Twilight Lexicon Discussion Forums

not everyone reacts to the same thing in the same way and nowhere is that more evident in this series as with Jasper and Bella's different transformations...
I love Jasper's character and I believe that just like a newborn exposed to a "bad" environment, he cannot be blamed for his past actions... what matters most is his repentance of those actions and his determination to change

If I was Jasper, I would really dislike how easy things were for Bella. I mean, he's had to deal with countless newborns and struggle for ages with his thirst, and Bella just gets it handed to her? Granted, it was basically necessary for the series (really, did any of us want a bloodthirsty, out-of-control Bella? Nuh-uh.) but I really felt sorry for Jasper.

i think it was understandable, like the way he reacted. i mean, here's Jasper, an expert at newborns and he expects them to wild, you know?
but i think the reason Bella was the way she was, was because she knew what to expect, and Jasper didn't have that.
still, it hurt me to Jasper upset since he's my favorite.

As a soldier in a fairly gruesome time in history, Jasper had to have an easier time than most with the idea of killing for the sake of one's own survival (not to say he was a murderer or evil in life at all, just that when "kill that person or die yourself" is a regular issue for you, it becomes easier to kill). Then he became a vampire, and the same thing continued, but with more ease and drive. His ability to kill carried into his vampire days for so long until he became "vegetarian". It's more than just fighting the vampire side of him, it's fighting the human Jasper side as well.

SM said that Bella had such as easy time not because of her shielding gift, but because she knew going into the transformation that human blood wasn't going to be an option - she is the only vampire to choose to be a vampire, and choose to be a "vegetarian" along with it - the vegetarian vampires that exist already didn't choose to be vampires, and the other vampires didn't choose vegetarianism.

Watching someone else have a very easy time doing something you know is the right thing to do, but that you struggle with regularly is torture (ask any woman who's gone on a diet with her husband when he loses weight twice as fast as she does.)

I completely understand why Jasper reacted to Bella's change. I think that his past as being a "killer" and basically having that bloodlust makes it harder for him to accept how Bella doesn't act as a typical newborn.

His life of being a soldier who is trained to kill and a vampire who was bread to kill, has become so deeply ingrained in him that it's taking him longer to adjust. While Bella, I feel has had help in her transition as a newborn and how in her human life she was able to rationalize things keeps her from becoming a blood thirsty newborn. She has never taken a human's life as a vampire so I think that it's a little easier for her.

I understand those feelings of Jasper, it must be frustating to see how someone you expect to be worst than you (in terms of not being vegetarian at all) it's the opposite, she manages being a newborn so easy and he has been trying to be a vegetarian so long that...well, I think you understand.

Yes, it was sad to read a Jasper so upset with himself. I really like him, one of the best characters in the book

I think that everyone is pretty much of the same opinion that Jasper's reaction was understandable. We all know that the vegetarian diet is difficult for most vampires, Jasper especially. And he was very accustomed to newborn vampire's behaviour. So Bella's change must have both shocked him and embarrassed him. He was probably tired of being the only person in the family who had such a struggle with self-control. He must have been very frustrated by Bella's seemingly perfect transition to immortality.

I think its just the fact that Jasper expected Bella to be like the 'norm' of newborns, blood-thirsty and killing the one thing in her mind. It's just because that's all Jasper's known, he thinks newborn equals crazy bloodsucking out-of-control frenzy so when Bella wasn't like that when she was turned it kinda changed Jasper's way of thinking.

Jasper thought he wouldn't be the weakest link any more but I guess he felt even more inferior and weak when Bella had more self control. Did that make sense??

Jasper's response was totally the norm. I mean he's been around bloodthirsty newborns for decades, and he happens across one who isn't 24/7 blood thirsty? Wow!

LoveMeSomeEdward wrote:I think its just the fact that Jasper expected Bella to be like the 'norm' of newborns, blood-thirsty and killing the one thing in her mind. It's just because that's all Jasper's known, he thinks newborn equals crazy bloodsucking out-of-control frenzy so when Bella wasn't like that when she was turned it kinda changed Jasper's way of thinking.

Jasper thought he wouldn't be the weakest link any more but I guess he felt even more inferior and weak when Bella had more self control. Did that make sense??

I agree with you (specially in the last lines you wote) he felt even more inferior and weak than he was before, obviously that made him angry and frustrated. That was a really nice explanation