of social bullying shows the reader the condition Elsie experience as the victim of social bullying. The three parts are: low self-esteem, embarassment, and loss of
self respect.
1. Low Self-esteem
The impact of social bullying felt by Elsie can be seen from the beginning of the story since her new classmates greet her with mockeries and other verbal
bullyings. Not only in her new school, the bad self-esteem building is started in her family. Her new classmates and her mother do not show their love and respect
to Elsie. In Life-Span Development, John W. Santrock states that self-esteem is “the
global evaluative dimension of the self. Self-esteem is also referred to as self- worth or self image” 2009: 320. Then, low self-esteem means low global
evaluative dimension of the self. Still in the same book, Santrock states that “low self-esteem may reflect either an accurate perception of one’s shortcomings or a
distorted, even pathological insecurity and inferiority” 2009:320. 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” 2008: 426. According to O’Moore, the victim of
bullying tends to withdraw herself or himself from the peer and have “lack of enthusiasm to try particularly new things, and a general appearance of either
reservation and withdrawal, or of ‘bluffing’ one’s way through” 2004: 52. Elsie feels that she is not accepted in her new class and her new classmates
do not like her because she is fat. Her physical look makes Elsie as an object to
mock from the beginning. Elsie tries to pull herself from the peers because she thinks that no one likes her. She wants to keep herself distant from the
surrounding. .... After our trip around the school, I asked her if she wanted to play a
tetherball game. She said she’d rather watch, so I left her and went to find Diane and Sharon. Elsie leaned against the school building until the recess
bell rang.
In P.E., Elsie told Mrs. Hanson she’d rather watch than play. Mrs. Hanson thought a minute and then said she supposed it would be all right
for Elsie’s first day. Elsie sat on the stage steps and watched us bombard each other in a soak ‘em game. DeClement, 1981: 5
This event shows the reader that Elsie does not join with the peer. She does not want to play tetherball and a soak ‘em game. She chooses to lean on the
wall and watch.. Elsie does not follow Jenny to play with her new classmates, but she stays alone and watches the activities happening. She is not enthusiastic to
join the game and the peers. After lunch it was raining, so we couldn’t go out on the playfield. Elsie
stood against the school building again while the rest of us gathered under the covered area talking about her. Sharon said she should be in a circus,
and Diane said she should be a garbage collector. I glanced over at Elsie while everyone giggled at the jokes. Elsie stood there silently with the
wind flapping her tentlike coat around her. I thought her mouth turned down sadly DeClements, 1981: 8.
This event tells the readers the distance between Elsie and her classmates. Even under the rain, the both sides keep the gap. Elsie still keeps herself away and
the rest of the classmates do not ask Elsie to join them.This event can underline the way the class do not like Elsie and it makes Elsie’s “mouth turned down sadly”
DeClements, 1985: 8. Mona O’Moore and Stephen J. Minton states 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” 2004: 53. Here, Elsie looks sad by the condition she is away from the peers.
She has no friends at that time. Elsie does not try to go in the group of the students. Elsie only stands silently
when her new classmates gather under covered area. At the same time, most of her new classmates giggle at her since they think that Elsie is a joke.
Elsie tends to listen rather than reply from the words said by the another person. She keeps her away from the peers and not talking with the person coming
to talk with her. When Marianne tries to talk with, Elsie keeps standing without replying Marianne in single word.
... He walked around the room asking kids how they liked their lunches. When he came to Elsie, he said, “And where’s your lunch, young lady?”
“I ate it.” She never really looked at grown-ups, but her face pointing down. DeClements, 1981: 10
..... So, Marianne talked to Elsie, but nobody else went near her. Elsie
kept standing by the school wall at the recess. ...DeClements, 1981: 12 She indirectly withdraws herself from her environment by not looking at
the surroundings. She keeps her face pointing down. Then the way Elsie withdraws herself from her peers continues. The proof can be found in the event
after Mr. Douglas, the principle, asks Elsie to behave herself from extra meals. He wants Elsie to straighten her diet and warns her to behave with the rules in the
school. After the day Mr. Douglas warns Elsie to behave in her new school, “the boys started called Elsie “scrounge”” DeClements, 1981: 12 . Mocking Elsie
that way makes her only standing by the school wall at recess. After that, the reader can read that “Marianne talked to Elsie” DeClements, 1981: 12. Talking
to means there is a single-way of communication. When the other classmates stay
away from Elsie, Marianne comes to her, but, here, Elsie shows that she withdraws herself by not replying Marianne.
According to Mona O’Moore, “self-esteem is built in people from early childhood, and is associated with what can be called ‘positive parenting’ ” 2004:
57. The parents must share love and respect to their children by “verbal and non- verbal demonstrations” 2004: 57.
.... 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.
...... “I don’t think she wants anyone to know I belong to her. I’m too fat, I
guess.” DeClements, 1981: 14
The fact faced by Elsie is the opponent of the statements from O’Moore. This part of the story shows that Elsie starts to guess that she is not her mother’s
daughter because she is too fat. Elsie feels that her mother tries to decline the fact that she belongs to her mother. She thinks that she has no chance to go to watch
movies because she is fat. By stating that she does no think she can go to watch movies, she starts to get her self-esteem lower. She knows she is fat and she
considers it as a weakness making her left alone.
2. Embarrassment
In this part, the writer tries to examine one of the impact of social bullying that can be seen as the result of social bullying. It is embarassment. This feeling is
