Please Stop Laughing at Me
The girl who survived extreme bullying, but never lost hope.
Summary
Jodee Blanco was an average teenage girl who wanted to fit in. When she finally did, she didn't want to follow all the things that the "cool" crowd did. That's when the "cool" crowd decided that she wasn't cool and that she didn't fit in. The bullying started off with smaller actions that led to big ones such as spitballs being shot in her hair, to being ganged up on and having snow shoved down her throat to suffocate her. On top of that, Jodee was dealing with a deformity that made one of her breasts five times bigger than the other. The bullying got so bad that she had to switch schools three times. When the third school didn't get better, Jodee made the decision that she could no longer run away from her problems and that she had to tough out one more year of bullying at her high school. When Jodee graduated, she became very successful as an author. When her high school reunion came, she said to herself, "I'm successful now. They can't hurt me anymore" (Blanco, 2). Even though Jodee never forgot all the pain they caused her, all of the bullies did, and at the reunion they apologized like the mature adults they turned out to be.
Character Analysis
Jodee was very desperate to fit in. She was also very warmhearted and kind. That is what sometimes ruined her reputation with the "popular crowd". Sometimes she would speak out if she didn't feel something was right and that's when the bullying started. Throughout the years of bullying, Jodee was always very hopeful and loving especially towards her parents. "My parents' love has sustained me through the years" (Blanco, 213). Physically, Jodee usually wears some type of sweatshirt or blouse to help hide her breast deformity, and jeans with boots or Candies flipflops. Jodee also has brown hair and brow eyes.
The book
This is the book "Please Stop Laughing at Me" where author, Jodee Blanco writes about her story of being bullied in high school.
Jodee Blanco
This is author and survivor of bullying Jodee Blanco. She underwent severe bullying but survived to write her story about it to inform and make people aware of the extent that bullying can lead to.
Quote
This is a quote that describes how Jodee felt towards bullying. Bullying is not okay and if you see it happen or you are experiencing it, you should take it seriously and tell someone.
Conflict/Resolution
The conflict of "Please Stop Laughing at Me", is that Jodee begins to get bullied her freshman year of high school. This would be identified as a character vs. society conflict because everyone in her school begins to pick on her and hate her. There is also a character vs. self conflict because Jodee struggles with herself mentally and physically. "I tighten my grip on the knife and begin cutting my face. I'm screaming"(Blanco, 165). This was a part in the book where Jodee is going through so much pain mentally, that she can't control herself and starts hurting herself physically. The resolution of the story is that Jodee toughs out the bullying and becomes a very successful author. When she goes to her high school reunion, the bullies have grown up into mature adults and apologize to her for treating her like they did.
Theme
The overall theme of "Please Stop Laughing at Me", is that don't let your past determine you future. Jodee's high school years were horrific for her and she was bullying severely. That didn't stop her from being successful. Jodee grew up to be a successful author and even though she will never forget what happened to her in high school, she didn't let that determine her future. "Foolishly, I believed that being successful as an adult had somehow erased all traces of my "misfitness". As far as the outside world is concerned, it probably has. Yet, inside my own heart, i'm not so sure" (Blanco, 256). This shows that Jodee will never forget the torture she endured but that she had to look beyond that because she is successful now.
Jodee Blanco gives presentation on bullying at Onekama Schools
Textual Evidence
The quote that really stood out to me was "Bullies never remember, but the outcasts never forget," (Blanco, 163). This quote stood out to me because I feel like it is 100% true. When Jodee went to her high school reunion, no one remembered that they bullied her, but Jodee would never forget the pain and torture that they put her through.
Book Review
Overall I loved this book. I would rate it 5 out of 5 stars. Even though it was very sad, there was always something going on and there was never a boring part in the book. I would recommend this book to kids of appropriate ages. I would strongly recommend this book to people who are experiencing bullying so that they know that they are not alone. I also really think bullies themselves should read this book so that they can know all of the pain and misery they put people through and hopefully that would make the stop torturing people.
Citations
Bullying Is Not Ok. Digital image. PictureQuotes. N.p., 2016. Web. 12 May 2016.
Jodee Blanco. Digital image. Xpress. N.p., 2006. Web. 12 May 2016.
Please Stop Laughing at Me. Digital image. Thisnext. N.p., 2013. Web. 12 May 2016.
Jodee Blanco Gives Presentation on Bullying at Onekama Schools Manistee News Advocate
Manistee News Advocate. Perf. Jodee Blanco. Youtube. N.p., 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 May
2016.
"Dealing with Bullying." Help Guide. N.p., 1999. Web. 12 May 2016.
Jodee Blanco. N.p., 2013. Web. 12 May 2016.