In the short story “Celia Behind Me, ” Isabel Huggan emphasizes that pressure at “the brink of being laughed at” or “teased” can impact a young girl, and turn her into a “vicious bitch,” in adolescence. Elizabeth struggles with her own insecurity and position among the “amorphous Other Kids” by getting away from Celia a “diabetic child.” Through the use of characterization and archetypes of teenagers, Huggan establishes that the striving for acceptance and the fear of “humiliation” reveals a “darkness” in all of us.
Elizabeth describes Celia as a “chubby”, “stupid child” with “large smooth cheeks” who “won't live forever.” This exposes Elizabeth’s villainous, insecure personality. Throughout the story, Elizabeth is reminded to “be nice to Celia” by her mother, in which Huggan demonstrates how spiteful Elizabeth’s actions are towards Celia. The repetition of the word “we” in phrases such as “we laughed at her” or “we returned with a vengeance,” magnifies the idea of Elizabeth’s fear of not being in the
…show more content…
This showcases Sandra’s popularity and domination among the group, representing her ownership of the group. Huggan creates suspense through Sandra’s behavior when she betrays Elizabeth by calling her “Sucky” and Celia as a “diabetic” to her group who react to Sandra’s obnoxious behaviors with an “appreciative” “wild” “laughter”. Being excluded from the group with an outcast and being picked on, Elizabeth finally reveals her uneasiness around Celia by producing an offensive tone, which ultimately disseminates Celia’s hidden truth, “you are going to die!” Huggan carefully contrasts future Elizabeth’s maturity with her “really-evil” teenage “friends” by illustrating how a victim of bullying can project their insecurities on to someone else through dehumanizing