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Ned Stark
Jon Snow is Ned’s son who was born out of wedlock. His mother is Wylla, and he is Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon’s half-brother. As a character, Jon Snow provides an examination of the rigid hierarchical structure that dictates socioeconomic standing in King’s Landing. Because Jon is not Ned’s “trueborn” son, he enjoys some of the privileges of a royal upbringing without experiencing the full benefits. He is treated like a member of the family by his siblings, but Catelyn views him with contempt. Jon is sent to serve in the Night’s Watch, a fate that gradually comes to seem to him like a form of exile from the family he once considered his own. Jon is extremely loving and loyal. After Ned is executed, love compels Jon to fight alongside Robb to defeat the Lannisters, while duty requires Jon to stay and fulfill his oath to the Night’s Watch. Jon ultimately decides to stay in the Night’s Watch only when Commander Mormont tells him of his plan to travel beyond the Wall to determine why men have been going missing. That is, Jon chooses duty over love when his duty to the Night’s Watch allows him to pursue the same kind of recognition and renown he was deprived of as part of the Stark family, suggesting that Jon has the same leadership qualities as Ned, though he will never be given a chance to exercise those abilities within the prevailing hierarchy of Westeros.
Jon Snow Quotes in A Game of Thrones
The A Game of Thrones quotes below are all either spoken by Jon Snow or refer to Jon Snow. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1: Bran
Quotes
“Robb says the man died bravely, but Jon says he was afraid.”
“What do you think?” his father asked.
Bran thought about it. “Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?”
“That is the only time a man can be brave,” his father told him.
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Chapter 5: Jon
Quotes
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”
Chapter 13: Tyrion
Quotes
“I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind … and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” Tyrion tapped the leather cover of the book. “That’s why I read so much, Jon Snow.”
Chapter 22: Arya
Quotes
“Your mother and I have charged [Septa Mordane] with the impossible task of making you a lady.”
“I don’t want to be a lady!” Arya flared.
Chapter 26: Jon
Quotes
Fat and awkward and frightened he might be, but Samwell Tarly was no fool. One night he visited Jon in his cell. “I don’t know what you did,” he said, “but I know you did it.” He looked away shyly. “I’ve never had a friend before.”
“We’re not friends,” Jon said. He put a hand on Sam’s broad shoulder. “We’re brothers.”
And so they were, he thought to himself after Sam had taken his leave. Robb and Bran and Rickon were his father’s sons, and he loved them still, yet Jon knew that he had never truly been one of them. Catelyn Stark had seen to that. The grey walls of Winterfell might still haunt his dreams, but Castle Black was his life now, and his brothers were Sam and Grenn and Halder and Pyp and the other cast-outs who wore the black of the Night’s Watch.
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Chapter 60: Jon
Quotes
“Jon, did you ever wonder why the men of the Night’s Watch take no wives and father no children?” Maester Aemon asked.
Jon shrugged. “No.” He scattered more meat. The fingers of his left hand were slimy with blood, and his right throbbed from the weight of the bucket.
“So they will not love,” the old man answered, “for love is the bane of honor, the death of duty.”
That did not sound right to Jon, yet he said nothing. The maester was a hundred years old, and a high officer of the Night’s Watch; it was not his place to contradict him.
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Jon Snow Quotes in A Game of Thrones
The A Game of Thrones quotes below are all either spoken by Jon Snow or refer to Jon Snow. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1: Bran
Quotes
“Robb says the man died bravely, but Jon says he was afraid.”
“What do you think?” his father asked.
Bran thought about it. “Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?”
“That is the only time a man can be brave,” his father told him.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5: Jon
Quotes
“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”
Chapter 13: Tyrion
Quotes
“I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind … and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” Tyrion tapped the leather cover of the book. “That’s why I read so much, Jon Snow.”
Chapter 22: Arya
Quotes
“Your mother and I have charged [Septa Mordane] with the impossible task of making you a lady.”
“I don’t want to be a lady!” Arya flared.
Chapter 26: Jon
Quotes
Fat and awkward and frightened he might be, but Samwell Tarly was no fool. One night he visited Jon in his cell. “I don’t know what you did,” he said, “but I know you did it.” He looked away shyly. “I’ve never had a friend before.”
“We’re not friends,” Jon said. He put a hand on Sam’s broad shoulder. “We’re brothers.”
And so they were, he thought to himself after Sam had taken his leave. Robb and Bran and Rickon were his father’s sons, and he loved them still, yet Jon knew that he had never truly been one of them. Catelyn Stark had seen to that. The grey walls of Winterfell might still haunt his dreams, but Castle Black was his life now, and his brothers were Sam and Grenn and Halder and Pyp and the other cast-outs who wore the black of the Night’s Watch.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 60: Jon
Quotes
“Jon, did you ever wonder why the men of the Night’s Watch take no wives and father no children?” Maester Aemon asked.
Jon shrugged. “No.” He scattered more meat. The fingers of his left hand were slimy with blood, and his right throbbed from the weight of the bucket.
“So they will not love,” the old man answered, “for love is the bane of honor, the death of duty.”
That did not sound right to Jon, yet he said nothing. The maester was a hundred years old, and a high officer of the Night’s Watch; it was not his place to contradict him.
