Lizzie Gilmartin Green
The Walking Boy Questions
What prevents a bystander from participating in an act against another individual or group? There are multiple reasons for people intentionally avoid bullying, but the most common reasons are the fear of the consequences and getting caught, not agreeing with the actions, and feelings of sympathy for the victim. In The Walking Boy, the narrator told about his actions against a black boy when he was younger. Although the narrator never swore or threw rocks at Jeff, he was still part of the problem since he didn’t do anything about to stop it. Looking back into his past, he realized that he didn’t throw rocks or swear. He had sympathy for Jeff. The author noticed that his family had a much …show more content…
Instead of listening to you as a voice of reason, the group will instead see you as a new threat and target you until they wipe all of your dignity away. “I watched it all, gripping a rock in my hand as though I were preparing to use it—so that no one would turn on me with anger or contempt—and I always stood a little behind them so they couldn’t see that I wasn’t throwing anything.” The boy didn’t want to throw the rocks, but he went out of his way to pretend he was on the same page as the rest of the group. He was afraid that his decision not to participate in the attack would turn everyone against him. As said in the story, the group of boys stuck together because they thought Jeff may attack them if they were alone. After all, Jeff was much stronger and older than they were. The group of white boys was a force only because they were huddled together. Once they spread, Jeff could easily beat them all with his strength. “We were pretty sure that, as long as we huddled in a small group, he wouldn’t attack; but if we separated he might go for one of us. So we gathered like a Greek chorus to curse, and Jeff kept walking.” Since the narrator said he was one of the youngest involved in the event, if he became isolated from the crowd because of his pivotal decision, the stronger group of boys could easily overpower him.
Even if you don’t become a target, the efforts to halt the bullying may still worsen the situation. The bystander will always be afraid that they will never be able to stop the torture by themselves. The only other option besides speaking up would be walking away. It takes courage to leave a situation and risk losing your
The Walking Boy Questions
What prevents a bystander from participating in an act against another individual or group? There are multiple reasons for people intentionally avoid bullying, but the most common reasons are the fear of the consequences and getting caught, not agreeing with the actions, and feelings of sympathy for the victim. In The Walking Boy, the narrator told about his actions against a black boy when he was younger. Although the narrator never swore or threw rocks at Jeff, he was still part of the problem since he didn’t do anything about to stop it. Looking back into his past, he realized that he didn’t throw rocks or swear. He had sympathy for Jeff. The author noticed that his family had a much …show more content…
Instead of listening to you as a voice of reason, the group will instead see you as a new threat and target you until they wipe all of your dignity away. “I watched it all, gripping a rock in my hand as though I were preparing to use it—so that no one would turn on me with anger or contempt—and I always stood a little behind them so they couldn’t see that I wasn’t throwing anything.” The boy didn’t want to throw the rocks, but he went out of his way to pretend he was on the same page as the rest of the group. He was afraid that his decision not to participate in the attack would turn everyone against him. As said in the story, the group of boys stuck together because they thought Jeff may attack them if they were alone. After all, Jeff was much stronger and older than they were. The group of white boys was a force only because they were huddled together. Once they spread, Jeff could easily beat them all with his strength. “We were pretty sure that, as long as we huddled in a small group, he wouldn’t attack; but if we separated he might go for one of us. So we gathered like a Greek chorus to curse, and Jeff kept walking.” Since the narrator said he was one of the youngest involved in the event, if he became isolated from the crowd because of his pivotal decision, the stronger group of boys could easily overpower him.
Even if you don’t become a target, the efforts to halt the bullying may still worsen the situation. The bystander will always be afraid that they will never be able to stop the torture by themselves. The only other option besides speaking up would be walking away. It takes courage to leave a situation and risk losing your