Bullying is a huge downfall in today’s society and can result in school shootings like in the book Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. She explains how school shootings affects not only the kids harmed but also everyone in the community. The school shooting is explained in many characters views, which helps readers understand it more clearly with everyone’s point of view. Author Jodi Picoult uses different writing styles like flashback and pathos to teach students the dangers of bullying and what can result because of it.
Throughout nineteen minutes, Jodi Picoult uses flashback to compare things in the past to the present. For example explains what the shooter was like as a child and what he did and all the things he went through with being bullied. Each of the chapters is labeled by what she is going to be talked about. She explains many events from different ages of the characters so you get what life has been like for each of them and more importantly the shooter. Jodi Picoult uses flashback to effectively tell the story of Peter Houghton and what he has went through to get him to that point.
Another form of writing Jodi Picoult uses is pathos to get an emotional effect from the readers. Since the shooting brought out a different emotion on everyone such as anger, confusion, sadness etc. It helps show all the sides to what everyone went through. Even though Lacy, Peters Houghton’s mom was filled with confusion and anger from what her son did, she was also so upset knowing what her son had been through and what he will now go through after what he has done. She had many different feelings especially while talking to different people. When she talks to investigators she is confused as to why her son would do this. As cops raid her house and look through Peter’s room to find evidence she feels invaded and upset that there going through his sons room and that this is even happening to them. Pathos gives an emotional appeal to the way all of the people of Sterling are reacting.
Nineteen Minutes is such an effective book because it relates to the real world by showing the dangers and long term affects of bullying in today’s society. Jodi Picoult was able to affectively use writing styles such as flashback and pathos to teach students the dangers of bullying. By using different character’s points of view Jodi Picoult was able to show how the school shooting affected several individuals differently.