Please Stop Laughing At Me...
By: Jodee Blanco- Emily Bogdanski
Summary
Please Stop Laughing At Me... is an autobiography written by Jodee Blanco. In her book she explains her struggles with bullying from fifth grade all through high school. In the book Jodee tries to make friends but no one wanted to be friends with her because she was different than other people at her school. Jodee was considered very mature for her age and is interested in theater and drama which, most people her age did not like. The bullying soon became a lot worse when people started to physical attack her. So, Jodee kept moving to different school but bullying was still a problem. "I feel as if i'm trapped inside of a stereo playing a broken record" (pg 137). Jodee couldn't understand why no one liked her and this caused her to become depressed. Throughout the book it explains Jodee's troubles and how she overcomes them.
Character Analysis
Jodee Blanco is the main character in the book Please Stop Laughing At Me. Jodee is a very sensitive, soft spoken person considering that she had struggled with bullying and being an outcast for the majority of her life. "Please don't let me be lonely anymore" (Pg 6). She lives at her house with her mom and dad who have been helpful to her through school. One of Jodee's main interests is acting and theater, she has been involved in different plays and acting classes. Most of the people that have Jodee's friends are also considered an outcast at there school.
Conflict / Resolution
Jodee's conflict in the book is bullying. In and out of school she is constantly being picked on by her peers by being physical and verbally attacked by them. This is an external character V.S character conflict. Jodee tries to solve her problem by avoiding them and pretending that everything is okay. She also tried going to psychiatrist, later in the book Jodee finds out that doing these things will not solve her problem. "No matter how much I talk about this, its not going to solve anything" (Pg 79) She learns that the only way to stop a bully is to stand up for yourself.
Theme
The theme I would pick for please stop laughing at me is, being different isn't a bad thing. In the book Jodee is picked on because she looked different and had different interests than most of the students. She struggled make friends because everybody thought that Jodee being different was a bad thing but, its not. Having different interests than most people makes you a unique and interesting person.
Textual Evidence
In the beginning of the book Jodee is in forth grade, one of her best friends was Jo Ellen. During lunch Jodee would help out the kids at her school with special needs program. One of the girls in the program, Marianne quickly became friends with Jodee. Jo Ellen would make fun of Jodee for hanging out with Marianne. But Jodee didn't let that effect her. One day Jodee and Marianne went to the park together and everyone there was giving her weird looks. The next day at school Jo Ellen came up to her and said "I heard you were playing in the park with the retard" , "Marianne is not a retard, shes handicap" (Pg 28) Jodee responded. Jo Ellen told her "if you play with her, we cant play together anymore" (Pg 29). Jodee thought about how long her and Jo Ellen had been friends and if it was worth losing. So Jodee told her that she wouldn't play with Marianne anymore. A few days later Jodee had realized what she had done was awful so, she apologized to Marianne and was not friends with Jo Ellen anymore. This part of the book really stood out to me because It has a very powerful meaning behind it. It shows that you cant let other people control you or make decisions for yourself. Although doing the wrong thing may be the easiest, its not the right thing to do. "You hurt Marianne and yourself because you allowed someone to make you smaller than you are" (Pg 30). This quote shows that you cant let other people control your life.
Book Review
I would rate Please Stop Laughing At Me a four out of five stars. This book was very eye opening as to how much bullying can affect someone. Please stop Laughing At Me also gives very useful advice to people that are being bullied or people that know someone being bullied. Reading Jodee Blanco's inspirational will help many people overcome bullying knowing that things will eventually get better.
Multi-Media Sources
Boys' reaction to bullying will melt your heart
Citations
Works Cited
"Elk River Area School District." Bullying Prevention. Web. 05 May 2016.
"Illustration of Friends Standing While Holding Hand of Each Other | Vector | Colourbox." Colourbox. Web. 05 May 2016.
"It's NOT Just Joking Around! - A Survivor's Guide to Joking and Peer Abuse :: Jodee Blanco." It's NOT Just Joking Around! - A Survivor's Guide to Joking and Peer Abuse :: Jodee Blanco. Web. 05 May 2016.
Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story