In the story “A Poetics for Bullies” written by Stanley Elkin, a young boy nicknamed Push recieves his enjoyment from torturing the school kids. From controlling kids on playgrounds to attempting to control the new kid on the block by the name of John Williams. John Williams then comes in and displays an alternative way of getting everyone to do what he wants. Ultimately, Push should be looked at as the better person because he knew exactly who he was and refused to change for anybody, on the other hand John Williams offered help regarding different issues the kids had to get them to follow him instead of Push. The entire story seems to be a fight for control. Push and John should be looked at equally concerning the way they acted; it does not matter in what ways they manipulated the person, it still was wrong.
In this short story, “A Poetics for Bullies”, by Stanley Elkin, the literary analysis tone is exhibited through Push which means that the entire text could be conveyed to readers in an ill-natured and jealous matter. Being told from one point of view, the description and details are very limited. Push accounted for things the way he saw them happen. The flow of the story seems mischievous all the way through. Elkin reveals “[...] And I think, I could go out now, he's still there, I could hit him in the hall, but I think. No, I want them to see, I want them to see!” (6). These words were written and meant to be from the mind of Push showing how troublesome and naughty he is and how far he's willing to go to get some satisfaction.
Push has a desire to be in control through the mind but also physically. Him bullying others only happens because he secretly wants to be accepted but he makes sure he keeps that to himself. Als...
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...hat he is no “service animal”. It can be comprehended that multiple characters can be this service animal; John can be it because lended his questionable helping-hand but those minor characters can also be labeled this because they allowed John to lead them.
What's more, John and Push should both be considered bullies. Even though they did it in different manners, it still obvious that they both were “control-freaks” of some sort and should not be compared for lesser consequences. The theme, main idea, of this story can be taken in many different directions depending on how it is looked at. Push is a bully, yet he is someone who knows what he is and what he wants. “A Poetics for Bullies” meaning can be “Be your own person, do not let others define you,” but that's only one aspect. This story uses its characters, tone, irony, point of view and more to present this.
Initially, Mailer used diction through imagery and emotional words to give the reader how the situation felt to him and to describe to the reader the situation. In the passage, emotional words such as “bad maulings”, “three disgusted steps away”, and “referee’s face came a look of woe” pop up. Mailer utilizes these negative emotional words to impose a tone that is solemn towards Paret and a tone that is disdainful towards Griffith. Consequently, the reader’s mood coincides with the tone of the author. For example, the phrase “referee’s face came a look of woe” gives the reader a grievous feeling because of the word “woe”. Another instance where a reader can see this is in the phrase “three disgusted steps away”. Mailer could have just stated “three steps away”, but he wanted to enforce the negative connotation of the story and to show the reader how he had felt. Additionally, imagery is used in...
“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids -- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination -- indeed, everything and anything except me” (Ellison). Before the revolution, this echoed in my mind everyday as I left out for school. Going to a predominately white high school on the northside of
As a young boy Barnes was “introverted and shy” (p. 8). He wasn’t able to fight like the other young boys his age, and quickly became a punching bag for bullies. The after school brawls became so severe that Barnes’ mother asked his principal to allow him to leave school fifteen minutes early everyday. After viewing the extent of Barnes’ bruises, the principal had no choice but to comply. On the other hand, once the other children learned that Barnes could draw they no longer laughed and made fun of him, “They just watched [him draw] in silent awe” (p. 8).
Larson uses this metaphor to send a message that the ruthless drive to succeed is harmful to the wellbeing of a civilization. The direction in which Larson is “pushing the world” towards is away from materialism and power. He views ambition as destructive to the morality of the people it inhabits, and to the people affected by those goal-obsessed civilians. Larson’s ironic statements and comparing and contrasting of people and places serve to show that you cannot have immense fame, power, and success without
Most bullies share certain characteristics. Usually, a bully is bigger than the person he is aggravating. Also, he tends to think highly of himself, normally because he feels inadequate. Thirdly, a bully picks on a person who is different or thinks differently than him. In “Rowing the Bus”, Paul showcases the characteristics of a bully.
In the opening paragraphs of the short story, the readers get a sense of what Push is all about and gets some insight into the mind of the bully (Push). Push defines his art of bullying in a bold sentence, when Push says, “I'm Push the bully, and what I hate are new kids and sissies, dumb kids and smart, rich kids, poor kids, kids who wear glasses, talk funny,
The fourteen-year-old girl is a round and dynamic character with great depth. The round characteristics are seen within her broad and complex emotions. She has developed an aggressive temperament in response to abuse from her Apa and teasing from her sisters who call her “bull hands”, laughing at her masculine features. This temperament has led her to state: ”I began keeping a piece of jagged brick in my sock to bash my sisters or anyone who called me bull hands.” (Bausch) Her temper...
To summarize, the use of emotion, credibility and reasoning by Sally Thomas clearly and successfully argues that a boy is rough by nature and not violent given a war toy. The sequential use of reasoning, range of authority, and use of emotions in the article made the readers get into the character of a boy and truly understand the points Thomas was making. It is important to study the true cause and effects of violence on boys and act accordingly for fair and peaceful society. Thomas writes the article in order to make the readers realize the true fact behind the violence of boys so maybe people might make the right decision against the roughness.
...nd personal story that shows the pitiful characters of Arpi and Connie that are victims of bullying at school. Then she concludes the story with a “perhasping” image of Connie and her mother at 7-Eleven transporting the readers from a classroom setting of kids bullied in front of an absentminded teacher to a sad picture in front of a store window. Considering the future, Murphy encourages the reader to evaluate their stand on cruelty and to make that difference not treat one another different. Murphy through rhetorical and tonal elements of pathos, logos, and diction expresses that cruelty in any form is wrong no matter how one tries to justify it. Doing bad for good is never right.
The documentary "Valentine Road" connects with many ideas and topics that have been discussed in various theories, lectures, and book readings. This terrifying documentary shows the difficult lives of Brandon McInerney and Lawrence King. An unfortunate incident took place in Oxnard, where King has been shot and killed by McInerney. This entire incident was surrounded in controversy especially because of the fact that King was homosexual. There are quite a few ideas and topics of victimization that can be applied to both individuals, but some applicable ideas and concepts consist of identifying who the victims are and what consequences they suffered and also why, bullying, and criminological theories.
The documentary film Bully (2011) – directed by Lee Hirsh – takes the viewer into the lives of five families that live in various, predominantly remote, towns across the United States. All families presented have been affected by bullying, either because their child was at the time being bullied by peers at school or the child committed suicide due to continuous bullying. The film also profiles an assistant principle, Kim Lockwood, whose indiscreetness makes the viewer...
In the process of compiling the literary works I intended to include in this project, I began to notice a common thread that connected the works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry that I generally choose to read. That common tie that binds these books together is that they all seem to center, in one form or another, around the theme of oppression. Perhaps this is because I have some deep psychological need to diffuse the power struggles I experience within myself by gleaning insight from the pages of someone else’s experience. Or, perhaps it is merely because I have a predisposition to “root for the underdog”. Regardless of the reason, be it simple or complex, almost everything I read seems to engage a “David and Goliath” scenario.
Wilson, M. & Clark, R. (n.d.). Analyzing the Short Story. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.limcollege.edu/Analyzing_the_Short_Story.pdf [Accessed: 12 Apr 2014].
terror and cruelty - being used as a tug-of-war toy until the boys heard something "pop",
It only takes one bad experience to change your opinion on something. Imagine if you went through this same bad experience for months, or better yet years. Your whole personality, how you view yourself, and others changes drastically. This is what it feels like to be bullied. Bullying is a serious issue in America, especially among children and young adults. From kindergarten all the way up until my sophomore year of high school, I was a victim of bullying. Being bullied changed how I viewed myself and others, what my values and morals were, and it shaped me into the person I am today.