Jes Grew and Its Symbolism

Although Jes Grew is presented as a sickness in Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo, the illness can be seen as a tool to symbolize the greater view of change and society’s views on change, especially when it comes to that related to culture.

Ishmael Reed begins to set up this parallel by presenting Jes Grew to us in a specific manner at the beginning of the book. Sure, Jes Grew is supposed to be this terrible, highly contagious disease. However, the infected are simply caused to dance, something that we very much associate with happiness and joy. Just think about it; when was the last time you full-out busted a move when you were miserable or ill? It leaves the reader wondering, is Jes Grew really such a horrible thing? It even makes it comedic for there to be an entire organization, the Wallflower Order, trying to stop this disease. It makes us focus on the real thing the Wallflower Order is trying to combat, which is the Black culture brought along with jazz, and not just people getting “sick”.

Jes Grew also has a striking similarity to how older generations view younger generations or just change in general. By making Jes Grew a virus, Ishmael Reed has perfectly captured the “viral” or “trendy” characteristics of new ideas, music, clothing, and style. And even though these things seem new and striking at the moment, as time passes, they eventually become the norm or widely accepted. Towards the end of the book, Jes Grew is seen dying out, but I think that’s not what truly happens. I think Jes Grew, or jazz, is still present, just less noticeable. It’s no longer the shocking new thing that it was the time it was first heard, but instead the “new normal”, or something that everyone listens to/is used to hearing.

Jew Grew could be trying to teach us to be more accepting and open to change, even though it might seem outlandish to us at first. Chances are we’ve already been “infected” by a strain of Jes Grew without knowing it and will continue to see it manifest in the generations ahead of us.

That was basically a bunch of random thoughts I had in my head about Jes Grew slapped together so congratulations on getting through the post! Hopefully at least 1/8th of the things I was saying made sense.

Comments

  1. Vraj P.March 22, 2022 at 9:03 AM

    The "virus" analogy to Jes Grew is definitely present in today's world. The term "viral" itself relates to this connection. As PaPa LaBas says in the ending, Jes Grew is alive and will never die, similar to a virus. As newer generations come about, there will be backlash against their habits (like the Wallflower Order). Great post!

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  2. LawrenceMarch 24, 2022 at 9:27 AM

    You raise a lot of interesting ideas in this post. The "viral metaphor" of Jes Grew is really useful in understanding cultural backlash. Culture is often seen as a problem, especially by people in power who don't like the culture of those "below them" in society. I'm talking about older generations looking down on new generations and white people looking down on Black people and minorities. Part of what makes culture so concerning to many is how fast it tends to spread (especially nowadays with the internet) and upend our daily lives, whether we realize it or not.

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  3. Eliza D. TerzievMarch 24, 2022 at 6:03 PM

    You touched on a lot of really important points regarding Jes Grew, from the virus analogy to its ever-evolving nature. Specifically the fluid element of Jes Grew is what stuck out to me most as well, and I think framing it as how older generations view younger ones generally speaking is perfect. That instinctual dismissal of whatever form Jes Grew might be taking by the people who don't understand it is precisely what keeps it alive, and you touched on that in the second to last paragraph. As soon as its accepted (at least mostly), it becomes something entirely different. Great job summarizing.

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  4. BrooksMarch 25, 2022 at 11:25 PM

    I think your thoughts of Jes Grew being in our world are interesting. Similar to Jazz at the time period in Mumbo Jumbo, maybe TikTok could be seen as the Jes Grew of today. It spread like a wildfire, the majority of the people in the older generation don't understand it or why it's popular, and the younger generations are getting "taken over". With how much it controls my life and makes me procrastinate, it really does seem like a virus. Or an antivirus, because watching Tiktoks is fun.

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  5. MitchellMarch 28, 2022 at 9:13 AM

    It's true that Jes Grew, the "anti-plague," "enlivens the host" rather than making them actually ill (so the satirical joke is that Atonist view this cultural expression as a bad thing, and illness of sorts where victims lose control of their bodies). Reed is also riffing on the common trope of illness to describe good music: think of "Saturday night fever," or a "sick beat," or "ill rhymes." There's a long-established trope of associating "fever" in particular with the pleasures of dancing and enjoying music--and there are maybe parallels, as we get flushed and sweaty and warm when we dance. But the actual experience of a fever, of course, is nothing like dancing--it's utter misery. If you actually have a Saturday-night fever, the last thing you'd want to do is go to a disco club with John Travolta.

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  6. Ethan RobertsApril 3, 2022 at 6:53 PM

    Hi Dina, I think this is a great post. There is a lot to unpack about Jes Grew, but I especially like how you compared it to growing trends. I find the double meaning behind the word "viral" in this situation to be very interesting. New ideas can spread as quickly as disease and I think this is a unique metaphor. It makes you wonder what the Jes Grew of today is.

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