A Poetics for Bullies Analysis

Patterns are introduced in the introduction of How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster. Archetypes, themes, and symbols are some of the many patterns one can identify in literature. In A Poetics for Bullies by Stanley Elkin, Push, the main character, displays patterns of same behavior towards everyone around him. He repeatedly picks and torments everyone around him. These patterns of bullying are something we see in plenty of other novels. The bullying and harassment of others is a common theme used in literature to create patterns of characterization of a bully.

Symbolism is another significant topic introduced in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Symbols are something used to represent an idea or object. Push is not a stereotypical bully, he isn’t a hitter or fighter, he uses words to bully people. He is charismatic and intelligent for a bully with his choice of words. Push expresses, “Physical puns, conundrums. Push the punisher, the conundrummer!” This advanced language shows that Push isn’t a common bully, he symbolizes a theme that coveys the desire to be different. He battles with himself internally because he says he’s a bully, but his actions say the opposite. In the scene with John Williams and the other kids in the schoolyard, it seems as if he wants to give up his bully act and become friends with John Williams, but decides against it. When John offers his hand of friendship to Push, all the other kids are telling him to take it. Push is hesitant. It makes the audience hang on the edge of their seat, waiting for Push to shake his hand and gain a friendship. Sadly, Push doesn’t accept his hand and sprays even more hatred at everyone.

Push struggles with man vs. himself in this story because he wants to be loved and be anyone but himself. His internal conflicts deepen the hole he has put himself in. He wants to be known as a bully because he can’t be known for anything else due to his hatred of everything else about himself. In the introductory paragraph, Push explains the types of people he hates. At the end of the explanation, he says he loves nobody loved. This created vivid imagery to think about what that meant. That phrase is deep because he’s expressing that he feels the pain of what it’s like to not be loved. It persuades the reader to have an empathetic outlook on Push throughout the story. This conveys a sympathetic mood because the reader tends to feel bad for Push because he wants to be anyone but himself. People in the world today struggle with problems like this. This short story is a good representation of how some people in the world feel and displays the way some people lash out at others because they can’t have what they want. “A Poetics for Bullies” is a significant story because many people can relate to it, whether they be a victim or the bully themselves.