Bridge To Terabithia By Katherine Patterson: The Issue Of Bullying

According to research conducted by 100 Canadian universities, 75 percent of people interviewed said that they have experienced bullying (“prevnet”). In the book Bridge to Terabithia author Katherine Patterson demonstrates that there will be difficult situations in life, but that there are healthy ways to go about coping with them. The book the bridge to Terabithia is about fifth grader Jess Aaron’s struggle to fit in both at home, as an only boy and at school, where he is constantly bullied (Drucker and Forsyth. ). To cope with his insecurities, Jess devotes much of his time into running and visual art (Drucker and Forsyth). Jess takes liking to his music teacher Ms. Edmund’s because she demonstrates appreciation for his Art (Drucker and Forsyth. ).

Jess then meets a girl Leslie Burke, a newcomer to his town, but ignores her because of her gender and from constantly being bested by her during races (Drucker and Forsyth). Jess eventually talks to Leslie after an uplifting talk with Ms. Edmund’s and discovers that Leslie was being bullied by another schoolmate Janice (Drucker and Forsyth). To cope with their bullying, Jess and Leslie agree to create a place called Terabithia in the forest (Drucker and Forsyth). After Jess’ sister May Belle gets bullied by Janice, Jess and Leslie set up and humiliate Janice by forging a love letter supposedly by her crush and having her meet him after school (Drucker and Forsyth). Around Christmas, Jess and Leslie exchange gifts with one another, but Jess becomes disillusioned when he observes his dad’s frustration while assembling his gift (Drucker and Forsyth). Following Christmas, Jess becomes jealous of Leslie because of the amount of time she was spending with her father but realizes afterwards he never felt relaxed in his own home (Drucker and Forsyth). Weeks later, Jess finds out that Leslie had drowned in the creek after spending the day with Ms. Edmunds (Drucker and Forsyth). To cope with his loss, Jess creates and releases a wreath in Leslie’s honor and endows the idea of Terabithia to May Belle (Drucker and Forsyth).

In my opinion, Bridge to Terabithia helps readers to conceptualize and understand the importance of healthy relationships in the face of challenges. In this essay, two key themes will be explored: Bullying and the passing of a loved one. One of the major themes in the Bridge to Terabithia is the theme of bullying. For example, after having her literary poem read aloud in class about her passion for scuba diving, Leslie gets surrounded by Janice and her gang who taunt her about how un-ladylike she is (Patterson, 28). What Ms. Patterson is conveying through this example is that at any point in life, one may come across situations where people will bully them for any number of reasons and in this case having un-stereotypical hobbies/interests. After hearing that Mary Belle was bullied, Jess and Leslie successfully set up and frame Janice by handing her a love letter claiming it was from her crush and then watching her get rejected (Drucker and Forsyth). The scheme to frame Janice demonstrates to the reader that seeking revenge is one way to stopping bullying.

However, author Patterson does not explain the possible implications of what may happen when revenge is taken too far, such as the real-life case of revenge where a 14-year-old boy at Washington high School stabbed a fellow student after an alleged racial attack (Chung). However, a more positive solution to bullying is presented, when Leslie talks to Janice after it becomes known that Janice’s father beats her (Drucker and Forsyth). Through talking to Janice, it conveys the message that there is a need for people to understand one another to reduce the likelihood of miss-understandings and to find and help in addressing the root causes of bullying. Another key theme portrayed in this novel is death. After spending the day with Ms. Edmund’s, Jess’ father informs Jess that Leslie had died while swinging in Terabithia (Patterson, 60). What Leslie’s death bluntly demonstrates to the reader is that tragedy can strike someone at the most unlikely times. Later in the book, Jess’ teacher Ms. Myers describes how she grieved her husband’s passing and spoke about how appreciative she was to have been a part of Leslie’s life (Patterson, 71). Ms. Myers’ action urges both the grieving and the be-grieved to reach out and transfer some of the burdens of grieving to others to properly heal and move forward.