Post by barryrubino on Sept 13, 2008 16:29:07 GMT -5
Barry Rubino
English 2
Period 10
9/13/08
Violence results from the harassed victim’s initial reaction to bullying. It begins with an instigator that usually taunts or makes fun of another in a cold way. The reasons for bullying can vary from something in school, such as sports, or something out of school that is family related. Violence can be triggered in some incidents by the immature behavior of teasing another. When one student strikes another, regardless of the situation, the victim has the right to retaliate out of self-defense. The peers of any victim do not have to defend them or take their side, but he or she should.
Physically harming someone without a reason should not be tolerated. Those who were harassed first have a personal conflict with the bully, which increases the chance of taking matters into their own hands. Bullies do not know the true effects that their actions cause until it is too late. In Peter Houghton’s case, the bullies go too far and humiliate him on several occasions. By means of retaliation, Peter harms everyone that ever caused him emotional and physical pain. By provoking someone, the bully causes the victim to build up anger that could later be released in the form of violence. The aggressor’s target has the right to defend themselves, but not necessarily in the act of violence. Peter seeks revenge for his terrible past and takes “a marker” and looks “through the yearbook, circling portraits” (Picoult 222). He reaches “beneath his mattress” and “[feels] for the two pistols he’d been saving” (Picoult 390).
Students who are bullied should not keep their emotions to themselves. They should seek help from a school executive or from their guardians. Peter Houghton chooses not to tell anyone and he ends up losing control. Peter should have contacted the school principal and put an end to the bullying. Peter endured the bullying and did not tell anyone because he felt alone; but he was not alone. He had Derek and Josie who liked him and would defend him. If Peter’s mom had been aware of the situation, she would have done all that she could in order to make school enjoyable for Peter. Derek and Josie should have cared about Peter’s feelings and could have prevented the shooting at Sterling High.
Josie and Derek do not need to stick up for Peter when he is being harassed. Instead they choose not to get involved so that they could avoid being bullied as well. They are selfish and do not care about Peter being hurt because they are not targets. Although Josie stopped hanging out with Peter before Derek did, they still could have done something. Derek should have known that the game Peter creates indicated Peter’s mentality. Josie and Peter used to be best friends and yet she stands and watches her popular friends tear him apart. Peter’s mother tells him that “the next time” he is bullied he has “to stick up for [himself]” (Picoult 73). Even if someone is not a friend of the victim of harassment, they should still defend the victim because that person would want someone to help if they were in a similar situation.
Bullies are not aware of the toll that their actions have on the victims. Some can ignore it and not let it get to them, but others, like Peter, take the criticism to heart. By not telling anyone about the bullying and letting all of his anger fester inside of him, Peter becomes a loose cannon. All Peter needed in order to make his game a reality was something to push him over the edge. The morning of the incident he sees the email he had sent Josie appear on his computer screen and overreacts by killing nine students. If Peter had done something about the constant harassment or had told Lacy about it, the Sterling High shooting would have never occurred. When confronted with an altercation between two people, one must realize that there had to be an original action that caused a reaction.
English 2
Period 10
9/13/08
Violence results from the harassed victim’s initial reaction to bullying. It begins with an instigator that usually taunts or makes fun of another in a cold way. The reasons for bullying can vary from something in school, such as sports, or something out of school that is family related. Violence can be triggered in some incidents by the immature behavior of teasing another. When one student strikes another, regardless of the situation, the victim has the right to retaliate out of self-defense. The peers of any victim do not have to defend them or take their side, but he or she should.
Physically harming someone without a reason should not be tolerated. Those who were harassed first have a personal conflict with the bully, which increases the chance of taking matters into their own hands. Bullies do not know the true effects that their actions cause until it is too late. In Peter Houghton’s case, the bullies go too far and humiliate him on several occasions. By means of retaliation, Peter harms everyone that ever caused him emotional and physical pain. By provoking someone, the bully causes the victim to build up anger that could later be released in the form of violence. The aggressor’s target has the right to defend themselves, but not necessarily in the act of violence. Peter seeks revenge for his terrible past and takes “a marker” and looks “through the yearbook, circling portraits” (Picoult 222). He reaches “beneath his mattress” and “[feels] for the two pistols he’d been saving” (Picoult 390).
Students who are bullied should not keep their emotions to themselves. They should seek help from a school executive or from their guardians. Peter Houghton chooses not to tell anyone and he ends up losing control. Peter should have contacted the school principal and put an end to the bullying. Peter endured the bullying and did not tell anyone because he felt alone; but he was not alone. He had Derek and Josie who liked him and would defend him. If Peter’s mom had been aware of the situation, she would have done all that she could in order to make school enjoyable for Peter. Derek and Josie should have cared about Peter’s feelings and could have prevented the shooting at Sterling High.
Josie and Derek do not need to stick up for Peter when he is being harassed. Instead they choose not to get involved so that they could avoid being bullied as well. They are selfish and do not care about Peter being hurt because they are not targets. Although Josie stopped hanging out with Peter before Derek did, they still could have done something. Derek should have known that the game Peter creates indicated Peter’s mentality. Josie and Peter used to be best friends and yet she stands and watches her popular friends tear him apart. Peter’s mother tells him that “the next time” he is bullied he has “to stick up for [himself]” (Picoult 73). Even if someone is not a friend of the victim of harassment, they should still defend the victim because that person would want someone to help if they were in a similar situation.
Bullies are not aware of the toll that their actions have on the victims. Some can ignore it and not let it get to them, but others, like Peter, take the criticism to heart. By not telling anyone about the bullying and letting all of his anger fester inside of him, Peter becomes a loose cannon. All Peter needed in order to make his game a reality was something to push him over the edge. The morning of the incident he sees the email he had sent Josie appear on his computer screen and overreacts by killing nine students. If Peter had done something about the constant harassment or had told Lacy about it, the Sterling High shooting would have never occurred. When confronted with an altercation between two people, one must realize that there had to be an original action that caused a reaction.