Affects of Bullying

1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

During both the units we have been studying this year I have been able to spot many examples of bullying, exclusion and ostracism. Firstly when we were studying Greek mythology we were reading a book called Shadow of the Minotaur. Phoenix the protagonist of the book had a large role in the book and because of this his whole life was explained in high detail. He was a victim to the school bully Steve Adams and was severely bullied. We was a target of name calling, abuse and criticism by Steve Adams and his gang. A bit later in the year we studied World War 2 and the Holocaust a period of time filled with terrible events and actions. It was a clear example of how bad things like exclusion and bullying can eventually result in. The Jews were slowly removed from German society through ostracism and eventually bullied and abused to death. This just proves that small things like exclusion can expand into chaotic events. Finally there was the hunger games. In the book the capitol who held all the power thought of an idea to hold all the districts under their rule. They decided to leave the districts alone with little food and money and hold the annual hunger games an event where 2 tributes from each district are thrown into an arena to fight for survival. This was a realization that the Capitol bullied the districts. They also ostracized them by placing them far a way from their own homes.

Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?

Several months ago I experienced the abuse of one of my friends. My group of friends is fairly large and very humorous. They commonly make jokes or funny gestures which I am not to bothered by although sometimes they can insult others in very severe ways. It can irritate me to hear my friends continuously ranting about how stupid or dumb others are and one time someone went too far. We all were sitting on the bleachers at the blue top when one of my friends accidentally spilled milo on another of my friends t-shirts. He then got extremely angry and started throwing all kinds of insults at my other friend. In no time he had somehow managed to get the majority of the group on his side. With no one to stand up for him the victim of the insults was clearly being bullied. My action at the time was to just sit back and watch classifying me as a bistander. I didn't enjoy the conflict of the situation and if I had the opportunity I would have resolved the conflict and settled the situation.

1.Select one line/phrase/group of sentences that are significant to you. Explain why.

When Eve explained her situation within the class I had a sudden picture of what her position was. I could relate to it because like her I also try my best to fit it and apear "cool" to the kids in school.

1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?
The incident Eve describes is familiar to me because like her I try to fit in with others through any means necessary. In her situation I would have approached it similar to her and played it cool. Although I am aware about how bad the actions she did were I would try not to go to far with my negative actions. I have been in a similar situation before.

2.What surprised you?

I was surprised that Eve didn't make an effort to prevent herself from being bullied. She never told anyone about her situation and never stood up to her bullies. I thought she would have at least made an effort to prevent herself from playing the victim. 

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer
Eve's story relates to bullying because it was based it. She explained all about the different social groups and the how popularity difference affected the way you were treated. Based on Eve's retelling of her story it sounds like she was to a degree "bullied". I do not think Eve was a bully herself although she appeared as a bit of a bystander when some other kids were making fun of another girl. I think her actions were made so due to her feelings about her place within the social pyramid. Although she didn't want to act this way she wanted friends more than anything. I also see her as a victim from the bullying.