In his short story Rowing the Bus (2013), Paul Logan explores the theme of school bullying, sharing the experiences from his own childhood. From the way Logan explains the behaviors of various bullies’ he met throughout his life, it becomes apparent that all of them had certain common traits he witnessed in different cases. Thus, evidence from Rowing the Bus suggests that that most bullies share certain characteristics.
First of all, kids who tend to bully others come from families which are well-off and can afford expensive clothing. Logan shares how his mother could never buy him “cool” sneakers, despite the fact that she worked hard. His father was not in the picture, and thus did not support them financially. The author reminisces how he feared that his classmates would recognize the used clothes his mother brought from church.
The bullies were also healthy, with no impairments – at least, visible ones – and physically fit. I have noticed many instances where the author emphasizes that through the descriptions of himself and other victims of abuse. For example, Logan states that he had bad vision and needed to wear thick glasses in addition to being cross-eyed, his speech was impaired, and he was clumsy due to lack of hand-eye coordination. George, the boy he had first befriended and then abandoned in hopes of being free from bullying, was skinny, with visible acne on his face, and had a squeaky voice.
Finally, the bullies tend to form groups, usually with a prominent and popular leader, and approach their victims together. Logan supports that claim, discussing how in elementary school, gang of bullies would force him to sit in a dirty part of the bus and “row” it for their entertainment. Moreover, he also tells how, during his sixth grade, a boy named Chris attacked George, supported by his group of friends. In Logan’s story, almost every instance of bullying came from a mob of aggressive people.
Thus, it is, indeed, clear from the story that bullies do share common traits that are usually most prominent in their background or behavior. Bullies are predictable in their attacks, almost always targeting children who are weaker, poorer, and more socially awkward than the other. Logan outlines well in his story the main characteristics of bullies and how similar they actually are to each other, despite the setting changing from elementary school to author’s university years.
Work Cited
Logan, Paul. Rowing the Bus. White Plains Public Schools, 2013.