The Scout Uniforms

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

The Boy Scout uniforms are another sign of Jack's powerlessness, as well as Dwight's general jerk-wad tendencies. Dwight has a way of taking over anything that Jack likes and making it his own… ruining anything cool about it in the process.

As soon as we got home, Dwight sat down at the kitchen table with a glass of Old Crow and reviewed my performance. (11.23)

Ooh, alcohol and berating—the perfect way to end the evening. The nit-picking and general "it's all about me" tendencies find a pretty potent symbol in Jack and Dwight's uniforms. Dwight "gave me an outsize uniform that Skipper had once worn. For himself, he bought a new uniform and all the accouterments." (11.22) (Seriously, how does mom not catch on to this kind of thing way earlier?!)

Beyond just showing Dwight's status as a world-class tool (again), it demonstrates an appropriation of Jack's identity and a way to keeping him powerless. Scouting is supposed to be about Jack, but Dwight wants everyone to know who it's really about. (It's a testament to Jack's burgeoning uniform fetish that he sticks with it despite Dwight's put-downs.)