BULLYING AS AN INTERNAL MOTIVATION FOR SELF-AFFERMATION: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES (BASED ON THE STORY “REVENGE” BY Y. CHERNIENKO)

Abstract

In the process of analyzing the novel “Revenge” by Yulia Chernienko, the position of the main character was characterized through the prism of the worldview of her classmates and the reasons for Mira’s internal motivation for self-affirmation were determined. The researcher concludes that the main prerequisites for the emergence of bullying in the classroom and the factors that contributed to a change in the girl’s perception and caused such negative consequences: contempt for people, lack of one’s own opinion, fear and change in awareness of life values, psychological trauma due to attempted rape, loss of confidence from adults (both relatives and teachers). The process of Mira’s internal motivation is also outlined and the stages of its formation and the “otherwise” criteria are determined. The main character understands that only by sacrificing herself is it possible to prevail over the weaker ones, because modern teenagers will not be able to realize their guilt in any other way. You should behave with dignity, because modern society quickly destroys the weak. It is in this character trait of Mira that Volodymyr Vinnichenko’s philosophy of concordism “be honest with oneself” can be traced, even if this principle is determined by the fear of being oneself. Subsequently, the awareness of “otherness” becomes the girl’s personal immunity and produces a feeling of pride that the victim has outgrown the bullies. So, Mira’s self-affirmation is manifested in the fact that the girl not only realizes the consequences, considers options for ending the conflict, but instead of anger, she decides to finally go to the end. But the most important thing is not revenge, but the ability to be yourself, to perceive yourself as you are, and to prove to the masses that it is she who is the victim, dependent on social attitudes, bullying. This model of Mira’s behaviour demonstrates a new, unexpected process of personality regeneration. Yulia Chernienko herself, in the image of the main character, reveals the victim’s ability to overcome social stereotypes and prove to others her superiority. So, an attempt to change this world, to frankly evaluate one’s behaviour and, in the process of face-to-face competition, to open one’s eyes to each of one’s classmates and their leaders indicates that modern literature is an effective resource method of combating bullying, thanks to which for the first time it is not the problem itself that is described, but its origins.