Flight Of The Puffin

Each of the four protagonists has a bully they must face, whether real or the result of a serious misunderstanding. Libby is isolated in her life because she lost her friends and because her parents seem to want little to do with her. When they do talk to her, it’s about how art is a waste of time and how she needs to do more to help the family. Libby sees her parents as bullies because they harass people and have harsh attitudes, and Libby doesn’t want to be like them, which inspires her to start handing out art cards. Like Libby, Vincent faces judgment in his own family, but he has an even worse experience at school. At times, Vincent’s physical safety is threatened, and the rest of the time, he feels like “one point in space. Why does it have to be so hard to be one lonely point in space?” (47). Vincent likes math and puffins, and no one else can relate to him, so he constantly feels both alone and persecuted at school. Both Libby and Vincent slowly gain confidence in themselves and learn to stand up to the bullies in their lives in humbling and effective ways.

Jack’s experience with bullying is more the result of a misunderstanding because his upbringing led him to view outsiders as a threat to his way of life. He believes that by standing up to the school board and the state, he’ll help his school, failing to stop and think about why the school board might be demanding those changes. Vincent doesn’t exactly view Jack as a bully but sees him as deeply misinformed and writes in his letter, “[Y]ou don’t know what someone’s going through till you sit next to them” (171). He tries to be compassionate rather than angry toward Jack to help Jack react with compassion in return. Libby’s interaction with Jack is similar because she tells him, “[G]etting bullied for who you are is awful” (171). Jack never thought of it in this way before, and it makes him think of his brother, who was bullied by their father just for trying to be himself. T isn’t exactly bullied, but their family failed to accept their identity. As a result, T left home, feeling that doing so was a way of asserting themself.

T’s advice and encouragement help Vincent learn to stand up for himself when Cal bullies him. He resolves to return to school and not allow Cal to control his actions or feelings anymore. At school, he puts his body in a power stance whenever Cal approaches him, which makes it easier to be unaffected by Cal’s insults. Because of Vincent and Libby’s help, Jack finds the strength to change his view despite what he knows his father will think. His teacher affirms how important this is: “It takes courage to see things in a new way. And it takes even more courage to speak up and help others to see it too” (199). Similarly, Libby has a difficult conversation with her mother and explains to her that art is her way of helping the world, which helps Libby’s mother understand her better. She feels affirmed when her cards make a difference for others because it means that she isn’t the bully she sees in her family members.