Personal Accounts of Lady Gaga, Peter, and The Narrator of The "Incident" Poem by Countee Cullen, on The Topic of Intimidation

When people experience bullying, it causes them to think negatively, and it affects their daily life. In the excerpt from “Nineteen Minutes,” Peter, the protagonist, experiences bullying because he wears glasses. The article “Born to Not Get Bullied,” explains Lady Gaga’s bullying experience and how she solves the problem to prevent others from experiencing bullying. Countee Cullen’s poem,”Incident,” explains how a white man ruins the life of an African American in Baltimore by calling him a racist word. The similarities between how Lady Gaga, Peter and the speaker of “Incident” experience and are affected by bullying are that they all experience emotional bullying and develop a low self esteem, and the differences are that Peter experiences bullying because of his poor vision, Lady Gaga experiences bullying because of her intelligence, and the speaker of “Incident” experiences bullying because of his race, and this affects them by Lady Gaga facing disappointment, Peter being insecure, and the speaker of “Incident” focusing on the negative event that took place.

The similarity between hoe Peter, Lady Gaga, and the speaker of “Incident” experience bullying are that they all experience emotional forms of bullying. Initially, Lady Gaga explains that bullies call her inappropriate names in front of everyone(1). Thus, Lady Gaga emotionally faces the issue of bullying since she is different from others. Furthermore, the speaker of “Incident” explains, “And so I smiled, but he picked out his tongue and called me nigger”(1). Therefore, the person calling the narrator a racist word implies that the speaker experiences bullying emotionally since he is a different race than the person that is bullying him. Moreover, the narrator of “Nineteen Minutes explains that Peter was a target for bullies and was made fun of because of his poor vision(2). As a result, Peter faces emotional bullying because his difference from others makes him stand out.

While Peter experiences bullying because of his poor vision, Lady Gaga faces bullying because she is intelligent, and the speaker of “Incident” faces bullying because of his race.

First off, the man calls the speaker of “Incident” an inappropriate name for an African American(1). Consequently, the speaker faces bullying on a racist level because he was a different race. In addition, Lady Gaga explains that she experiences physical and emotional bullying because she had high grades throughout school(1). Hence, because Lady Gaga is intellectually different, she has to face the issue of bullying. Also, people in Peter’s class make fun of the fact that he has to wear glasses(2). Subsequently, because Peter has a different feature than others, he has to deal with the problem of bullying.

The similarities between how Peter, Lady Gaga, and the speaker of “Incident” are affected by bullying are that they all develop a low self esteem. To begin, out of all the events that occurred in the speaker’s life in Baltimore, the speaker only remembers when he encounters a man that bullies him(1). Accordingly, the speaker does not move on with his life after his negative experience. Correspondingly, Lady Gaga elucidates, “I was ashamed of who I was”(1). For this reason, bullying causes Lady Gaga to demoralize and think negative things about herself. Likewise, the narrator explains that Peter looks down after his classmates bully him(2). Therefore, Peter does not want to be seen as or be a target of bullying.

While Peter is affected by becoming insecure, the speaker of “Incident” focuses on negative events, and Lady Gaga’s education is affected. Initially, the speaker was living happily in Baltimore until someone calls him a racist word(1). Thus, the speaker was a positive person until someone brought a negative idea into his mind. Moreover, the narrator explains that Peter loves to wear glasses until his classmates tease him about it(1-2). Consequently, Peter becomes insecure about expressing himself because a group of people bully him.

In addition, Lady Gaga states,”And I was a straight-A student, so there was a certain point in my high school years where I just couldn’t even focus because I was so embarrassed all the time”(1). Hence, Lady Gaga reaches a time in her life when bullying negatively affects her the most.

The comparison between Lady Gaga, the speaker of “Incident,”and Peter’s experience in bullying and how they are all affected by bullying are that they all experience emotional bullying and develop a lack of self esteem, and the differences are that Peter experiences bullying because of his lack of vision, Lady Gaga experiences bullying because of her intelligence, and the speaker of “Incident” experiences bullying because of his race, and this affects them by Lady Gaga facing disappointment, Peter becoming embarrassed, and the speaker of “Incident” not moving on with his life after the incident occurs. Lady Gaga, The speaker of “Incident,” and the narrator of “Nineteen Minutes” include the bullying stories to show the negative effects bullying has on people. In society today, bullying affects people. People commit suicide, become insecure, and even become a bully after going through physical and emotional bullying. Fortunately,unlike the speaker of “Incident,” most people are able to move on with their lives and continue to live positively after experiencing bullying.