Now, for those of you who haven't read this little gem of a book, shame on you, and you might want to stop reading this post right now, for there will be spoilers.
Now, The Snake Pit is written in a very different way, for a very specific purpose. It's written from the point of view of all involved, in interview form. I did this to show how different people can all see the same thing, yet interpret it in a totally different way.
The Bully: Sees nothing wrong with what she's doing. She's beautiful, popular and entitled.
The Best Friend: Sees exactly what's going on and tries desperately to get someone to listen.
The Teachers: All see what's happening, but figure "kids will be kids" Ignore it and it will all go away.
The Principal: Refuses to see what's right in front of him. Protects the bully, rather than the victim.
The classmates: All see what's happening, thankful that they are the not the ones being bullied. All stand by and say nothing.
This is not a feel-good story. You will not walk away after reading this with a restored faith in your fellow man. What I hope people take from this story is a little bit of awareness. Some compassion, perhaps, and the knowledge that bullying is not a "kids-will-be-kids" problem anymore. Bullying can cause long-term damage, damage that, unfortunately, cannot be repaired. Frankly, it's war on our nations children, and children shouldn't have to die because they don't fit in.
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