Nineteen Minutes: Theme

Caroline Oden

Theme

There are various themes in Nineteen Minutes, however the one that is most obvious to me is how bullying can effect people’s lives. Peter Houghton suffered through relentless bullying for twelve long years, resulting in a serious psychological disorder. His syndrome was called post-traumatic stress disorder, where a child cannot differentiate between an immediate threat and a distant threat. “Even though you an I might be able to walk down the hall and spy a bully who’s paying no attention to us, Peter would see that same person and his heart rate would speed up…his body would sidle a little closer to the wall…because Peter was sure he’d be noticed, threatened, beaten, and hurt” (364). Peter suffered through this condition for many years causing him to react in a violent manor. He killed ten people in all, many of who had bullied him the majority of his life in school. Because he was bullied, Peter became extremely insecure and was glued to the thought that he wasn’t good enough to be alive. Being bullied also caused him to seek revenge on those who had emotionally tortured him; therefore killing them causing many people to suffer over their losses. Jodi Picoult shows how effective bullying can be by proving a strong impacting message of its unnecessary cruelty. Bullying causes people to loose their self-esteem and doubt themselves.

Loyalty is another theme often expressed. Through thick and thin Josie continuously tried to stick up for Peter. She was always sympathetic towards him and tried to engage in conversations frequently throughout middle school. As time swept by, Josie and Peter drifted further apart and they didn’t talk as much, until they started working together in high school. Josie would speak to Peter while at work, but found it embarrassing to even associate with him during school. The fact that Josie would communicate with Peter at work showed that she still cared about him and wanted to be his friend despite their differences and their different friends.

I too have been a victim of bullying and have felt the support and devotion of true loyal friends. Bullying takes away one’s self-confidence and is unnecessary cruel torture. As beaten up as I have felt by torture, the love and encouragement of my true friends kept me going. Being a loyal friend is a greater gift than I’ve ever realized.