Final Ideas on "Jes Grew"

Throughout Reed's novel, Mumbo Jumbo, although I initially struggled to understand what Jes Grew was and what Reed depicted it as, I invariably changed and questioned my ideas on what this "plague" was as I delved further into the book. Originally, I believed Jes Grew was simply a new music genre which radically challenged aspects of the conservative society previous to the 1920's, therefore equating Jes Grew with Jazz music. Furthermore, I began realizing towards the end of the novel that Jes Grew was simply a lifestyle, a culture which attempted to change the ideas of the "old-fashioned society", a synonym of western culture.

Towards the end of Mumbo Jumbo, it becomes apparent that the "Jes Grew" of the 1920's has become incorporated into mainstream culture and is widely accepted by the society, yet if this lifestyle, which was originally created as a counter-cultural attempt to expand western culture, becomes an accepted part of the culture, then it can no longer be qualified as Jes Grew. In concluding the novel, we find that PaPa LaBas has become a noted professor and lectures to university students with regards to the Jazz culture of the 1920's, yet by this time, Jes Grew has few, if any, opponents.

This creates the feeling that Jes Grew has defeated the Wallflower Order, but in reality, it could be completely possible that the society gradually accepted Jes Grew as the new generations matured, such that the newer Jes Grew of the time would be the main target of the Wallflower Order. Since Jazz culture and music was accepted and considered more traditional, it is entirely possible that the Wallflower order no longer considered Jazz as part of Jes Grew

The final question, however, arises as to what is the current status of Jes Grew? In class, we mentioned that many music styles, such as Rap and many of the more modern music genres, have become the forefront of controversy due to their status as radical and even offensive to "old-fashioned" culture and values. Clearly, the Jes Grew of PaPa LaBas' time has evolved to no longer include Jazz music or culture, instead constantly creating new and extreme lifestyles.