Bullying in Today's Society

Bullying Bullying is not a new issue. It has been around longer than I, or anyone I know can remember. Now there is much discussion on what is considered bullying, as there is no true standard definition of bullying. Bullying can be defined as to treat abusively, or to affect by means of force or coercion. Yet, “In all bullying, there’s intent to do harm, a perceived power imbalance, and it is repetitive in nature”(WC6). Bullying is no longer a common problem amongst the young, it is also present in adult peer groups as well. Bullying used to be considered as kids just being kids, a part of growing up. There is no longer any particular association with age. The short story “The Lottery” helps readers to better understand bullying. Bullying can occur in several forms, such as physical, verbal, and cyber. The most visual form of bullying is physical. Physical bullying is physical abuse, and is easily recognized by bruising, bleeding, or even broken bones. This can be the bruise left behind from a parent hitting a child, or grabbing the child too hard, such as when “Bobby Martin ducked under his mother’s grasping hand and ran,”(2). It can be the throwing of something with the intention to cause harm such as “the great pile of stones in one corner of the square”(2) that the boys had collected to stone Mrs. Hutchinson, as she was unfortunate to “win” the lottery. She pleaded “it isn’t fair”(14) as “the villagers moved in on her”(14). As in most forms of physical bullying, the aggressor pays no attention to the victim’s pleas. In some cases, the victim’s pleading angers the bully and can cause him to do more harm.
O’Connor, Mary Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 7th Edition. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 447-457.
Another form of bullying can be verbal. This can be in the form of gossip, as in “The Lottery”, when the womenfolk gathered and “greeted one

Cited: FOR RUTGERS STUDENTS, CNN SPECIAL ON BULLYING RESONATES STUDENTS AT ANDERSON COOPER 360[degrees] TAPING MOVED AND DISTURBED BY THIS ALL-TOO-FAMILIAR NATIONAL PROBLEM. “States News Service 17 Oct. 2011. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. O’Connor, Mary Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 7th Edition. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. 447-457. “SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS POSITIONED TO HELP VICTIMS OF BULLYING” States News Service 7 Jan. 2011. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. “STUDY SHOWS BULLYING AFFECTS BOTH BYSTANDERS AND TARGET.” States News Service 11 Oct. 2011. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.