More handpicked essays just for you.
The effects of peer pressure on teenagers
Strengths and limitations of sociocultural theory
Negative effects of peer pressure towards teenagers
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Please Stop Laughing At Me by Jodee Blanco is an autobiography of her life during her time at school. There are many messages in this story. The one that is most overwhelming and powerful is the message about teenage and adolescent peer groups and the torment and social isolation that comes with not belonging to one of the right cliques.
Her story relates her life from fourth grade to high school. Jodee wanted to be part of the right group of people. She says things like, "I will be embraced by the mysterious elusive society called the popular crowd'"(8). Calling the "popular crowd" an "elusive society" helps to establish how hard it is to get into a certain peer group. Later in the story, Blanco tells the reader exactly who these elusive cliques are in her school:
Every school bus
…show more content…
The article goes on to say, "Yet cliques are more than that: they have a hierarchical structure, being dominated by leaders and are exclusive, so that not all individuals who desire membership are accepted" (Adler & Adler 145). These two statements explain how influential cliques are on young children, and how they often lead to social isolation.
In the book, Blanco is never really accepted into the group she so desperately strives to join. The experts also agree with the fact that if a person does not fit into a social group, it is possible that one day that person will be tormented. Adler and Adler give a possible answer to why this is happening: "Being picked on instilled outsider with fear, grinding them to accept their inferior status and discouraging them from rallying together to challenge the power hierarchy" (Adler & Adler 154). This is probably why Blanco never stands up for herself in the
“Something happens to individuals when they collect in a group. They think and act differently than they would on their own. (17)” States Carol Tavris in her article, “In Groups We Shrink From Loner’s Heroics”. Tavris believes people who are in groups tend to act in a more sluggish manor than those alone. She states many examples of this theory in her article, including the story of Kitty Genovese which is stated in the first paragraph. Kitty was stabbed repeatedly and killed in front of her New York apartment. No one did anything to stop this heinous action from taking place. Within her essay she obtains rhetorical appeals to prove that her statements are plausible to the audience.
All in all, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton shows us the impact of how social classes in society can be perceived. The author successfully establishes that two worlds, no matter how different they may be, still have a commonality between them. This gives the readers a greater understanding that regardless of how big the difference is, there can still be an
Make a beginning This social issue has inspired many notable works in various forms such as literature, film and song. This includes the novel Please stop laughing at me by Jodee Blanco, the film Bully written and directed by Lee Hirsch, and in the form of lyrics from artists such as Jessie J, Lady Gaga and Eminem. The novel, Please Stop Laughing at Me by Jodee Blanco, is a memoir based on the bullying that went on throughout her years being school. (Take about the beginning- reunion) It all began when Jodee was in grade 5 and had offered to volunteer with the special needs students in her school. Jodee began to hang out with one of these students after school and Jodee’s friends told her that if she continues to hang out with the “retards”, they could no longer be friends. As she continued on to middle school she had met new people, which meant she had the opportunity to have a fresh start. She had been in “the popular crowd”, until her friend Callie had a party. During Callie’s party, Jodee felt uncomfortable around her friends because they were doing sexual things that she decided to call her mom, everyone at the party got in trouble. After Callie’s party, those students who were once her friends became bullies and started to harass her. They had harassed her so much that she had decided to move schools. When Jodee moved into her new neighbourhood, she mad a ton of friends that summer. But when she stood up for something that she thought was right, the bullying began again. Jodee was verbally, emotionally and physically harassed by almost everyone. While she was going through a phase of depression, she gained a friend who was once bullied by those who were bullying her and friends that she made when she went to Greece as a get ...
The high schools are made up of cliques and the artificial intensity of a world defined by insiders and outsiders. (Botstein pg.20) The insiders hold control. over the outsiders because of good looks, popularity, and sports power; the teacher. and staff do nothing to stop them, the elite.
I will explore how social classes frankly appear and build up the story of the book by comparing and contrast with a modern social hierarchy. Today, we’re living in a society with social classes existing. We can be classified in different classes and so do I. I wish I could designate my social status, but unfortunately, our social classes are usually determined by wealth (income), occupation, education and prestige. Social class can be shown in a pyramid structure and it usually comprises with upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class and lower class.
Examine fully the writers use of humour in The Opposite Sex by Laurie Lee This essay aims to examine the use of humour in Laurie Lee's short story 'The Opposite Sex'. It tells the story of a teenage boy who is led to his first sexual experience. As much of Laurie Lee's writing was autobiographical or loosely based upon his own life we may assume that this is the tale of Lee's first sexual encounter, yet there is no definite proof to support this argument. Lee was born in 1914 and raised in his birth-town of Slad, Gloucestershire where he later went on to set many of his novels, including 'The Opposite Sex'. His other works were set in countries in which he had spent a lot of time whilst travelling as a young man during and after the Second World War.
The Outsiders is a novel by S.E Hinton, that follows a young boy named Ponyboy who grows up in a gang. Johnny, Sodapop and Darry help him find how he fits into the world and without them he would have a hard time finding his own identity. Without having a close group of friends he would have a tough way of life, especially with the Socs. Being in a group that you associate with, that have different values to yourself can lead you to disregard your own ethics and do things you wouldn’t normally do, but at the same time this can assist and reinforce your own values…
There are many different examples demonstrating that the bullying experiences of the author are the main idea of the book. From 5th-12th grade she was tormented by her classmates. But her family and the friends she made along the way helped her get through and and overall she says it made her a better person. She overcame what happened her and let it change her in a positive way. She now works to prevent what happened to her from happening to anyone else. What could you do to prevent it? In conclusion, the main idea of this book is that bullying was a common occurrence in the life of Jodee Blanco but now the most common occurrence in her life is success.
Identity is a substantial component of a person, it’s something that determines who they are and help establish themselves with people who you find enjoyable and shares similar interests. It could bring people together, and provide a sense of belonging and unity. However, there are times where these people who are within certain cliques are perceived more negatively or believe that all people within that group perpetually have a certain set of traits. In most cases, these negative perceptions lead to discrimination and conflict, and obscures the positive and more genuine traits of an individual. In S.E. Hinton’s book, The Outsiders, there is a group of poor and lower-middle class teens who are labeled as greasers. This group of wild teenagers
The bus is filled with children ranging from grades six to twelve. There is chatter surrounding me. People are discussing their hobbies, homework, and weekend plans. Imagine a girl squeezing through the aisle, while getting pushed to the left and to the right. She takes a seat and looks over her shoulder. There are three more students lounging next to her. One is blasting his music.Another is talking on her cell phone. The third person is shouting to his friend across the bus. As she hangs off her seat, she ponders about how convenient it would be to have an after school club. An after school activity that everyone would appreciate would be a book club because members can discuss the books, find unfamiliar genres to read, and establish new friendships.
Laughter therapy started in the 1970s and is a non-invasive, complementary and alternative therapy (Cousins,1976) Laughter therapy, which uses humour to improve quality of life, decrease pain, reduce stress and has become a therapy trend according to recent studies (Weiss,2002;Balick&Lee,2003;Bennett,Zeller,Rosenberg,&McCann.2003 MacDonald,2004;) The merits of this therapy are that it is easy to recommend and does not cause contrary effects with respect to side effects dose, allergies, and (Strean,2009) Around the world, there are several laughter therapy clinics operated with the purpose of emancipating anti-stress and increasing happiness by practicing laughter,( Ghodsbin, Ahmadi, Jahanbin,
These types of social groups can make a person feel left out or humiliated. Some cliques will “jeer at others, humiliate people or choose to exclude” others (“How Cliques Make Kids Feel Left Out.” ). Excluding a person could make them sit away from the group and feel isolated. Cliques are formed and separated from everyone else due to different reasons. They can separate due to race, gender, and social class. This group can also be caused by a feeling of homophily, to stick around people that share a common interest, which affects the process of “peer selection and socialization” (Goodwin). Cliques could also separate themselves through popularity. A group of people may look at themselves as “’cooler’ or better than others” (“Friends, Cliques and Peer Pressure | Barnardos Ireland.”).This type of judging could affect the way other groups look at themselves and others. Teenagers in different cliques from one another “tend to inflate the positive qualities of their own crowd” while as well as “exaggerat[ing] ...
Never forget to laugh. "If you can laugh at it, you can survive it" (Cosby). Life is difficult for everyone. It is how people deal with these strives and struggle is what matters. Sometimes, the best way to get a break from the hardships of life is to simply laugh with friends and family. It’s a Balance process. Some people can be caught up in life’s problems and forget to laugh. Laughter is the mental medicine for life. Laughter supports the health of the body. Laughter can break up the quietness in a room. Laughter can change the room from black and white to a rainbow of colors. Laughter is a result of looking at something in a positive light. Is the glass half empty or half full? Whatever the circumstance, never underestimate the power of a good giggle. Never forget to laugh.
There are some reasons that people have enjoyed a sense of humor in this world. What does enjoyment cause the effect on people to have a sense of humor? The cause of enjoyment can bring out a sense of humor to others by bringing the voice of laughter and showing the happier side to people who have faced some difficult obstacles. From my experience in humor, I see and hear some jokes, facial expressions, and fondness with other family and friends. My experience in-jokes can entertain me in some certain ways in my life when I was feeling depressed. The pleasure humor can bring something relevant to people so that they can form better relations with people in this world. From some other theories, there are some different ideas from the sense of humor in the enjoyment that can be found especially funny through pleasure humor, physical humor, and affiliative humor.
Those who use humor to its best advantage teach others by example. Instead of getting angry when something goes wrong, we should try to look for the humor in the situation. It eases tensions and keeps things in perspective. Humor can energize us when a task has become tedious. Humor can make even the worst of situations tolerable.