Perils of Peer Victimization

Peer victimization as a social behavior between children and their peers has become of paramount importance within education institutes. Two Canadian literature pieces, Cat’s Eye and The Shape of a Girl, were able to highlight the psychological pain inflicted onto others through bullying. In Cat’s Eye by author Margaret Atwood, Elaine Risley, remembers her childhood memories of a relationship with a bully, and how it affected her life and changed her from a weak girl into a strong woman. The Shape of a Girl by playwright Joan MacLeod, tells audiences a short story between a victim and a bully, Braidie. As a result of the destructive psychological effects caused by bullying, many individuals were forced to live a life in complete fear. However, the ways people cope with these situations are significantly different. Many victims tend to hold these repressed emotions deep inside their heart, producing psychological injuries. From literature, it can also be identified that a bully may also suffer from similar psychological pain as a victim, but struggles to find a way to deal with their pain, resulting in an endless chain of peer victimization. Understanding from both a victim and bully’s perspective, it can be finally understood that these very different characters have personalities that essentially parallels.

Being bound by the tormentors of their lives, victims are unable to break free of the chain holding them back from discovering themselves. An unfortunate victim of bullying, Elaine Risley was portrayed by Margaret Atwood to show qualities of fear and her struggle for individuation, “I’m having that trouble myself now; too close to a mirror and I’m a blur, too far back and I can’t see the details.” (Atwood 15) With the weakenin...

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...ound by a bully, victims are unable to escape the endless loop. Bullies on the other hand, do not even bother to understand a victim’s suffering. However, while bullies may have their own reasoning behind their display of power, their mindset is actually quite similar to a victim. The destructive psychological effects inflicted onto others creates unfortunate victims that cope with situations differently, some stay silent while others inflict more pain onto others. While modern literature such as Cat’s Eye and The Shape of a Girl only highlights the endless loop of the decay in the education system, a journey for self-individuation is the solution that is required for both victim and bully to end the outrageous trend.

Works Cited

MacLeod, Joan. The Shape of a Girl;Jewel. Vancouver: Talon, 2002. Print.

Atwood, Margaret. Cat's Eye. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Print.