Not Quite Dead Yet
57 pages • 1-hour read
Holly JacksonNot Quite Dead Yet
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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use, graphic violence, and death.
Time
Time is a central motif in the novel, taking on an almost physical presence through Jet’s efforts to defeat time and solve her own murder. The narrative offers a countdown of Jet’s time left through the dated titles of each section that remind the reader how much time Jet has left. At several points in the novel, Jet feels the pressure of this countdown, and time becomes the primary antagonist she faces. While she talks with the police, she notes, “Ecker glanced at the digital clock hanging over Jet’s head. She turned to follow his eyes: 4:52 pm. It had the seconds too, ticking up in angry red digits—red for danger, and blood, and mistakes” (84). This idea recurs throughout the novel, as Jet repeatedly notes the passage of time and the pressure it puts her under to solve her murder.
In this way, time develops the theme of The Value of Living in the Present. Jet learns to value her time more and more as she has less of it left. As she acknowledges to Billy that he has given her the “best week” she could ever have, she realizes for the first time that life is “about all those small moments [she] missed while [she] was waiting” to be happy (317). Although time serves as Jet’s biggest enemy throughout the novel, it also teaches her the most important lesson: to enjoy the little things in each moment she is given.
No Consequences
The idea of a lack of consequences is a motif that underscores Jet’s character throughout the text. Because she is facing death, she recognizes that she has nothing to fear, a realization that she has for the first time as she walks in the dark down River Street. From that point, she acts with reckless abandon, staring down Henry’s gun, confronting Sophia, revealing the truth to Luke about the business despite his anger, and even using the gun to threaten Luke. In this way, Jet’s lack of consequences emphasizes the theme of The Connection Between Privilege and Corruption. She has always had the privilege of her family’s wealth, but now she also has the privilege of freedom from consequences, as she is just days away from death. As she explains to Billy, “You still have to think about consequences. But I don’t. It’s okay” (126).
However, throughout the course of the text, Jet learns how untrue these words are. At the beginning of the novel, she feels no connection to her family or community, but as the narrative continues, she slowly learns the value of living in the present. As a result, when Sophia tells Billy the truth about his mother, she angrily tells Jet, “No consequences, huh, Jet?” (300). The version of Jet from earlier in the text would have had no reaction to Billy’s anger, instead insisting that the investigation is too important to worry about her relationship with him. Instead, she uses her one phone call from prison to try to fix what happened, finally recognizing the consequences of her actions and the value of her personal relationships.
Jet’s Gun
The gun that Jet takes from Henry is a symbol of her growing disregard for law and morality, developing the theme of The Connection Between Privilege and Corruption. Jet’s actions throughout the first part of the text are morally ambiguous. She is brash and abrasive with people she interviews, withholds information from the police, and uses alcohol to encourage Andrew to speak with her—even though she knows he has an alcohol addiction. Despite this, she is still morally upright in comparison to the majority of the other characters in the text, who have faced no consequences for murder, poisoning, and theft.
However, this changes when Jet takes the gun from Henry, making the excuse that she needs it for protection; in reality, it is quickly revealed that she plans to use it as a form of intimidation, as she threatens Luke with it and even shoots the ground in front of him. In this moment, it becomes clear that Jet is desperate enough to do whatever it takes to solve her murder. She has found the need to fight the evil and corruption around her with further violence and aggression, pushing her morality into a darker, more ambiguous place.
After Jet dies, Billy takes the gun and replaces Jet in her efforts to uncover the truth. Like Jet, Billy is one of the few “good” characters in the novel, even acting as her conscience at times. He scolds Jet for her treatment of Owen and his father, hesitates to break the foundation at the construction site, and questions Jet’s increasingly morally ambiguous actions throughout. However, once she dies, he uses the gun to threaten Jack, inadvertently giving Luke the opportunity to kill him. Through the symbolism of the gun, Jackson conveys Jet and then Billy’s descent into violence as they discover its necessity in overcoming the deeply rooted corruption within Woodstock.
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