Compassion confronting intimidation

Book read: Egghead by Caroline Pignat

Brief summary – Will Reid and Katie came from the same elementary school. When he becomes the perfect target for Shane, the grade nine bully. Katie tries her best to defend Will from Shane, however it comes with a great cost. Devan has been part of Shane’s bullyboy team until he befriends Katie and realises that it is not wise to back Shane up for every prank. He also realised that he is as bad as Shane as he chose to look on instead of helping the victim out, which leaves him very guilty. Egghead goes through the modern day teen’s classic dilemmas and how to conquer them with much food for thought.

When I compare my life to the main characters in Egghead, I feel that I am going through a very safe and secured schooling life. Will, also known called Egghead, is known for his gawkiness. After being embarrassed by wearing pink underwear, the whole school makes fun of him and he never gets a day without people bullying him. Unlike him, I study in a very safe school where no bullying occurs. Bullying in school may seem like an impossible thing yet it is thriving in American schools. Devan, who used to follow Shane and his ways, realised that it is not very smart to keep backing him up. He requires huge courage to go against Shane. I am elated that I do not have to go through such troubles. Katie, on the other hand has different problems. As friends since elementary school, it is only natural that Katie help protect Will when he faces difficulties with Shane. However, Shane has also targeted her as a victim as she helps Will too much. There will be misunderstandings between them as a couple and this will cause their friendship to turn sour. I am lucky that I do not face such understandings.

I will change the ending paragraph of the story from “I smile too. It hurts my cheek, but I just can’t stop” to “ I was flushed with relief and elation, I beamed till it hurts my cheek. After all I had been through in my life, I felt the true happiness that overwhelmed me now. I was glad that I had listen to Will instead of Shane. It was worth it.” I changed it because I felt that old paragraph did not tie in properly with the theme of bullying and friendship. I changed the paragraph to give greater elaboration to show that the choice Devan made was the right choice instead of choosing his old path of bullying, it also ties it with the themes more than the previous paragraph.

This is an excerpt of the story from Will point of view. "I squirmed and thrashed around while Brad continuing taping me. He seems to be gaining pleasure as a smug grin appeared on his mouth. His eyes landed on the ant farm which I spent much time on it. He slowly pushed the ant farm until it was wobbling precariously at the edge of the table. I felt the my eyes are coming out of its socket. ‘You got something to say?’ Shane asked, in a piteous voice, picking some cards off the table. I totally ignored his taunt and lunged straight for Brad. I knocked him squarely on the back and sent him flying. His face crashed down and squeaked across the floor like a wet gym shoe. I stood over him, observin that his eyes were in total shock.”

I think that the author intended teenagers to read this book. It is a book that depicts the scenario of bullying, which is thriving is certain schools. Through her depictions of Will, Katie and Devan, she shows that bullying will harm a lot of people and relations cold be broken as a result. Friendships will be taken to the test and this book will tell teenagers that losing friends may not be such a bad thing after all. The author wants to teach us certain things – how not to be a bystander to bullying, how to stand up for your friends and how to do with consuming rage.