Celia Behind Me
Girls
We hate because we fear, and what we fear is what we do not want to happen. One of the greatest fears in childhood is probably the fear of not being accepted by peers, and instead being frozen out. Many children are willing to go far to eradicate the possibility of being in a similar situation. Some children are even pushed so far that they show a side of personality, they never wanted to see because of the fear. This is a topic that the short story Girls deals with.
Celia has always been seen as the black sheep. She’s chubby, diabetic, wears big chunky glasses and not too clever. That makes her the definitive scapegoat, and therefore she is often a prey for bullying. When going to, or home from, school, she always walks behind the clique of girls she tries to follow, even though she cannot follow up. Her intentions aren’t bad at all, and the only thing she wants, is to belong with the group. Though she has no bad intentions, the girl named Elizabeth seems to despise her.
Elizabeth is the protagonist of the story and it is through her the story is being told. She tells about her past or more specifically her relationship with Celia, when she was a young girl. She, along with the girl clique, tries to ignore Celia’s presence, and when she does not, she victimizes Celia instead. Elizabeth has something in common with Celia, as she also is chubby and wears glasses. She was even called sucky until 3rd grade, so even she could be the ideal victim for the other girls. With her own words she says: “I knew, deep in my wretched heart, that were it not for Celia I was next in line for humiliation.” (p. 3 ll. 56-57) and these words can not only explain why she isn’t the one being teased, but also why she isn’t nice to Celia.
Elizabeth has issues with Celia, due to the possibility of being the new scapegoat. This issue with Celia grow to more issues, as she is forced by her mother to protect Celia. If she does not protect, she will get spanked in public.
We hate because we fear, and what we fear is what we do not want to happen. One of the greatest fears in childhood is probably the fear of not being accepted by peers, and instead being frozen out. Many children are willing to go far to eradicate the possibility of being in a similar situation. Some children are even pushed so far that they show a side of personality, they never wanted to see because of the fear. This is a topic that the short story Girls deals with.
Celia has always been seen as the black sheep. She’s chubby, diabetic, wears big chunky glasses and not too clever. That makes her the definitive scapegoat, and therefore she is often a prey for bullying. When going to, or home from, school, she always walks behind the clique of girls she tries to follow, even though she cannot follow up. Her intentions aren’t bad at all, and the only thing she wants, is to belong with the group. Though she has no bad intentions, the girl named Elizabeth seems to despise her.
Elizabeth is the protagonist of the story and it is through her the story is being told. She tells about her past or more specifically her relationship with Celia, when she was a young girl. She, along with the girl clique, tries to ignore Celia’s presence, and when she does not, she victimizes Celia instead. Elizabeth has something in common with Celia, as she also is chubby and wears glasses. She was even called sucky until 3rd grade, so even she could be the ideal victim for the other girls. With her own words she says: “I knew, deep in my wretched heart, that were it not for Celia I was next in line for humiliation.” (p. 3 ll. 56-57) and these words can not only explain why she isn’t the one being teased, but also why she isn’t nice to Celia.
Elizabeth has issues with Celia, due to the possibility of being the new scapegoat. This issue with Celia grow to more issues, as she is forced by her mother to protect Celia. If she does not protect, she will get spanked in public.