THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL BULLYING
AS SEEN THROUGH ELSIE EDWARDS
IN BARTHE DECLEMENTS
NOTHING S FAIR IN FIFTH GRADE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ARTANTYA KRISPRADIPTA
Student Number: 084214057
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL BULLYING
AS SEEN THROUGH ELSIE EDWARDS
IN BARTHE DECLEMENTS
NOTHING S FAIR IN FIFTH GRADE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
resen ted
as artial ulfillment of the uiremeneqts
fo
r the egree of arjana astra
in lishetters
y
ARTANTYA KRISPRADIPTA
tudent umber
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iv
It s better to burn out
than to fade away.
Kurt Cobain
When there s love,
there s life.
v
OR
MY LOVE,
SAFIRA PARAMARTHA.
LOVE THE LIFE,
FOR A SMILE OF
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
At first, my gratitude goes to Jesus Christ, My Lord, for His blessings. My gratitude also goes to Buddha, Goddess Sarasvati, and Kurt Cobain for the inspirations I could see and feel.
I would also give gratitude to Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S, M.Hum as my advisor for the helps, comments, ideas, and patience. I would also thank Dra. A. B. Sri Mulyani, M.A., PhD as my co-advisor, Adventina Putranti, S.S, M.Hum as my examiner. The gratitude also goes to Hb. Heri Santoso and Dra. Bernardine Ria Lestari M.S. for the criticisms, comments, and questions.
vii
admo, Neta, Kribo, Ari, Puput, Nggelong, Sarwedha, Gaplek Tua , Boncel,
Septian, Aci, and Saskia. For everyone not written and mentioned here, I note you in my heart.
Last but not least, my hugest and special thank goes to Safira Paramartha, a love to cherish and keep, since everything with her is easier, lovable, awesome, and unforgettable. Thank you.
x
1. Theories of Character and Characterization ... 11
2. Theories of Social Bullying and the Impact of Social Bullying ... 12
C. Theoretical Framework ... 18
A. The Descriptions of The Characters ... 26
1. The Description of The Victim of Social Bullying ... 26
a. Elsie Edwards ... 26
2. The Description of The Doers of Social Bullying ... 31
a. Jenifer Sawyer ... 31
b. Diane ... 33
c. Sharon ... 34
B. Social Bullying as Seen through the Doers of Social Bullying 36 1. Direct Verbal Aggression ... 37
xi
C. The Impacts of Social Bullying as Seen Through
the Victim of Social Bullying ... 44
1. Low Self-esteem ... 45
2. Embarrassment ... 48
3. Loss of Self-respect ... 51
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 55
xii ABSTRACT
ARTANTYA KRISPRADIPTA (2013).The Impacts of Social Bullying As Seen Through Elsie Edwards in Barthe DeClements Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
This study discusses the book entitled Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe Declements. The objective of this study is to show that social bullying done in the story may give impacts toward the victim of social bullying. There are three problems analyzed. These problems cover the description of the characters, the social bullying done in the story, and also the impact of social bullying that can be seen through the victim.
To answer the problems, the writer uses two theories. The first theory used is theory of character and characterization. This theory is used to describe characters. In this study, the characters analyzed are divided in two parts, the victim and the doers of social bullying. The second theory is theories of social bullying and the impact of social bullying. These theories are used to reveal that social bullying is done in the story and that social bullyings give impact toward the victim. In this study, the writer uses psychological approach to see the text. Psychological approach is chosen by the writer since social bullying and the impacts are mostly discussed as social-psychological problems.
For this study, the writer conducts library research. By taking this method, the writer can be closer to the text. Then the analysis is done by researching the data or theories by finding it in the books or internet.
xiii ABSTRAK
ARTANTYA KRISPRADIPTA (2013).The Impacts of Social Bullying As Seen Through Elsie Edwards in Barthe DeClements Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Studi ini membahas sebuah buku berjudul Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade
yang ditulis oleh Barthe DeClements. Tujuan studi ini adalah menunjukkan social bullying yang ada pada cerita tersebut mengakibatkan dampak yang timbul pada karakter utamanya. Ada tiga masalah yang akan dianalisis dalam studi ini. Yang pertama adalah deskripsi para tokoh. Yang kedua adalah social bullying yang terjadi di dalam cerita. Dan masalah terakhir adalah dampak yang dirasakan oleh tokoh utama dalam cerita tersebut.
Dalam pembahasan masalah- masalah tersebut, penulis menggunakan dua teori untuk mendasari analisisnya. Teori yang pertama adalah teori tokoh dan penokohan. Teori ini digunakan untuk mengetahui deskripsi para tokoh. Para tokoh yang dianalisa dibagi dalam dua bagian, korban dan pelaku social bullying. Teori yang kedua adalah teori social bullying dan dampak dari social bullying. Teori ini digunakan untuk melihat dan membuktikan bahwasocial bullyingterjadi di cerita tersebut dan mengakibatkan dampak dampak yang dirasakan oleh korban
social bullying. Dalam studi ini, penulis menggunakan sebuah pendekatan. Pendekatan yang dipakai adalah pendekatan secara psikologi. Pendekatan ini dipilih oleh penulis dengan melihat bahwa social bullying dan akibatnya merupakan masalah yang sering dibahas sebagai masalah sosial-psikologi.
Untuk studi ini, penulis menggunakan riset pustaka. Dengan metode ini penulis dapat menjadi lebih dekat dengan teks. Data dan dan teori yang didapat dari buku dan internet kemudian menjadi dasar analisis studi.
PTR
TROUT N
This chapter contains Background of the Study, Problem Formulation,
Objectives of the Study, and Definition of Terms. Background of the Study
describes the reason the writer has a study on the object of the study, Barthe
DeClements Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade. Problem Formulation provides the
problems or questions discussed in this study. Then, Objectives of the Study
comes with the purposes this study deals with, and, Definitions of Terms explains
the words or terms used in the study then to put misunderstandings away.
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Literary work grows as an important part of human life. Written texts are
taking a part in every step that can be found easily in times. Not only as a text, it
is an art. Literary work must be beautiful. It is not simply a work of art in artistic
way that contains aesthetic elements. Literary work brings a new condition by the
way it is formed in several ways. It can be formed as an expression created by the
witness of a certain experience and event and also can be formed as a document of
happening events in particular time. The author of the literary works tries to
shows a certain event by recording in a text. In Literature: Reading and Writing
The Human Experience, people understands literary work in different ways.
audiences over time. To still others, literature simply refers to what gets taught in schools and colleges, regardless of the reasons for their inclusion in the curriculum. How readers think about literature and assess literary value varies over time and even from person to person (Abcarian, Klotz and Richardson, 1998: 1).
Since the pure meaning of literature is still debatable, people can
understand literature as a subjective case. While one can understand one meaning,
others can understand other meanings, in this case, the meaning of literature itself.
It is like what Charles E. Bressler says in Literary Criticism: An Introduction to
Theory and Practice. He says that to solve determining the meaning, others
choose to define literature as an art, thereby leaving open the question of its being
written or oral. This further narrows its meaning, equating literature to works of
the imagination or creative writing (Bressler, 1998: 9-10).
Literature also can be considered as a tool to communicate with others.
The communication form can be varied. It can be in a form of news ,
photograph of a history, or, even, a criticism to a problem happening in the
society around the author of the literary work. One of the situation written in
literary work is social and psychological problem. As literary work can come as a
tool to show an event on a certain time, literary work can also show the reader the
social and psychological problem happening in a certain society and moment.
Literary work can show the reader the fact and condition related to social and
psychological problems. Many authors write down a story containing social and
psychological problems.
One of psychological problems appearing in literary works is bullying.
happen because there are the doers and the action of the doers results the victim of
bullying. Bullying mostly appears in school. In Human Development, bullying is
expanding form of aggression. It is stated that aggression and bullying are related
to what features of the social environment they pay attention to, and how they
interpret what they perceive (Papalia, Olds, and Feldman, 2004: 371). These
actions result different impacts. The results can be depression and other mental
sickness, even physical one. It is like what John W. Santrock writes in Life-Span
Development.
What are the outcomes of bullying? A recent study indicated that bullies and their victims in adolescence were more likely to experience depression and engage in suicide ideation and attempt suicide than their counterparts who were not involved in bullying. Another recent study revealed that bullies, victims, or those who were both bullies and victims had more health problems (such as headaches, dizziness, sleep problems, and anxiety) than their counterparts who were not involved in bullying (2009: 338).
Regarding bullying, Pamela Orpmas states that bullies are a prevalent
problem in schools and one of the biggest difficulties for student, teachers, and
administrators. There are a lot of discussion about the problem of bullying, but
there has been surprisingly little action (2006: 11). Orpmas statement shows the
importance to understand and handle bullying since bullying comes as a problem
not only for the students. but also for the teachers and their surroundings.
Helen Cowie and Dawn Jennifer state that any kind bullying may give
impacts toward the victim. Since bullying is not a light issue, teachers cannot
cannot refuse the fact that bullying is dangerous. In their statement, the teachers
must be capable to handle this kind of problem.
Teachers have a reasonable knowledge about the nature of school bullying, particularly physical forms. However, even though they recognize it as an issue, they often underestimate the seriousness of relational bullying and its negative impact on the victim. Furthermore, many teachers lack the knowledge, skills and confidence with which to recognize and challenge bullying. (2008: 1)
Experiencing the action of bullying is not a good feeling for the victim.
Being bullied can destroy a person s confidence and self-esteem. Mona O Moore
and Stephen J. Minton state that bullying may occur in many schools, but it
should be worried about, and should never be accepted. Words do cause harm,
and bullying is always harmful (2004: 1).
In this study, the writer wants to show that the book Nothing s Fair in
Fifth Grade, written by Barthe DeClements, contains the idea of social bullying
and the impacts of social bullying. This is similar with the impression by Laura
Fabiani, a book reviewer and a psychiatric child counselor, in her blog.
This is the third book I read for the Shelf Discovery Challenge hosted by Booking Mamma. Although written almost 30 years ago, this book still
award-winning journalist of education and social services, concludes that fifth
She states that kids of this age are seeking more privacy and independence, but
they still need their parents to be involved and to set boundaries
(http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/10623-fifth-grade-social-changes-what-to-expect). She also mentions that children in this grade
wants to be with their friends.
They want to be with their friends. They often get upset when their longtime pals form new allegiances or if they feel they are not part of the crowd. Your child s social life may be constantly changing today s best friend is tomorrow s enemy. (http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/10623-fifth-grade-social-changes-what-to-expect).
Helen Cowie and Dawn Jennifer state an addition information about the
condition of fifth graders. They conclude that children of this age tend to tease
each other. They tend to be aggressive toward the others in kinds of manner. On
some ways, physical aggression is done to tease and on the other ways, verbal and
relational bullying are chosen.
An American study that investigated elementary children s moral reasoning about physical and relational aggression found that fourth and fifth graders tended to rate physical aggression (e.g. hitting a peer) as more wrong and harmful than relational aggression (e.g. excluding a peer from one s group of friends). In addition, girls tended to judge aggression in general as more wrong than boys did, and were more likely to believe that relational behaviours were harmful for the victim. (2008: 4)
Considering the statement above, the writer sees that fifth graders are
active children. They tend to move more and have more activity inside their peers.
The condition brings the need of good social interaction and good atmosphere in
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To conduct this study, there are three questions formulated to answer. They
are:
1. How are the characters in the story described?
2. How is the social bullying revealed through the doers of social bullying
(Elsie s classmates)?
3. What are the impacts of social bullying experienced by the victim of
social bullying (Elsie)?
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The aim of this study is to find out the answer of the problem mentioned in
problem formulation. The first objective is to find out the way the characters are
described in the story. The aim of the first objective is to understand the role of
those characters in the story. The second objective is to find out the social
bullying happening in the story. The last objective is to identify the impacts of
social bullying described in the story as a result of social bullying done.
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)-To understand the terms or words written in this undergraduate thesis, it
would be better to know the terms of subject matter. In this study, the writer uses
the term social bullying. In Human Development: Ninth Edition, bullying is an
victim, typically one who is weak, vulnerable, and defenseless (Papalia, Olds, and
Feldman, 2004: 372).
Considering the meaning written above, social bullying can be understood
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The novel Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade is important to be studied. The
book is a reflection of experience got by the writer, Barthe DeClements. It
happens because she teaches and faces the students directly. In Nothing s Fair in
Fifth Grade, it is written that she goes not only as a writer or an author.
Barthe DeClements is a school counselor who has also worked as a teacher. While Ms. DeClements was teaching fifth grade, she wanted to make spelling and composition more interesting to her students. She began a story by writing a paragraph on the blackboard each week. Her students got involved in the story, and it eventually became Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade, Ms. DeClements first novel (1981: 138).
Though this book has not been an object of study in Sanata Dharma
University, there are students who have done studies on bullying. The writer also
does not find any study on Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade as an official study.
Seeing this point, the writer decides the review or studies of Barthe deClements
Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade, social bullying, and the impact of social bullying
as the material to review to complete the review of related studies. Then, the
writer believes that the explanation or comparison given will help the writer to
depart any chance of plagiarism.
Tia Ristiawati finds out that bullying happens in literature. Her research
entitledIjime/ Bullying in Japanese Children according to The Novel Gakko No
happened in the novel (Gakko No Sensee by Komatsu Eriko) (2007:xiv). From
the research she has done, she concludes thatijimeor bullying results bad effects.
The results of these researches are: first, ijime/ bullying in Japan is all kind of insults, exclusion, blackmail, and even violence done secretly many times by group to one same object whom weak or different from the others in the group. Second, the foundation of ijime s mental is one of the negative side which is appeared from some cultural values, such as: (a) uniformity and group oriented, (b) shame culture, and (c) family education. Some factors made ijime s mental developed are: (a) struggle in GNP, (b) academic stressing, (c) career women, and (d) teachers quality. And, third, the effects of ijime often appears in serious way such as: tookookyohi (school refusal), suicide, and murder (Ristiawati, 2007:xiv).
Wahyu Putri has a study on the bullying behaviour on school students and
she puts elevent grade students of SMA BOPKRI 2 as her subject of the study.
This study aims to describe of level of bullying behaviour of eleventh grade SMA
BOPKRI 2 in 2008/2009 academic year (2009:viii). From the study she has done,
she got points to bring. She concludes that the level of bullying behaviour of
eleventh grade SMA BOPKRI 2 in 2008/2009 academic year is low. She also
states that this fact means that generally those students do not bully each other.
But this problem may cause bigger crack without any control by the school
management and the parents of the students (2009: 67).
On the study Senior High School Student s Perception on Bullying
Behaviour in School: A Case Study at Kolese De Britto Senior High School and
Stella Duce 2 Senior High School of Yogyakarta, Benny Yuniarto brings
another tendency. For him, this research aims to know whether or not there was a
difference in student s perception in Kolese De Britto Senior High School and
in school (2007:vii). After the study s completed, he knows that there is no
significant difference between student s perception on bullying behaviour in
school (2007: 55).
Another study of bullying is done by Justinus Parlindungan Sihombing.
The study entitled Yogyakarta People Attitude toward School Bullying aims to
assess the attitude of people in Yogyakarta toward school bullying (2010:viii).
This study researches people living in Yogyakarta. The respondents are 14- 64
years old. The writer of this study concludes that the subjects of this study have
negative attitudes towards bullying (2010: 63).
Indriyani Sitompul also has a study on bullying. Her study titled Bullying
Phenomenon at Boys and Girls Student in 2nd of PIRI I Junior High School
Yogyakarta tries to study the types of bullying that exist, the places where often
be used to bully in school environment, the different of a number of the victim
and perpetrator of bullying between boys and girls student, the effect of bullying
to the bullies and the victims (2008:viii). As the result of the study, Indriyani
Sitompul shows that bullying oftenly happens in PIRI I Junior High School
Yogyakarta (2008: 62).
Considering any data got, the writer decides to have a study on the object
of the study with the focus of the study chosen. With this study, the writer wants
to discover something new, in this case the result of social bullying toward the
victim, with an object of the study that has not been discussed as a research. Any
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In every story, there must be characters running the story. It can be one be
the main character or not. Without any character in the story, it will not be a story
anymore. Characters appear in every part of the story bringing their motivation. In
drama, a character can be called as actor or actress. Their appearance brings
dialogue written in the script. In A Glossary of Literary Terms: Fourth Edition,
M.H Abrams states the definition of character.
The persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue- and by what they do-the action. The grounds in a character s temperament and moral nature for his speech and actions constitute his motivation. (Abrams, 1981: 34)
Abrams also states that the characterization is the process by which the
characters are rendered to make them seem real to the reader (Abcarian, Richard,
Marvin Klotz, 1998: 6) and characterization can be revealed by what characters
do, say, and by what other characters say or reveal (Abcarian, Richard, Marvin
Klotz ,1998: 21).
Hugh Holman and William Harmon brings another definition to examine.
For them, character is a brief descriptive sketch of personage who typifies some
definite quality. In the biography and the history, the author presents the
characters of actual persons; and in fiction (the drama, the novel, the short story,
and the narrative poem), the author reveals the characters of imaginary persons.
is called characterization. The ability to characterize is a primary attribute of a
good writer (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 81).
According to Holman and Harmon, there are three fundamental methods
of characterization in fiction. The first one is the explicit presentation by the
author of the character through direct exposition, either in an introductory block
or more often piecemeal throughout the work, illustrated by action (1986: 81).
The second one, they state that the presentation of the character in action, with
little or no explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the reader will
be able to deduce the attributes of the actor from the actions; and the last one
(1986: 81). For the last one the representation from within a character, without
comment on the character by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on
the character s inner self, with the expectation that the reader will come to a clear
understanding of the attributes of the character (1986: 81) comes as one of the
fundamental methods of characterization.
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In social life, there are connections among a person toward the others. In
childhood, children play and interact with their friends as a form of interaction in
their age. These interactions result many things. Interactions can result good or
bad things. The good things can be in the form of friendship or healthy peer. On
the contrary, bad things can come in the form of bullying. Referring to the age of
the characters, the victim and the doers of social bullying, in the book, the writer
they are fifth graders. Helen Cowie states in New Perspective On Bullying that
13 to 14-year-old pupils were more likely than 11 to 12-year-old pupils to refer
to an imbalance of power (Cowie, 2008: 5). Relating to some researches related
to bullying in social life, she also states that the bully and the victim, suggesting
that children did not share adult researchers claims that bullying is a social
process that extends beyond the bully/victim dyad (Cowie and Jennifer, 2008:5).
InLife-Span Development, John W. Santrock mentions the definition of bullying.
It is defined as a verbal or physical behavior intended to disturb someone less
powerful (Santrock, 2009: 337) , then children who said they were bullied
reported more lonely and difficult in making friends (Santrock, 2009: 338).
There is another statement of bullying. According to Brunstein Klomek, bullies
and their victims in adolescence were more likely to experience depression and
engage suicide ideation and attempt suicide than their counterparts who were not
involved in bullying (Brunstein Klomek & others, 2007: 46, 40-49).
In Personality Development, Elizabeth B. Hurlock places bullying as a
form of cruelty. Which forms of cruelty a person uses will depend upon which
give him the greatest personal satisfaction and which avoid or minimize social
disapproval. One of the most common forms is bullying-inflicting physical pain
on an animal or person who is smaller, weaker, or less able to defend himself
(Hurlock, 1974: 404). For Pamela Orpmas, the relational bully uses covert or
indirect forms of aggressions, such as intentionally isolating another student,
excluding peers from a group, threatening to withdraw friendship, or spreading
Helen Cowie differs bullying into three parts. The first one is direct
physical aggression. She states that direct physical aggression includes such
behaviours as pushing, hitting, punching or kicking (Cowie and Jennifer, 2008:
3). Another form of bullying is direct verbal aggresion. Cowie states that direct
verbal aggression may take the form of yelling abuse at another, name-calling,
using insulting expressions or making verbal threats (Cowie and Jennifer, 2008:
3). Cowie also states another form. It is indirect aggresion. For her, indirect
aggression, sometimes referred to as social aggression or relational aggression as
the term implies, uses less direct forms of aggressive behaviour such as spreading
malicious rumours about another, excluding a person from the group, or
disclosing another s secrets to a third person (Cowie and Jennifer, 2008: 3).
The doers of bullying have many reasons as their background to bully
someone else. One of the reasons coming as the object to bully is physical
appearance. Mona O Moore and Stephen J. Minton show that pyhsical appearance
can be the object to bully someone else. Physical appearance comes as a
differentiation in any relationships, mainly in children s peer. One can be picked
on because a bully will say that there is something wrong or different about the
bullied person s height (too short, or too tall) or weight (too thin, too heavy)
(O Moore and Minton, 2004: 74).
... Primary school aged children may lament, Oh, if only I were taller/shorter/fatter/thinner/didn t wear glasses/had a different hair colour/didn t have freckles/spoke differently/were better at (insert name of sport/activity) then I wouldn t get picked on! In other words, because those who bully typically single out a person for being somehow different
Bullying happens when the doers find a focus, in the victim, to bully.
Robbins and Parlavecchio state that in moments of disruption, such as in illness,
clumsiness, or exposure to the judgments of other people, the lived body becomes
an object of our attention (Robbins and Parlavecchio, 2006: 322). Children with
weaknesses will be the focus or the target of the bullying. Relating the statement
by Robbins and Parlavecchio, the condition of being the center of attention makes
the child may feel underpressured not to do something stupid. Hersen and Gross
state that socially anxious children often come into treatment believing they
cannot tolerate their fear in social situations, or with certainty that they will do
something stupid, peers will laugh at them, and they will feel greatly
embarrassed (Hersen and Gross, 2008: 702). Respect and impression by the
others will help a children to grow better. The child may feel that she or he is
accepted in that place. Lerner, Easterbrooks, and Mistry state that a young
child s assertion of self-will is a newly discovered self-conscious sense inspiring
reflection and requiring expression and respect from others (Lerner, Easterbrooks,
and Mistry,2003: 104)
InNothing s Fair in Fifth Grade, the action of social bullying mainly done by the girls towards Elsie as the victim. The boys bully Elsie too but the fact
found in the book says that the girls do more. Helen Cowie and Dawn Jennifer
state that boys were more likely to report being bullied by one boy or several
boys, whereas girls were more likely to report being bullied by one girl or several
girls (Cowie and Jennifer, 2008: 6). This statement shows that there is a tendency
The action of bullying results impact felt by the victim of bullying. The
impact comes as the feeling or respond toward many kinds of bullying. Mona
O Moore and Stephen J. Minton state that being bullied never did anybody any
favours all it does is to destroy a person s confidence and self-esteem, and to
causephysical, emotional and psychological damage of the potentially most
serious and long-lasting kind (O Moore and Minton, 2004:1).
There are kinds of the impact of social bullying. Helen Cowie states that
bullying has a negative impact on the wider social group with bystanders
experiencing fear, embarrassment and inadequacy, resulting in loss of self-respect
for not responding or responding ineffectively to a bullying situation (Cowie and
Jennifer, 2008: 25). Helen Cowie and Dawn Jennifer also state that the victim of
bullying may experience anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, and physical
and psychosomatic complaints (Cowie and Jennifer, 2008: 25).
According to O Moore and Minton, bullied students or the victim of
bullying have lower confidence and self-esteem. These feelings come as they are
stressful by seeing the condition that they are bullied. They have less willingness
to try something, moreover something new, and withdraw themselves from the
peer. Danuta Bukatko states boys and girls of elementary and middle school age
who are dissatisfied with and keenly concerned about their physical appearance
tend to have lower self-esteem (Bukatko, 2008: 426)
The statement written above shows that bullying is not a simple problem.
The impact felt by the victim of bullying places her or him away from her or his
surrounding. O Moore and Minton also state that the victim of bullying usually
shows her or his expression such as upset, sadness, anger; feeling that one has
failed to protect one s child (O Moore and Minton, 2004: 53). Low of self-esteem
may also resut loss of self-respect. Neil Thompson states that due to low
self-esteem, we do not stand up for ourselves, we will not earn respect, and will not,
therefore, have opportunities to boost our self-esteem. In this way we can become
trapped in a vicious circle of low self-esteem (Thompson, 2002: 39), and
according to Robbins and Parlavecchio, the loss of self-esteem model holds that
embarrassment results from a loss of self-respect or dignity as a result of the
negative evaluations of others (Robbins and Parlavecchio, 2006: 327).
Self-respect sometimes is considered to be similar with self-esteem. For
more understanding about self- respect, Ellen J. Langer, Ph. D states that the
person with self-respect simply likes her- or himself (Langer,
www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199911/self-esteem-vs-self-respect, 2011).
This self-respect is not contingent on success because there are always failures to contend with. Neither is it a result of comparing ourselves with others because there is always someone better. These are tactics usually employed to increase self-esteem. Self-respect, however, is a given. We simply like ourselves or we don't. With self-respect, we like ourselves because of who we are and not because of what we can or cannot do. (Langer, www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199911/self-esteem-vs-self-respect, 2011)
Thought self-esteem and self-respect look the same, they are actually
positively and hold it in high regard, but evaluation gets us into trouble because
while we sometimes win, we also sometimes lose. To respect something, on the
other hand, is to accept it (Langer, www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199911/
self-esteem-vs-self-respect, 2011).
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In this study, the writer takes some theories to do the analysis. The theories
written in Review of the Related Theory are used to answer the problems written
in Problem Formulation. In this part, the writer wants to frame the theories to
answer those problems.
The the theories of characters are to answer the first problem. By knowing
and understand what character and characterization are, the writer can understand
how to analyze the characters. The writer will be able to focus on the descriptions
of the characters. Knowing the descriptions of the characters will give more
determination to see the domination of social bullying and the impact of social
bullying experienced by Elsie Edwards.
The second one, the writer writes the theories of social bullying and the
impact of social bullying. It is important to see how social bullying is applied in
the story. These theories will give the writer the discourse to analyze the social
bullying reflected in the story. To realize that there is a phenomenon named
bullying, with its characteristics, the writer needs to really understand what social
bullying is. Some of the theories are also used to determine kind of bullying done
answer the third problem. Knowing the impact of social bullying gives the writer
of the study references to determine the impact of social bullying experienced by
Elsie Edwards in the story. The theories of the impact of social bullying helps the
writer to finish the last problem after answering the second problem since the
questions in Problem Formulation are related to each other questions.
By using these theories, the writer may complete the study more
systematically. Then, when the writer gets systematical study, there is always
more chance to have a better result of the study, and the theories written will be
rstPTuR v v v MuTsOwOLOxy
t z O{ |ec}~ S}dy
This study is focused on the novel entitled Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade
written by Barthe DeClements. She is a school counselor who has also worked as
teacher.Nothing s Fair in Fifth Gradewas firstly published in 1981, published by
Scholactic Inc. Nothing s Fair in Fifth Grade contains 137 pages which includes
16 chapters. This story generally tells children problems in making friends when
facing any physical differences. That differences, then, come as a problem that
makes this story interesting.
This story tells about a new friendship in an elementary school. A new
student named Elsie Edwards. She is blonde but fat. It makes everyone closes one
eye when seeing at her. Firstly, no one wants to make friend with her, including
Jenny, the narator of the story. They even bully Elsie in any kind of terms.
Someday, everyone catches Elsie stealing class money. It makes them hate her so
much. They keep distance from her.
When the story reaches the middle of the book, they find that Elsie is
really smart in aritmethic. Then, because of this thing, Jenny becomes closer to
Elsie, even places her as a tutor for artimethic. Firstly, people cannot trust Elsie.
They see Elsie is a fat girl that loves to take class money to buy snacks or candies.
friends with Elsie and and make many stories to remember. They also have their
life cheerful with cheerful peer.
Nothing s Fair in Fifth Gradedelivers the children point of view and also
the approach that is felt so close with children s world since it is written by a
school counselor who is close with children too. This novel is also appreciated as
a good writing since this book has received three awards. They are Bluebonnet
Award, Flicker Tale Children s Book Award, and Iowa Children s Choice Award.
h he Sdy
Mainly, a literary work does not contain the detail or particular
information about the recent cultural value, belief, condition of the society,
customs, wisdom, or events in that time. As a researcher, the writer needs an
approach to analyze the literary work well. Rohrberger states the importance of an
approach toward a literary work inReading and Writing about Literature.
Approach gives a significant influence and best guide to the appreciation of a particular work of literature. An approach has its proper insight to give, and part of the task of the critic and the reader of literature is to find the approach or approaches that will best lead to a just appreciation of a particular work (1971: 15).
Approach here means a way of dealing with the literary works the writer
study on. The approach is used by the reader to enclose the topic the writer wants
to analyze in the story and the thought of the writer. Based on the reading on some
references of the analysis on the novelNothing s Fair in Fifth Grade, it is good to
decide psychological approach to be an approach to analyze the text. By looking
social-psychological approach can overcome the problems as it is the closest
approach for the problems mentioned. In his book A Handbook of Critical
Approaches to Literature, Wilfred L. Guerin mentions that psychological
interpretation can afford many profound clues toward solving a work s thematic
and symbolic mysteries, but it can seldom account for the beautiful symmetry of a
well-wrought poem or of a fictional masterpiece (2011: 201).
Psychological approach was possibly the most controversial and least appreciated. However, psychological approach can be interesting since its proper purpose to interpret the literary work can improve the writer s understanding of literature. The approach lets the readers to analyze the characters psychology or condition in the literary works (Guerin, 1979: 125).
According to the statement above, psychological approach focuses on
human psychology which helps us to be close with a literary work from the
psychological point of view because it is related to human being s behavior
pattern and unconscious mind. Moreover, this approach is used because
personality is a subject of psychology where it involves pattern of behavior,
thoughts and feelings.
Looking at the fact that the problem discussed in this study, social bullying,
cannot be done without any social interaction, the writer chooses
social-psychological approach as a term to be a tool to complete the study. The term
social-psychological scopes the social interactions between the doer and the
victim of social bullying also the psychological problem felt by the victim of
As a conclusion, social-psychological approach can be a proper tool used
to be the approach of this study, in this case, a literary work study containing
psychological problem, social bullying and the impact of social bullying.
Meh Sdy
The writer uses a library research in writing the analysis. A library
research means the data taken for the research is based on book research. The
writer takes the data and the quotation from the book that is related to the study
the writer is focused on. In this study, the writers also uses primary and secondary
sources. The primary source is the novelNothing s Fair in Fifth Gradewritten by
Barthe DeClements. For the secondary sources, the writer takes psychology,
literature, and also sociology books, essays, journals, texts, and sites.
The first step is that the writer reads the primary source to get closer and
understand the problems raised in the story. Reading the primary source carefully
makes the writer understanding the significant detail in written in the story. From
the first step, the writer is able to see interesting points in the characters, social
bullying, and the impact of social bullying.
The next step is formulating questions in problem formulation. This is the
step the writer uses to give this study a scope so the explanation or analysis will
be focused on the points the writer wants to do a study on.
For the third step, the writer looks for any kind of secondary source in the
form of theories, texts, journals, books, sites, articles, essays, and any other
After that, the writer does the analysis on this study. The analysis can be
done by looking at the fact written in the novel then analyzing it with the theories
the writer has got or putting the theories as a consideration point to decide and
examine the problem in the primary source. As the final step, the writer draws the
PTR NLS
This is the chapter where the problems or questions mentioned in the first
chapter answered. According to the arrangement of the problem formulation, this
chapter will be divided into three parts, then an order to make a tidy arrangement
can be covered too.
The first part is focused on how the characters are described in the story.
Here, the writer divides this part into two parts, the victim of bullying and the
doers of bullying. The victim of bullying is Elsie and the doers examined in this
study are Jenny, Diane, and Sharon. The reason of the writer to choose these three
characters is based on their existence on the story since they take big part in the
story. Dividing the first part into two main points helps the writer of the study to
examine the description of those characters. The choice of the characters and the
descriptions of the characters analyzed is related to the two next parts, the
description of social bullying happening in the story and the impact of social
bullying experienced by Elsie.
The second part is focused on how the characters, in this case they are
Elsie s classmates, show social bullying in the story. The analysis in this part is
done by looking at theories written in the Review of the Related Theories. To
show that social bullying is done in the story, the writer does not border the
analysis by examining the actions related to social bullying done by the characters
In the third part, the writer is concerned on the impact of social bullying
experienced by Elsie Edwards. This concern means the writer of the study
examines Elsie s actions coming as a sign of experiencing social bullying. This
part shows the reader how Elsie experiences social bullying and shows the reader
of the story the impact of social bullying.
The analysis in this part is done by considering the theories written in
Review of Related Theories. Accrording to M.H Abrams, characters present the
dramatic situation in the literary work.
The persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue- and by what they do-the action. The grounds in a character s temperament and moral nature for his speech and actions constitute his motivation. (Abrams, 1981: 34)
Thee i¡ ¢i£¤£¥¢he¦h§ §¢e
In this part, the writer of this study examines two main points. They are the
description of the victim of social bullying and the description of the doers of
social bullying.
¨Thee i¡ ¢i£¤£¥¢he Vic¢i©£¥ S£i§ª«¬ ªªiy¤g
Since this story shows many characters, the writer decides to divide the
characters into the victim and the doers of social bullying. In this part, the writer
examines Elsie Edwards, the victim of social bullying. Elsie is bullied by her
classmates because she is fat.
§ª ®e dw§ d
Elsie Edwards, called Elsie, is a fat blond girl that is new in the school at
victim of bullying done by her classmates. She hardly can be accepted by her
friends because of her physical appearance. She has bigger body than anyone else,
so people close one eyes while seeing at her.
Elsie herself thinks that her physical appearance makes her new classmates
staying away from her. She thinks that she is too fat to be seen.
.... To be polite, Marianne asked Elsie what movies she d seen lately. Elsie said her little sister and her mother had seen a show over the weekend, but she didn t go.
How come you didn t go? Diane asked.
Mama has a sports car and it holds only two, Elsie said. Then you get to go next time, Marianne said.
I don t think so. Elsie shook her head slowly. Why not? Diane asked.
Well, Mama says I m big enough to stay home alone and my little sister isn t, Elsie explained.
defend Elsie by saying that Elsie can go on the next time. Here, Elsie feels that the
fact that she is fat makes her mother does not want other people to know that Elsie
is her mother s daughter. She thinks that her mother cannot stand on her physical
appearance. This case shows that Elsie is a¯°±e¯ygirl. She feels alone because her
mother oftenly leaves her herself, on the contrary, her mother asks Elsie s sister to
go with her. Being left home alone makes Elsie feeling no one likes her more. She
even feels that she can be taken outside like a kitten when her mother wants to.
Here, she shows that she feels no one is around her and tries to get her close with
I watched Elsie separate a yellow curl from the rest of her hair, twirl it around a thick finger, and yank on it. I guess Marianne saw this, too, because she suddenly asked me how my kitten was doing. I told her she had a sleeping box on the back porch. She had to stay outside all the time except when I was playing with her.
I bet Mama would like to do that with me, Elsie said. (DeClements, 1981: 14)
In the beginning part of the story, she steals her new classmates lunch
money so she can buy any meal to overcome her hunger. Her mother places her in
a diet and diversed life condition. The diet results bad actions, such as stealing
friends money, being sad and introvert.
In the story, Elsie is describes as a²³²c³ ´µ ¶i·² ¸girl. Being noncomplisnt here means she tends to fail or disobey orders given to her. In the story, because
Elsie is fatter than her classmates, her mother pushes to put her on strict diet. She
can only eat the meals put in her meal box. However, she breaks her diet by
asking other s meal. This behaviour, breaking the diet, raises effects on her
learning process at her new school. Besides being rejected at first by her new
classmates, the teachers and the principle of the school keep their eye sharply on
her.
Elsie s mother leaned over her and tried to talk quietly to Mrs. Hanson. We were all staring silently, though, and heard every word. Mrs. Edwards told Mrs. Hanson that Elsie was on a special diet. She was not to eat anything except what was in her lunch box. I thought to myself that it would take some special diet to melt off all that blubber. (DeClements, 1981: 4)
This is the condition showing Elsie is on a diet. Elsie cannot eat anything
except the meals served in her lunch box. Mrs. Edwards, Elsie s mother, tells Mrs.
teacher, Mrs. Hanson stands on this request. The way she becomes severe and the
part showing that Elsie is noncompliant can be seen in the story.
... Mrs. Hanson asked Elsie what she was eating. Elsie swallowed. Lunch.
Whose lunch? Mrs. Hanson wanted to know.
It s just some cornbread, Elsie said. Her cheeks had turned red, and the color dripped down her chins. Everyone was watching.
Elsie, your mother said you were on a strict diet. In this room you eat
tries to get more meals to fulfill her willingness to eat. She does not really obey
the rule her mother and the teacher make. It is not only about eating cornbread,
but more than that, it is about a girl who cannot control her desire. Elsie, as a child,
tries to fulfill her needs of eating. This action results a viewpoint of the reader
considering Elsie as a noncompliant girl.
... She got up to throw her napkins in the wastebasket. On the way back she stopped at Marianne s desk. Marianne s cornbread was on her tray. Marianne was watching Jack cut up milk straws for spit wad shooters.
Say, are you going to eat your cornbread? Elsie asked. Marianne continued to watch Jack.
Elsie didn t know Marianne s name so she poked her in the arm. Are you going to eat your cornbread?
Marianne, surprised, lookep up at Elsie. She shoved the tray forward. No, take it, she said. (DeClements, 1985: 6-7) n
Elsie asks everybody about their meals, in this case, cornbread. She asks
her classmates whether or not they will eat their meals. The classmate who can
willingness do not. The way Elsie is seen as a noncompliant girl does not appear
in a single time, but it is repeated. This action also becomes as decisive point to
state that Elsie is noncompliant toward her surroundings.
... Sharon was talking to Diane, who was holding her short black hair away from her face while she drank her milk from a straw. Elsie reached out and poked Sharon in the side.
Are you going to eat you dessert? she asked.
Yes, I am, Sharon answered and turned back to Diane. (DeClements, 1981: 6)
This part of the story shows the reader the refusal from Elsie s classmates.
Here, Elsie faces kinds of personalities of the peoples seeing her. By facing kinds
of personalities, Elsie can understand that, indirectly, there are borders made to
control her desire to eat. The borders come from the people with different
personalities. Those people can be kind persons or mean persons. On one side, she
maybe can get more foods, but on the other side, she maybe cannot.
With noncompliant behaviour and desire to eat, she steals some money so
that she can buy more food such as candy. In this story, some of the students lose
their money twice. After an investigation, the teacher and the principal catch Elsie
as the thief of her classmate s money.
I saw Elsie at the 7-Eleven, buying candy. She s on a diet. She isn t supposed to be eating candy. She paid with two quarters, and that s exactly what was stolen from Lester today. (DeClements, 1981: 31)
The text above is Jenny s words. The writer uses this part to show that
Elsie break the rules, in this case she goes out from her diet by buying then eating
the candy. In the end, the money used to buy the candy is known as the stolen
¹ºThe»e¼ ½¾i¿ ÀiÁÂÁ ÃÀhe»ÁÄ ¾¼Á à SÁ ½iÅÆÇÈÆÆyiÂg
After figuring out the description of the victim of social bullying, the
writer decides to analyze the description of the doers of social bullying. The doers
of social bullying are the stimulation for the impact of social bullying experienced
by Elsie. It is importance to have analysis on the doers of social bullying since the
analysis is related to how social bullying is reflected through the doers.
Considering the importance of analyzing the doers of social bullying, the
writer of this study decides to choose Jenifer Sawyer (Jenny), Diane, and Sharon,
as the doers of social bullying discussed since they take bigger part than the other
doers.
źÉÄÂife¾ SÅÊye¾
Jenifer Sawyer, her nickname is Jenny, is a fifth grade student. She is the
narrator of the storyNothing s Fair in Fifth Grade. She comes as the first person
for Elsie to talk to because the other friends do not like Elsie on the first time. She
is the one who takes Elsie to go around taking a sight at school and the first
person realizing that Elsie is great at aritmethic. In the story, Jenny is described as
aÈ Âf¾ieÂdÆygirl.
In the beginning, Jenifer Sawyer is described as a unsociable girl toward
Elsie. This label refers to the way Jenny behaves toward her friends or classmates.
This characteristic changes. In the beginning part of the story, she is depicted as a
girl who hates Elsie.
wide her skirt brushed the desks on each side of the aisle. As she walked by Jack s desk, he shrank back from her in horror. A few kids giggled. ...
Elsie was gross. Her eyes were squished above cheek bubbles of fat. Her chins rippled down her neck. She really didn t have a waist except where her stomach bulged out below her chest. Her legs looked like two bed pillows with the ends stuffed in shoes. I knew everyone hated having Elsie in our room in our room. (DeClement, 1985: 4-5)
In this part, the author of the book writes down the Jenny s perception
toward her new classmate, Elsie. From the way Jenny thinks and feels, the reader
can understand that no one likes Elsie since her first appearance. Then, that
thought can be understood as a part showing hatred of Jenny toward Elsie.
Thought, here, is kept in her mind but the way she faces Elsie shows that she does
not like Elsie. When she is asked to help Elsie going around the school, she rejects
it firstly then she asks Diane to do that business.
I tried to agree politely, but I didn t like having my recess ruined. I always play with Diane and Sharon, so when Mrs. Hanson left, I whispered to Diane that she could help show Elsie around, too. Diane whispered back to forget it. So I was stuck with Elsie. (DeClements, 1981: 5)
Jenny is asked to help Elsie, but because she does not like her, she wants
Diane to accompany Elsie to have a look on Elsie s new school. Then, on the
same time, Diane wants Jenny to forget that idea. It means Diane refuses to help
Elsie to go around since it is Jenny s task and because Diane does not like Elsie
too.
When Marianne starts to accept Elsie as her friend and chooses her to join
her group, Jenny tries to object. Jenny, Marianne, and Sharon are friends, and
Jenny wants her friend to join the group. She does not want a person whom she
considers not as a friend to work with. Here, trying to refuse Elsie to be in her
group shows that Jenny tries to keep Elsie away from her peer. She wants her
friend to be in her group but the fact states the opposite. The girl joining her group
is the girl who is not depicted as her friend.
Ë ÌÍiÎÏe
Diane is one of Jenny and Elsie s classmate. When Marianne can be close
to Elsie, Diane keeps herself away, even hates Elsie. Further, in the next part,
Diane is known as on of the doer the bullying. The writer of the study describes
Diane as a hostile girl toward Elsie.
Diane is ÐÏfÑie Ïd
Òy toward Elsie but she becomes veryÓ ÔÕiÎËÒewith the other friends. She hates Elsie for her physical appearance and she tries to keep
distant with Elsie, but she is very friendly toward her friends. The way the writers
states that kind of behaviour is based on the speeches and acts of Diane. She has
friends and she loves to join and play with them. She loves to play tetherball with
Jenny and Sharon, but she becomes different when she faces Elsie. She becomes
unfriendly only towards Elsie.
She s gross, Diane said softly. (DeClements, 1981: 4)
From this part, Diane shows that she has a specific point of view on Elsie.
In the dictionaryOxford Advanced Learner s Dictionary of Current English (Fifth
Edition), the word gross has many meanings. But by relating it to the text and
the condition that Elsie is a fat girl, the writer decides to choose that the word
gross means very fat and ugly (Hornby, 1995: 1056). She also hopes Elsie
isn t going to be in this room (DeClements, 1981: 4). In other word, Diane does
not want to be in the same class with Elsie.
I tried to agree politely, but I didn t like having my recess ruined. I always play with Diane and Sharon, so when Mrs. Hanson left, I whispered to Diane that she could help show Elsie around, too. Diane whispered back to forget it. So I was stuck with Elsie. (DeClements, 1981: 5)
In this part of the story, Diane and Jenny have a chance to be a friend or
closer while going around the school, but here both of them feels that being with
Elsie is not a good idea. Diane whispers back to Jenny so that Jenny forgets the
idea of Diane accompanies Elsie to go around seeing the school. There is a denial
for Elsie.
cÖ×hØÙÚÛ
InNothing s Fair in Fifth Gradewritten by Barthe DeClements, Sharon is
a name of Jenny s classmate. She plays with Jenny, Diane, and also Marianne.
They are best friends. In this story, Sharon is shown in particular part. She teases
In the story, Sharon shows similar charaterization with Diane. She is nice
toward Jenny, Diane, and Marianne, but she becomes unkind when she faces Elsie.
This description is shown since the beginning of the story. She does not like Elsie
being her new classmate.
I had just started my new paragraph when the classroom door opened and a woman and a fat blond girl walked in. Sharon sits behind me and I heard her say, Ugh. Diane sits beside me and she whispered, I hope she isn t going to be in this room. ... (DeClements, 1981: 4)
Sharon says Ugh when Elsie comes to the class. At that situation,
everybody grumbles for Elsie s appearance. On the same time, Sharon herself
shows her unpleasant expression. In onlineslangdictionary.com, Ugh means
exclamation of displeasure (Rader, 2010). This part shows that the first
impression toward Elsie is displeasure.
... Sharon was talking to Diane, who was holding her short black hair away from her face while she drank her milk from a straw. Elsie reached out and poked Sharon in the side.
Are you going to eat you dessert? she asked.
Yes, I am, Sharon answered and turned back to Diane. (DeClements, 1981: 6)
The unpleasant expression shown at the beginning of the story is continued
in this part. She indirectly rejects Elsie by directly turning back to Diane when
Elsie asks her her lunch. By turning back to Diane, it means that Sharon does not
want to see Elsie on a long time. This is like what happens on the time of pulling
her tray closer to her chest (DeClements, 1981: 11). Elsie tries to get more meals
by asking her classmate, but here Sharon does not like it at all. She is also keeping
ÞßSàáiâãÞäããyiåg â æSeeåç hèàägh çheéàêèæàë SàáiâãÞä ããyiåg
After describing the characterizations of the characters, the writer tries to
examine how the doers of social bullying reflect social bullying to Elsie. Bullying
happens since there are social interactions between the children. According to
Patti Ghezzi your child s social life may be constantly changing today s best
friend is tomorrow s enemy .
(http://www.schoolfamily.com/school-family-articles/article/10623-fifth-grade-social-changes-what-to-expect).
In the context of social bullying, the characters described will be divided
into two sides, the doers of social bullying and the victim of social bullying. By
reading the text, the writer is able to decide that the doers are Jenifer Sawyer
(Jenny), Diane, Sharon, and other classmates such as Roy and Jack. Then the
victim is Elsie Edwards. Based on the theories written in Helen Cowie s book
about the type of aggression, the writer divides the bullying into two parts, direct
verbal aggression and indirect aggression. The direct physical aggression is not
written since there are no proof in the story that the characters do physical
bullying.
The bullying done in the story mostly done by the girls, Jenny, Diane, and
Sharon. The boys also do the bullying but the data found in the story is lee than
the bullying done by the girls. Helen Cowie and Dawn Jennifer state that boys
were more likely to report being bullied by one boy or several boys, whereas girls
were more likely to report being bullied by one girl or several girls (Cowie and
Jennifer, 2008: 6). This statement shows that there is a tendency to bully person
doers find stimulations to bully in the victim. The way Elsie is fat and she steals
the class money stimulates the doers to bully. The bullying done is not based on
gender difference but based on the way Elsie s physical appearance and actions.
ìíîiïecð Veï ñ òóôggïeõõ ö÷ø
In this part, the writer analyzes the verbal bullying happening. This part
takes a big portion in the story. Direct verbal aggressions are done by Elsie s new
classmate but Marianne. Helen Cowie states that direct verbal aggression may
take the form of yelling abuse at another, name-calling, using insulting
expressions or making verbal threats (2008: 3). The verbal aggressions shown in
the story are to show that Elsie s classmates does not really like Elsie.
After that day the boys started calling Elsie Scrounge. And she was the class room reject. (DeClements, 1981: 12)
This part shows the way boys calling Elsie. In the dictionary Oxford
Advanced Learner s Dictionary of Current English (Fifth Edition), the word
scrounge has two meanings. As a verb, it means to persuade somebody to give
one something, or to take something without asking permission (Hornby, 1995:
1056), or, as a noun, it means trying to borrow or obtain something by scrouging
(Hornby, 1995: 1056). This word refers to Elsie s behaviour that she likes to ask
the other students their lunch or meals. Elsie asks this because she has no enough
meal in her lunch box and she still feels hungry for that, so she asks the other
students whether or not they want to give her their lunch or meals. The way the
boys calling Elsie as a scrounge is a form of verbal bullying. The proof that it is a
form of bullying can be seen by the using of the word started . This word
continued, because it is written in text that the boy started calling Elsie
Scrounge (DeClements, 1981: 12). For the result of this term of bullying is
Elsie was the class room reject (DeClements, 1981: 12).
Almost in the middle part of the story, Elsie is accused as a thief of
student s money. Jenny figures it out by looking at the money Elsie used to buy
candies. After that, she tells her friend that Elsie may be the thief of the stolen
money. Jenny s friend accept it as a chance to blame Elsie for the money stolen.
At lunch recess Diane decided she would do something about Elsie s taking her money. Otherwise, she said, she d never get it back. She marched up to Elsie with Sharon and me trailing behind.
So, Elsie, she said sarcastically, that licorice whip came in your lunch box.
What s it to you, Diane?
It s plenty to me, Elsie. I got cheated out of my lunch because of you. You owe me fifty cents!
You have lots of money, Elsie mumbled.
Oh, you think so, huh? Diane tossed her head back, flicking her bangs out of her eyes. (DeClements, 1981: 35-36)
Not only saying something sarcastically, Diane shows verbal aggression.
This aggression is shown to push Elsie so she confesses that she stole the money.
Putting the fact whether Elsie stole the money or not, the use of the physical
movement will threat somebody, the target, unproperly.
Another verbal bullying can be seen in the story. Mrs. Hanson asks
Marianne, Jenny, Jack, and Elsie to go to the library for some activity. Here,
Marianne does her arithmetic assignment and she faces troubles on working on it.
Then, Elsie offers some help and Marianne accepts it. Jenny pretends to be
working while Elsie explains the way to finish the assignment. Then, Elsie offers
