Please Stop Laughing at Me
Jodee Blanco
Summary
Please Stop Laughing at Me by Jodee Blanco is an autobiography of Jodee’s high school life. Even from her first day of school she was different, she stuck up for the underdogs. People didn’t appreciate her helping their victims and were mean to her. Jodee was physically and verbally assaulted at school everyday. When Jodee would tell her parents they would feel bad for her but also blame it on her. Eventually Jodee stopped telling her parents the awful things these kids were doing to her. In this book we follow Jodee’s rollercoaster and learn how she became stronger. In her story she quotes, “You should be so proud of yourself.”
Get to Know Jodee
Jodee Blanco is a warmhearted girl. Her whole family for the matter were very loving and thoughtful people. In her book she writes, “Their friends enjoyed being around them. It was as if they gave off a glow, and others wanted to share their light.” pg.23 She always was nice to everyone, like her deaf friend Marianne and always stuck up for the kid getting picked on. She loves her record player and often blasted music from her speakers.
What is Jodee's Conflict?
Jodee’s conflict is character vs. character because she is getting bullied when all she wanted to do was fit in. Jodee writes, “In exchange, after my twenty-four hours are up, I let them do anything they want to me: beat me, spit at me, call me names . . . I would pay that price just to know the ecstasy of being liked and accepted for a single day” pg.192 Jodee was harassed, verbally people would call her repulsive names. Physically she was scratched, hit, spit on, and pinned down unable to do anything. Through everything Jodee turned the other cheek, she walked away and that was really all she could do. Though these bullies were destroying her she still went with it and I think that is her solution because she ignored them. Sure they got to her but she chose to put up with it instead of listening to people tempting her to suicide.
What Can we Learn From Jodee's Story?
The theme of Please Stop Laughing at Me is to let go. She writes, “Then I take a long, deep breath and do something I never thought I’d have the courage to do-but I know that I must in order to be free. I let go.” pg.268. Letting go is hard but sometimes holding on is harder. From this book we pull away “One of the hardest decisions you’ll ever face is choosing whether to walk away or try harder.”-Ziad K. Abdelnour. Jodee was continuously assaulted every day but no matter how much she wanted to and how close she got to she never did.
Textual Evidence
One part that stuck out to me was on pg.78 when Jodee went to see the psychiatrist Dr.Graff and he said she was just being dramatic and told Jodee, “It seems that being the class outcast is getting you an awful lot of attention from your parents. Maybe you enjoy that.” This sticks out to me because Jodee isn’t lying when she says people are mistreating her and being mean. Her parents advice isn’t helping either. Another part that stuck out to me was when Jodee cut her face on pg.165 “I tighten my grip on the knife and begin cutting my face. I am screaming. “Mommy make it all stop.” At this point in the book it shows how far Jodee has been pushed and that she can’t take much more.
Should I Read This?
I would rate Please Stop Laughing at Me a 5 out of 5 stars. This book teaches respect and shows how cruel kids can be. It can also teach parents how to pick up the signs if their child is getting bullied. After reading this book it gave me sense to help others more and always know that other people have it worse.