter 17
The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Icon
At the end of the day, Jared sees Sarah coming out of the front office—she’s talking to a teacher about fracking and Indigenous politics.... (full context)
The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Icon
After school, Jared and Sarah walk home together, picking up some chow mein from the nearby takeout. He thinks that... (full context)
Love vs. Violence Theme Icon
...glibly says that it’s fine and shuts the door on him. When Jared returns to Sarah, she says that his couch smells like dog, and Jared explains that he had a... (full context)
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Later, Sarah and Jared take a breather from making out and Sarah puts music on, dancing around... (full context)
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Love vs. Violence Theme Icon
After Sarah hangs up, she asks why Jared spends so much time with Mrs. Jaks. Jared explains... (full context)
Chapter 18
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The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Icon
...figure out where to cook. Jared eats cereal, and as he returns downstairs, he sees Sarah walking up the street in a grey skirt and blazer, with red lipstick and pearls.... (full context)
Chapter 19
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...mops up the puke and scrubs down the floor before checking his messages, noticing that Sarah texted him the night before. Jared texts her back, and she says that she’s coming... (full context)
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Wrapping her arms around Jared, Sarah confesses that she had a rough couple of weeks without him. Jared says that she... (full context)
Chapter 21
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...calls anymore. And when he goes over to Mrs. Jaks’s, she won’t tell him where Sarah is. (full context)
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...from the food bank. He has no idea how to make the bills. After lunch, Sarah approaches Jared and greets him with a “Hadih,” saying that she’s decolonizing her language. She... (full context)
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Back in the basement, Jared and Sarah build a fort and light it up with a battery-powered lantern. Jared lights a joint... (full context)
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Just then, Jared notices a web of lines on Sarah’s inner thighs. When he asks who made them, she says that she did. As Jared... (full context)
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Sarah says that Jared is crackling like an electric guitar being tuned. She says she knows... (full context)
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Later, Sarah straddles Jared, showing him new cuts on her arm that she made while he was... (full context)
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Sarah again asks to tie Jared up, saying that they can just pretend using a headband.... (full context)
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Sarah unzips Jared’s jeans with her teeth and pulls his pants down, and his erection springs... (full context)
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Later, Sarah tells Jared that her uncles are driving down to help her care for Mrs. Jaks.... (full context)
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Sarah then goes to get a can of frosting and Sesame Street cookie decorations that Jared... (full context)
Chapter 22
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...tenants comes back with a pot roast and other groceries, but Jared has to call Sarah to see if she has a cookbook with a pot roast recipe, because he no... (full context)
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...mom and dad clean up his messes, and Dylan curses at Jared, leaving just as Sarah shows up. (full context)
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Sarah gives Jared the cookbook, earmarking the pot roast recipe with a condom. She jokes that... (full context)
Chapter 24
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Love vs. Violence Theme Icon
At school the next day, Jared sits with George and Sarah at lunch. The two of them get into a long argument about the best companions... (full context)
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As Jared and his mom do the dishes together, Sarah pops in. She greets Jared’s mom and tells a bad joke about a cow, and... (full context)
Chapter 25
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The next day, Jared tries to tell George and Sarah that he had a crazy dream, but Sarah interrupts and tells him that she’s not... (full context)
Chapter 28
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...down the street in his pajamas. He helps Mr. Jaks back to his house, and Sarah greets them on the porch. Inside, Jared sees Mrs. Jaks in a lump on the... (full context)
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When Mr. Jaks and Mrs. Jaks are both asleep, Sarah explains that Mrs. Jaks is going back to Vancouver for more chemotherapy next week. Mr.... (full context)
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...and Richie even texts him to text his mom back. Jared wants to stay with Sarah, but watching Mr. Jaks and Mrs. Jaks slowly dying is brutal. He wants to believe... (full context)
Chapter 29
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The next morning, Sarah’s uncles are due to arrive, and Jared goes over to the Jakses’. Mrs. Jaks starts... (full context)
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Sarah kisses Jared, and her hands start to travel, but Mrs. Jaks wakes and says that... (full context)
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That night, after everyone is asleep, Sarah knocks on Jared’s basement door. She brings magic mushrooms, but Jared says that he’d rather... (full context)
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Sarah leans in to hear the song as Jared sips a beer. Noticing the fresh cuts... (full context)
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While Jared wipes away the blood, Sarah says that Jared is hers, “now and forever.” Jared wishes that people could make declarations... (full context)
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The fireflies sink down from the sky, their swarm humming like an electric amplifier. Sarah stands, lifting her arms as blood streams down her skin. The naked man crawls along... (full context)
Chapter 30
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...men fill the living room. Jared continues to assure himself that they’re not real—he and Sarah kissed after she had mushrooms, which altered his brain. Suddenly, something bangs the living room... (full context)
Chapter 32
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...his life. When Jared suggests crocheting, Dylan grabs him in a headlock. Dylan asks where Sarah is, but Jared just shrugs the question off. Dylan leaves, and the ape men sniff... (full context)
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...and they watch the news together. When he tells her that he’s going to see Sarah, his mom tells him to say hi to the freak for her. Jared reminds her... (full context)
Chapter 33
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Love vs. Violence Theme Icon
The ape men get excited when Jared approaches the Jakses’ house because of Sarah’s fireflies, which Jared can still see. As he walks in, Jared notices a “FOR SALE”... (full context)
The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Icon
...suggests birth and even death, but Jared has no idea what they mean. Jared and Sarah go into the kitchen for tea. The fireflies continue to talk, explaining that human beings... (full context)
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At that moment, someone knocks on the door for an open house. Sarah leaves, unable to handle giving another tour. The fireflies follow her out of the room... (full context)
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...to help Mrs. Jaks get ready for the move. As everyone gets ready for bed, Sarah and Jared curl up on the couch, and Jared tells Sarah that he loves her.... (full context)
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...night. Baby yelps, and Jared lurches because she’s in pain, but he can’t move. Then Sarah walks out of the woods in her Princess Leia buns and dress. Her eyes are... (full context)
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Sarah asks if Jared wants to make out and make up, but Jared tells her that... (full context)
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Drawing his gun, Jared says that what Fake Sarah is doing isn’t funny—it’s mean and hateful. He says he loved his dog, and Fake... (full context)
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Fake Sarah explains that Jared needs to be stopped, and he starts to back away. His inner... (full context)
Chapter 34
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...and asks if he saw someone he loved. He confirms that he saw Baby and Sarah, and Jared’s mom curses. (full context)
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...because he’s having sex with a witch, and Jared asks his mom not to call Sarah names. Jared’s mom explains that Sarah isn’t stable magically, but Jared says that witches aren’t... (full context)
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...he never has before. She says that she doesn’t want to know where he and Sarah picked them up. Opening an ammo locker in her closet with shells and feathers, Jared’s... (full context)
Chapter 35
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...he realizes that his gun is gone. In that moment, he remembers that the real Sarah would never have called him from the Jakses’ landline. Jared shakes from the cold, and... (full context)
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...lighter flicks on, and Jared can see creatures that are part human, part otters. Fake Sarah lights a torch nearby, and the otters keep a tight grip on Jared and lift... (full context)
The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Icon
Fake Sarah says that Jared has disappointed them—they thought he had power, but he doesn’t taste powerful.... (full context)
Chapter 36
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Very late that night, Sarah and her fireflies come to the door. Sarah asks Jared if he’s still mad before... (full context)
Chapter 37
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...arrives to pack up the Jakses’ house. Jared goes over to their place and gives Sarah a hug, and she tells him that she’s not okay. Jared notices that the fireflies... (full context)
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Later, Sarah, Jared, and Dawn are sitting in the living room while the Jakses sleep. Sarah tells... (full context)
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Jared and Sarah kiss and touch each other, and they position themselves on the bed to avoid his... (full context)
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Jared goes into the kitchen, and the shreds sink back into his body. Sarah comes out and asks him to come back to bed, saying that she never felt... (full context)
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Sarah puts her hand on Jared’s forehead, asking to see what he sees. At that moment,... (full context)
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The next day, Jared stays home from school and ignores texts from Sarah—his mom won’t let Sarah into the house, and she wants to keep Jared close. That... (full context)
Chapter 38
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...next morning, Jared knocks on the Jakses’ door. Dawn and Mrs. Jaks tell him that Sarah cut herself while she was high on magic mushrooms, but she’ll be okay. Jared helps... (full context)
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...winds down. When kids go quiet as Jared approaches, he knows they found out about Sarah. Jared goes to his locker and realizes that at some point, Sarah hot-glued flies with... (full context)
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...She asks how the “nut job” is, and Jared asks his mom to not call Sarah names. But he realizes that his mom is trying to be nice in her own... (full context)
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...knocks on the Jakses’ door, and a trim, dark-haired woman answers—Jared figures that this is Sarah’s mom. When Jared asks for Sarah, her mom says that she’s resting, and that Sarah... (full context)
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When Jared walks back into his house, his mom is yelling at the phone, daring Sarah’s mom to call the cops and saying that if Sarah’s mom were her mom, she... (full context)
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Just then, Sarah walks over in her Leia outfit. She tells Ebony that Jared isn’t going to have... (full context)
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As Jared turns back to Sarah, she tells him that she loves him, but Jared says that he can’t do this... (full context)
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Back inside, Jared’s mom comments that Sarah is growing on her, but Jared says that that means little considering that Sarah is... (full context)
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Early in the morning, Jared wakes and goes to the window, where he sees Sarah and her fireflies looking up at him from the sidewalk. He waves, and she waves... (full context)
Chapter 39
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...later to get high. They make out on Jared’s desk, and Jared starts to miss Sarah. Shortly after, they leave to head out to the lake, and then Alex Gunborg and... (full context)