Overview The drastic consequences of bullying force some hard choices: be a bystander or an upstander? Paul endures relentless bullying and perceives his high school as a crushing game between predators and prey. Throughout the book Paul expresses tips he’s learned to avoid the bulllies; he sees himself as a rabbit, agile and quick but very vulnerable and sees some kids as predatory animals. Paul’s most relentless bully is Conor who he calls the “jackal”- a wolf-like creature who stalks vulnerable prey. However, Conor lives a complicated life. He’s dealing with a mother who is living with mental illness, and his beleaguered father is her caretaker, often neglecting his son. Conor’s anger and resentment is misdirected into bullying others so they experience just some of the emotional pain he endures daily. Conor thinks a lot about taking his own life and when he does Paul realizes that many people are in deep emotional pain which acts like a relentless predator, just like the bullies in school. Because of Paul’s small stature, he can’t rock-climb using the same moves as his taller counterparts which makes climbing routes hard – and sometimes impossible to maneuver. Through the course of the book, Paul learns how to take common rock-climbing techniques and change them to accommodate his small size. This parallels his experience with bullies at his school. His small size makes him vulnerable, but he learns how to rely on his friends, use his personality, and observe each situation to counter a potential bully. Throughout the book, as part of their English assignment, the students read and discuss the OF MICE AND MEN. When discussing the part when Lennie kills Curly’s wife, the class is divided on whether or not her death was an accident. Conor insists it was murder. Big takes a stand, looks right at Conor and says, “You’re right. It wasn’t an accident. Lennie killed her. He was scared, and he didn’t understand how strong he was. When you think about it, he’s not so different from a lot of us. We go around wrapped up in our own little world, scared of things we can’t always control, and that fear causes us to do cruel things to other people. We’re a lot like Lennie. We don’t realize the impact we have on those around us. People that are fragile, like Curley’s wife, we hurt them, and we don’t really understand how much.” Between 2007 and 2015, suicide rates for boys ages 15 to 19 have increased by 30%. Experts site heavy social media use, bullying, family issues and exposure to violence as risk factors. (Huffington Post, Suicide Rates for Teen Boys and Girls are Climbing, Lindsay Holmes 08/07/2017) Author David Robb is a lifelong rock climber who has authored climbing guides and articles.
