Josie and Peter were friends until the sixth grade. Is it understandable that Josie decided not to hang out with Peter in favor of the popular crowd? Why or why not? How accurate and believable did you find the author’s depiction of high school peer pressure and the quest for popularity? Do you believe, as Picoult suggests, that even the popular kids are afraid that their own friends will turn on them?
Middle school and high school are cut-throat. They were when I was a kid, and I have to believe they are even more so now. Forget about classes, teachers, and tests...the friends you make and maintain are what actually matter the most throughout these years. For those souls that find themselves without friends it must be nearly impossible to survive day after day in those long halls.
Is it understandable that Josie chose popularity over Peter? Of course. In my opinion, Josie wasn't rejecting Peter, so much as she was choosing survival. Already in the 6th grade she understood that her school days would progress much easier if she chose those who had the upper hand rather than the lower. She knew that life would be difficult with a friend like Peter--that she would be teased, ridiculed, and mocked on a daily basis. And based on this knowledge, she chose to take the path that would seemingly lead to less pain. The path that led to friends, boyfriends, designer clothes, recognition, parties, and most importantly...approval. However, in the end, one might argue that she actually experienced even greater pain in her role as the popular girl. The popular girl with the abusive boyfriend. The popular girl who felt alienated from her mother. The popular girl who didn't know who she was.
From the stories I hear from my nieces and nephews, read in the news, and watch in movie depictions, Picoult's portrayal of high school life is right on target. I am amazed by the things I hear kids say and do these days. Movies like "Mean Girls," reports of hazing incidents, and interactions with students in the City within which I work, all reinforce the ideas of class and social standing that Picoult alludes to. For many, life is all about what you have and how you look, and status and ranking are based on your possessions and the manner in which you can display them. We've become so consumed with vanity and materialism, and it is beginning to define who we are.
It would seem that the popular kids would feel secure in their places, but most must live with the fear that the same people who they gossip with about others, may one day turn around and gossip about them. In the quest to stay at the top, these kids know that they're willing to do almost anything to retain their position. What could that possibly mean if they get in the way of someone else's climb, friend or not?
I find it interesting to talk about these "high-school" popularity issues, as I see them everyday in my job, my family, and even my church. How do we teach children to value people when this harmful environment is perpetuated in many areas of our lives? How do we break the cycle?
Currently Reading
Feel free to join us! We'll start the discussion on November 19.
2 comments:
It is hard to teach children to value people when all we want is for our kids also to survive.
Lacy probably turned a blind eye to what was really going on with Peter because she didn't want to deal with what she would see in her little boy.
Originally, Lacy was trying to teach Peter to be himself, to have values, and yet he gets rejected. She had a chance to break this cycle, the teachers at all of Peter's schools had a chance to break the cycle, but they all remained paralysed to the real issue at hand.
What is the solution? I have no idea, but I can be sure that it will not be an easy thing to do.
Isn't that the truth?
And a sad, harsh truth at that.
What kind of world are we teaching our kids to grow up in and why aren't we making it better for them in this way?
Post a Comment