What I realized in this book (so far) is that people can easily grow uncomfortable around people who are different and new. They can't always accept that not all unknown people are bad.
What these people do is just disgusting. The behavior they have towards Katie is inexcusable. They decide to attack her before she decides to attack them, which was not in her agenda. They attack her with their glares, looks of hatred, and their words. I think it would take a lot of strength to keep your head held high given that so much hate is thrown at you.
Katie has not done anything to these kids. They feel that just because she's from the city that she's going to make herself seem superior to them and their small town ways of life. Why do kids do things like that? They decide to hurt the other person before the other person gets a chance to hurt them. Their like savages.
There's nothing wrong with trying to get to know someone. Maybe then you would have a choice whether to judge them or not. But these people don't realize that. They go right ahead and start making Katie feel like crap.
These kids are uncertain. That's exactly what they are. But they don't think about how much you can hurt someone just by the looks you give them or how you whisper about them when you think they don't notice. It hurts. Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me. Yeah, that's a whole lot of trash. We can't control how we feel. We can't control how to or not to let words affect us. We can't stop those words from searing through our hearts.
People say mean things to others thinking that those teeny tiny words will just bounce off of the person with no affect whatsoever. But they're wrong. We're only human, right? The lightning bolts they throw at us don't exactly bounce off of us like we're made of rubber. Because we're not made of rubber. We're made of flesh and bones. Then there are those people who say things that were meant to be mean. And they know that they have hurt us. They get pleasure from hurting others. That's not even human.
So everyone has said at least one mean thing in their life, no matter how perfect they claim to be. We can't judge books by their covers. We have to learn to give people a chance. Either to come out and show the world who they are or to prove themselves.
I really like how you asked questions and organized your Reading Response. A couple questions: Why do you think they treat Katie like that? Is there something in their own life that could be ticking off their anger and they just happen to let it all out on Katie? Could it be that they are insecure about themselves? Is Katie who she really says she is? Is there another side of Katie that may be mean or dishonest and you just haven't seen it yet? Should Katie come out of her "shell" that she is in and show that she is not who they think she is? And that she is worthy?
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I totally agree with you. You shouldn't make assumptions or treat anybody with disrespect if you haven't given them a chance. If I was Katie, I would stand up to them or confront them about this issue. I think that talking things out is the best way to resolve anything in life.
I like how you point out that although the saying says words don't hurt, i agree with you that they most definitely do. I also like how you point out that "these kids are uncertain." Most bullies are probably uncertain or insecure, and that's why they bully other kids, to feel better about themselves.
ReplyDeleteolivia, I think they do this because they are afraid of being treated like poop and stupid by katie.
ReplyDeletealex: i agree. bullies think they have the power to make someone feel like poop.