SUMMARY
Jackson, Jackson, Make Up Your Mind by Mark Ceilley is a very short story about a boy named Jackson who struggles to pick an ice cream flavour. His siblings and parents insisted on him to choose, giving various recommendations. At the end, however, Jackson chooses a flavour beyond anyone's expectation.
REFLECTION
This short story is very simple and easy to read, but also serves a very great lesson in peer pressure. The Johnson siblings, which consists of Joseph, Jeffrey, Julie, Jolene, Jocelyn, Justin, and Jackson, goes to Zindel's Ice Cream Shoppe. When they arrive, each siblings state which flavour they would like to have. Jackson, however, cannot decide what he wants.
Jackson's siblings all chose very fancy and unique flavour: Luscious Red Licorice for Joseph, Caramel Apple Nut for Jeffrey, Peppermint Crunch for Julie, Minty Minty Chocolate Chip for Jolene, Strawberry Cheesecake for Jocely, and Cherry Berry for Justin. After a lot of recommendations and complains, Jackson finally chooses his flavour: simple and basic vanilla.
The ending is baffling because throughout the story, the siblings give Jackson fancy recommendations with long names, such as Curly Curly Cinnamon Swirl, Mandarin Orange Parfait, or Lemon Meringue Pie. All of these recommendations are useless because unlike his siblings, Jackson ends up choosing the most basic and simple flavour. Interestingly, he seems to do this to piss off her siblings as he grins before he said "I know what I want! Thank you all for you help. You've been so kind.", as if he will choose one of the flavour recommended to him. But he didn't, he destroys the expectation of his siblings as he states his choice.
The story symbolizes peer pressure. Jackson is pressured to choose quickly, implied in how his siblings repeatedly say "Jakson, Jackson, Make Up Your Mind." Not only that, he also pressured to choose something spectacular, something special just like the others. But he doesn't, he chooses basic vanilla, saying it will "suit him just fine." Even if Jackson's intention was to poke fun on her siblings, he still delivers a good lesson: we don't always have to be special and follow other people, being basic is totally fine.
REFERENCE
Ceilley, M., 2022. CommonLit | Jackson, Jackson, Make Up Your Mind. [online] CommonLit. Available at: <https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts/jackson-jackson-make-up-your-mind> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
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