A Wizard of Earthsea

by

Ursula K. Le Guin

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:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
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.

Related Characters: Ged / Duny / Sparrowhawk, The Shadow, Jasper
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis:
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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:
Coming of Age Theme Icon
).
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.

Related Characters: Ged / Duny / Sparrowhawk, The Shadow, Jasper
Page Number: 72
Explanation and Analysis: