Character Relationship Map: Jasper Jones

Characters

• Charlie Bucktin (played by Levi Miller) — protagonist

  Charlie Bucktin is a fourteen-year-old boy living in Corrigan and the story's central viewpoint character. He helps Jasper Jones conceal a dead girl's body, grows close to Eliza Wishart, and eventuall...

• Jasper Jones (played by Aaron L. McGrath) — protagonist

  Jasper Jones is an Aboriginal outcast in Corrigan who leads Charlie Bucktin to a hidden glade after discovering a dead girl there. Fearing blame, he hides the body with Charlie and later escapes polic...

• Eliza Wishart (played by Angourie Rice) — supporting

  Eliza Wishart is the town mayor's daughter and the younger sister of the dead girl whose disappearance drives the investigation. She shares the truth with Charlie Bucktin through a suicide note, stays...

• Mad Jack Lionel (played by Hugo Weaving) — supporting

  Mad Jack Lionel is a reclusive old man whom Jasper Jones suspects of killing the missing girl because of frightening rumors about his past. When Jasper and Charlie confront him, he explains that he is...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Charlie Bucktin → Eliza Wishart (Romantic Interest) — Their growing affection provides Charlie with emotional support amid the town's crisis.

  Charlie befriends Eliza, holds her hand after the cricket match, and later remains close to her.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Eliza Wishart → Jasper Jones (Alliance Secret Sharer) — Eliza becomes part of the small group preserving the truth about the death.

  Eliza knows what happened in Jasper's glade, and the ending states that the secret remains with her, Charlie, and Jasper.

• Jasper Jones → Mad Jack Lionel (Conflict Suspect) — Jasper's suspicion creates a direct confrontation with Lionel before the family truth is revealed.

  Jasper believes Mad Jack Lionel murdered the girl and decides to confront him on New Year's Eve.

• Charlie Bucktin → Jasper Jones (Alliance Ally) — Charlie becomes Jasper's reluctant but essential partner in concealing and investigating the death.

  Jasper asks Charlie for help after finding the dead girl, and Charlie helps him move the body into a pond.

Story Analysis

In a fearful rural town, a hidden death forces Charlie, Jasper, and Eliza to confront racism, abuse, guilt, and silence.

Plot Progression

1. A Body in the Glade — Charlie is drawn into Jasper’s secret after discovering a dead girl in the bush. The two boys hide the body, creating the central moral burden.
2. Cricket and Suspicion — Jeffrey faces racist exclusion before winning the cricket match. Meanwhile, the missing-girl search intensifies and the town turns toward fear and blame.
3. Secrets Beneath Corrigan — Police pressure Jasper while racial hostility and family tension escalate. Charlie also learns that his mother is having an affair with the investigating sergeant.
4. The Grandfather’s Guilt — Jasper confronts Mad Jack Lionel, believing him to be the murderer. Lionel instead reveals a painful family history and his continuing guilt.
5. The Note and the Fire — Eliza gives Charlie the suicide note and reveals what happened in the glade. The note is destroyed, Charlie seeks the police, and the Wishart house burns before the secret is finally sealed.