Don t Call Me Ishmael Essay
Michael Gerard Bauer’s 2006 novel Don’t Call Me Ishmael. Tells us about the world which we live in, through the first person narrative of a fifteen year old boy, Ishmael Leseur. The teenage years are very challenging because throughout this time people are learning more about themselves and their place in the world. This is the case for Ishmael because he is not the most popular kid in school and when he starts higschool it just gets worst. This essay will explore the main theme which is acceptance. This acceptance can be seen by analysing Ishmael Leseur’s growth, James Scobie’s introduction and the creation of a school debating team.
In this novel acceptance can be seen when Ishmael comes to accept that no matter what he does Barry Bagsley will always bully him. A bully is someone who hurts and intimidates others through verbal and physical threats. They take pleasure in making innocent people feel bad. Bauer delivers this tough character named Barry Bagsley the antagonist who is the leader of the bullies, his followers are Doug Savage and Danny Wallace. Ishmael meets Barry on the first day of high school and believes that his name is the cause of Barry Bagsley’s surprising behavior of curiosity. Bauer describes Barry when he is teasing Ishmael, “he ripped and tore at [Ishmael’s name] like a mad dog mauling a shoe” (Bauer, 2006, pg. 19) this quote clearly shows that Barry Bagsley bullies Ishmael and that no matter what Ishmael does he can’t escape it. After a year of putting up with Barry and calling Ishmael like “Hey it’s blubber boy” (Bauer, 2006, pg. 19) or “Hey what stinks, oh no it’s fishtail le spewer” (Bauer, 2006, pg. 19), this two quote evidently shows that Barry succeeds at intimidating Ishmael to the point where Ishmael loses all his self-confidence and avoids, “answering a question in class, making some sort of unusual nose like shouting, laughing or speaking, volunteering for something, putting [his] name on a list, trying out for sport” (Bauer,
In this novel acceptance can be seen when Ishmael comes to accept that no matter what he does Barry Bagsley will always bully him. A bully is someone who hurts and intimidates others through verbal and physical threats. They take pleasure in making innocent people feel bad. Bauer delivers this tough character named Barry Bagsley the antagonist who is the leader of the bullies, his followers are Doug Savage and Danny Wallace. Ishmael meets Barry on the first day of high school and believes that his name is the cause of Barry Bagsley’s surprising behavior of curiosity. Bauer describes Barry when he is teasing Ishmael, “he ripped and tore at [Ishmael’s name] like a mad dog mauling a shoe” (Bauer, 2006, pg. 19) this quote clearly shows that Barry Bagsley bullies Ishmael and that no matter what Ishmael does he can’t escape it. After a year of putting up with Barry and calling Ishmael like “Hey it’s blubber boy” (Bauer, 2006, pg. 19) or “Hey what stinks, oh no it’s fishtail le spewer” (Bauer, 2006, pg. 19), this two quote evidently shows that Barry succeeds at intimidating Ishmael to the point where Ishmael loses all his self-confidence and avoids, “answering a question in class, making some sort of unusual nose like shouting, laughing or speaking, volunteering for something, putting [his] name on a list, trying out for sport” (Bauer,