Jet Holder
3/1/19
Bullying
The issue of bullying is a big problem not only in books and in movies, but is a huge real life problem. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), around 4,400 kids commit suicide because they are severely bullied every day. This is horrible and shocking and kids who are victim to bullying, bullies, schools, and the kids parents should do more to end this. The issue of bullying was brought to my attention through the novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Throughout the novel, the main character Junior is bullied very often and this example is not only in the book, but in real life as well.
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior is bullied a lot. He is bullied for how he looks, how he acts, for being an Indian, and a lot of other things. This is not just in the book, but in real life everywhere. According to Stopbullying.gov, 28% of all middle schoolers and high schoolers admit that they are bullied every day. Teachers underestimate how much kids are bullied or how bad it is and pay little attention to the fact that kids are bullied most of the time. But imagine being where these kids are at. Most have a mental illness or have a broken home or family life. It would be hard to cope with these things going on in the first place and then even worse for people to make fun of you for it at school. The kids are often even to scared to tell their parents or teachers and half of the time, parents are completely unaware their kids are bullied.
Bullying is bad and we need to most importantly get the schools, kids, and parents involved to put an end to bullying. Bullying ruins kids’ lives, especially if they commit suicide because of it. This not only destroys the victim’s life, but their family’s too. If the schools and their parents were more involved, we see a huge decrease in bullying in U.S. schools. If you are a victim of bullying, you should not be afraid either stand up for yourself like Junior did, or tell your parents and teachers. If you do not stand up for yourself, it will continue to happen and no one will care. You should do the same if you witness bullying. You should stand up for that person and then tell a teacher or an adult. If we do these things, we will see a lot less bullies in schools today.
The issue of bullying was brought up to me through seeing the struggles of Junior in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Not only do fictional characters struggle with this issue, but it is a huge real life problem that we need to do more to put an end to it. If we are a victim of bullying or see someone being bullied, we should stand up for them or for ourselves. Bullying ruins kids lives and no person deserves to be treated as if they’re of less value or importance than someone else.
Bibliography
“StopBullying.gov.” StopBullying.gov, Department of Health and Human Services, www.stopbullying.gov/.
“Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/.
Alexie, Sherman, and Ellen Forney. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Little, Brown, 2007. Print.
