Blubber

“I smiled, not because I thought the note was funny, but because Wendy was watching me.”

This early quote illustrates Wendy's power over Jill and the rest of the class. Jill knows that she must react positively to Wendy’s note, or there might be social consequences for her.

“By then Wendy’s note about Blubber had travelled halfway around the class and I couldn’t stop laughing, even when Mrs. Minish looked right at me and said, ‘Jill Brenner, will you please explain the joke.’”

This quote shows how quickly things can spread in a classroom setting. Wendy’s note calling Linda Blubber has been passed around through the hands of many of the students in Mrs. Minish’s class, amplifying its power. The entire class is laughing, and Jill can barely contain herself, even though she hadn’t initially found the note funny.

“When I got to my class Wendy was already there. She was dressed like a queen. She wore a very high crown with lots of fake emeralds and rubies pasted to it.”

This quote reveals Wendy’s Halloween costume. The symbolism of Wendy dressed as a queen is important because it illustrates the power Wendy has over the other kids in the class. Wendy is also aware of her status and dresses accordingly for Halloween, so everyone knows.

“‘Do your job,’ Wendy said. ‘Prove what a good flenser you are.’”

In this quote, Wendy commands Jill to strip Linda. Though she asks Jill to prove herself as a flenser, Wendy is really asking for Jill to prove her loyalty to Wendy. At this moment, Wendy applies her cruelty to both Jill and Linda as she manipulates the situation to her liking and forces Jill to choose between joining the bullying or becoming the bullied.

“I wasn’t worried about Linda telling on us. Besides, everybody knows you don’t cross Wendy.”

After joining Wendy and Caroline in the bathroom bullying session, Jill’s narration reveals what compelled her to participate in Linda’s torment. As hinted earlier, when Jill smiles at Wendy’s note, Jill understands the power Wendy holds over their peers and knows that going against Wendy could have consequences for her.

“I would never smash a carved pumpkin. I know how that feels because last year somebody swiped both pumpkins off our front porch and smashed them all over the road.” 

Jill narrates her ethics regarding Halloween. Jill can understand the cruelty of smashing carved pumpkins because of how it made her feel when her pumpkins were smashed. This foreshadows the way Jill becomes a victim of bullying after bullying Linda for so long, forcing Jill to experience the other side of her cruelty.

“But nothing is too mean for Mr. Machinist, which is why Tracy and I planned to crack eggs in his mailbox. He deserves it. He won’t give to UNICEF and if ever there was a person who’d put razor blades in apples it’s him.”

Jill introduces the concept of giving people what she believes they deserve. Jill is already making assumptions about Mr. Machinist, accusing him of being the kind of person to put razors in apples despite having never found one. Jill has decided that this means Mr. Machinist deserves the pranks she and Tracy decide to pull, despite how Jill has shown that she might not be the best person to judge what Mr. Machinist deserves.

“I shook the can and aimed it at the hedge right next to the house. ‘A person gets what she deserves,’ I sang. But when I pushed the button nothing came out of the can. ‘It’s empty,’ I told Tracy.”

Jill revisits the idea of giving people what they deserve again in Chapter 5 as she and Tracy work on Linda’s house. This moment is poetic because just as Jill wants to give Linda what she believes Linda deserves, Jill runs out of Silly String. The empty can signifies that Linda doesn’t deserve the bullying directed toward her. 

“‘We smashed six pumpkins,’ Caroline said. 

‘I don’t think it’s fair to smash pumpkins,’ I said. 

‘Fair or not fair, it was great fun,’ Wendy told me.”

In the same chapter in which Jill narrates her ethics regarding pumpkin smashing, Wendy and Caroline reveal that they enjoy smashing pumpkins. This moment reveals the diverging morality between Jill and Wendy and Caroline. Jill doesn’t want to cause people the same pain she felt when her pumpkin was smashed, but Wendy and Caroline delight in smashing pumpkins.

“I sat down facing the blackboard. Damn that Blubber! She’s the one who made me smile with her disgusting smell.”

In this quote, Jill misplaces the blame for being punished. Though Jill is sent to sit in the corner because her answer to the question offended Mrs. Rothbelle, Jill takes no blame and insists that it’s Linda’s fault. This shows how Jill skews things in her mind to justify her sense of right and wrong and further direct aggression toward Linda.

“We all looked over at Linda. She had her lunch spread out on her desk—two pieces of celery, one slice of yellow cheese and a package of saltine crackers. ‘Hey…’ I said, ‘Blubber’s on a diet!’”

This quote shows the effect that the bullying has had on Linda. Because they call her Blubber and make fun of her weight, Linda has decided that changing her diet will help her bullying. Her lunch is hardly enough to sustain her, but she has made drastic changes because of her desperation to escape the bullying.

“‘You should try putting yourself in her place.’ 

‘I could never be in her place!’

‘Don’t be too sure,’ Mom said, as she took off her reading glasses and slid them into their case.”

This moment of foreshadowing shows the disconnect between what Mom is trying to tell Jill and how Jill interprets it. Mom wants Jill to picture how it feels to be Linda, but Jill thinks it’s impossible for her to end up on the other side of the bullying. This is an important moment later when Jill becomes Wendy’s new target.

“‘Well…first thing she says is, Why do you always pick on me? So I tell her, I don’t pick on you and she goes, You do too. You and all your friends. And I never did anything to you. So I tell her, You’re full of it and she goes, Some day you’ll be sorry. I’ll get you for this.’”

As Jill relays the story of her conversation with Linda while walking Linda to the nurse, Jill reveals two important things: one is that Jill denies picking on Linda to her face even though Jill has been an active part of Linda’s bullying. The second is that Jill rejects the idea that Linda didn’t do anything to her, though she cannot explain what Linda did to deserve the bullying. This shows that Jill has separated herself from her actions and doesn’t see herself the way Linda sees her.

“It’s important to be Wendy’s friend, I thought. I only hope that what she says is true.”

This quote shows how highly Jill thinks of Wendy despite not trusting Wendy completely. Jill understands that being Wendy’s friend means that Wendy will not pick on her, but she is concerned that Wendy might be lying about protecting Jill and Tracy’s identities from Mr. Machinist.

“It was easy to get her to do it. I think she would have done anything we said. There are some people who just make you want to see how far you can go.” 

In this quote, Jill acknowledges how easy Linda is as a target for their torment. Linda has accepted her fate and does what she’s told to do to avoid any more trouble from Jill, Wendy, and Caroline. Jill doesn’t show any remorse but rather observes how easy it is to bully Linda.

“Two days later she was saying I am Blubber, the smelly whale of class 206 without anyone forcing her to. She said it before she got a drink at the fountain, before she went to the toilet, before she got on and off the bus, and during lunch, she said it before she started eating.”

This quote illustrates the toll that the bullying has taken on Linda. She has been broken down to debase herself without prompting because, at this point, she’ll do anything to avoid further torment at the hands of Jill, Wendy, and Caroline.

“Only Wendy could sit there telling lies to Mr. Nichols as if he were a regular person instead of the principal of our school.”

Jill recognizes how dishonest Wendy can be. When placed in conjunction with Wendy assuring Jill and Tracy that she didn’t spill about their prank on Mr. Machinist and the end of Chapter 11, when it’s revealed that Mr. Machinist knows about Jill and Tracy, this quote shows that it was likely Wendy who told on Jill and Tracy.

“‘And…’ my father added, ‘maybe this way you’ll both learn that it’s not up to you to decide who deserves what in this world.’”

This quote contributes to the overall theme of people getting what they deserve. Not only must Jill and Tracy face the consequences of their actions, but they must learn a valuable lesson about deciding who deserves what. 

“‘No wonder you look like a skeleton,’ Linda said.

‘I wouldn’t talk if I were you…I’d rather be a skeleton than a whale.’

‘Not me,’ Kenny said. ‘Whales are lovable animals…skeletons are just dead, bony things.’”

This moment illustrates how Kenny acts as Jill’s foil, especially around Linda. While Jill is miserable sitting next to Linda, Kenny enjoys Linda’s company. Kenny’s ability to get along with Linda shows how likable and pleasant Linda is when she isn’t being bullied.

“They turn down at the corners and they’re mean. You can tell a lot about people by staring into their eyes.”

Tracy describes Mr. Machinist’s eyes and teaches Jill about looking at a person’s eyes to judge their character. Jill uses this in the next chapter as she realizes Wendy is not a good person.

“‘What do you think?’ I asked Tracy, as we filed off the bus.

‘I think you’re scared of Wendy,’ Tracy answered.”

After a tense moment on the bus where Wendy and Caroline began to threaten Tracy, Jill quickly makes peace and seeks validation from Wendy. Tracy, who was almost the target of Wendy’s anger, didn’t like what she saw in Jill and tells Jill that she believes Jill is afraid. This moment comes back later in the chapter when Jill becomes angered by Wendy, leading to Jill finally standing up to her.

“For the first time I looked right into Wendy’s eyes and I didn’t like what I saw.”

This is an important moment for Jill because she is coming to realize what a bad person Wendy is. Jill has spent the whole book being friends with Wendy and obeying Wendy’s will, but here, she has finally had enough of Wendy’s bossiness and cruelty. This moment is pivotal for Jill and symbolizes the end of her friendship with Wendy.

“I was really glad I didn’t have to take the bus because this way I wouldn’t have to face Wendy first thing. It's hard not to be scared of her and the things she might do to me.”

Jill acknowledges that she has painted a target on her back by standing up to Wendy. Jill knows firsthand how cruel Wendy can be and wants to delay facing Wendy as long as possible. She admits here that she is scared of Wendy, showing all along why she played it safe by supporting Wendy’s bullying.