Being on the verge of adulthood and having just left the simplicity of childhood, teenagers have always been particularly complex and enigmatic individuals. While most people struggle to see things from an adolescent perspective, Canadian playwright Joan MacLeod is well-known for her accurate portrayal of teenagers. In 2002, she published The Shape of a Girl, a play related to the dramatic story of a young girl named Reena Virk who was tragically affected by bullying, a characteristic behavior of adolescent development. Throughout The Shape of a Girl, MacLeod effectively exploits the Aristotelian dramatic elements, and she uses Reena Virk’s story as well as the thoughts that it produces in the antagonist’s mind to portray both adolescent character
…show more content…
Brilliantly exploiting the element of thought in The Shape of a Girl, she details predominant adolescent behavioral patterns, notably bullying and social integration. Adolescents are commonly reproached for their disrespect towards authority. The two main forms of authority affecting teenagers being school and parents, both are scorned by Braidie in the play. It is mentioned on several occasions that she refuses to attend her classes on the pretext of being homeschooled and she constantly refers to her mother as “the voice of mum” which shows her obvious contempt towards her own parent. In opposition, like many teenagers, Braidie seems to hold unconditional loyalty to her friends, especially to Adrienne. As previously mentioned, teenagers construct part of their identities based on their social circle. Friendship is probably the most important aspect of adolescent development and it is clearly Braidie’s case. As she is reevaluating her relationship with Adrienne, Braidie says: “This is me without my friends. I am nothing, zero, zip. A black mark on the horizon” (MacLeod 43). This statement shows that Braidie heavily feels the pressure of fitting in. Even if she seems to disapprove of some her group’s actions, she gets along with it for the sake of integration. Adrienne is portrayed as being the leader of Braidie’s group of friends and she continually drives her friends towards …show more content…
She can directly detect “weaker” individuals based on their looks and consequently select them as victims. This process is at the source of peer bullying in schools. But as the persecution of Braidie’s “innocent and awkward” classmate Sofie intensifies, the protagonist starts to be uncomfortable with the situation (Byers 36). Braidie is empathic towards Sofie and this is shown in the play when she starts to be increasingly concerned with her classmate’s emotional state. She wonders why she feels the need to record information about Sofie and after a specific episode of bullying involving Adrienne, she “[feels] all weird and pukey” (MacLeod 55). Yet, this empathy is not enough for Braidie to intervene. She fears that helping the victim would lead to her being victimized: “Maybe they think that silence is the ticket, the only way to never end up like the girl” (50). Braidie’s struggle between empathy and the fear of rejection is highly representative of the actual case of bullying intervention during adolescence. A study conducted by Gini et al. observed a weak positive correlation between the level of empathy and defending responsiveness in cases of peer bullying. This research shows that students who stand up for intimidation victims are usually showing high levels of empathy, but while empathy does contribute to making some students intervene, most will choose to stay passive primarily due to the fear of
Brilliantly exploiting the element of thought in The Shape of a Girl, she details predominant adolescent behavioral patterns, notably bullying and social integration. Adolescents are commonly reproached for their disrespect towards authority. The two main forms of authority affecting teenagers being school and parents, both are scorned by Braidie in the play. It is mentioned on several occasions that she refuses to attend her classes on the pretext of being homeschooled and she constantly refers to her mother as “the voice of mum” which shows her obvious contempt towards her own parent. In opposition, like many teenagers, Braidie seems to hold unconditional loyalty to her friends, especially to Adrienne. As previously mentioned, teenagers construct part of their identities based on their social circle. Friendship is probably the most important aspect of adolescent development and it is clearly Braidie’s case. As she is reevaluating her relationship with Adrienne, Braidie says: “This is me without my friends. I am nothing, zero, zip. A black mark on the horizon” (MacLeod 43). This statement shows that Braidie heavily feels the pressure of fitting in. Even if she seems to disapprove of some her group’s actions, she gets along with it for the sake of integration. Adrienne is portrayed as being the leader of Braidie’s group of friends and she continually drives her friends towards …show more content…
She can directly detect “weaker” individuals based on their looks and consequently select them as victims. This process is at the source of peer bullying in schools. But as the persecution of Braidie’s “innocent and awkward” classmate Sofie intensifies, the protagonist starts to be uncomfortable with the situation (Byers 36). Braidie is empathic towards Sofie and this is shown in the play when she starts to be increasingly concerned with her classmate’s emotional state. She wonders why she feels the need to record information about Sofie and after a specific episode of bullying involving Adrienne, she “[feels] all weird and pukey” (MacLeod 55). Yet, this empathy is not enough for Braidie to intervene. She fears that helping the victim would lead to her being victimized: “Maybe they think that silence is the ticket, the only way to never end up like the girl” (50). Braidie’s struggle between empathy and the fear of rejection is highly representative of the actual case of bullying intervention during adolescence. A study conducted by Gini et al. observed a weak positive correlation between the level of empathy and defending responsiveness in cases of peer bullying. This research shows that students who stand up for intimidation victims are usually showing high levels of empathy, but while empathy does contribute to making some students intervene, most will choose to stay passive primarily due to the fear of