The expectations of the surrounding environment shape who he or she is. Whether it is demands from parents, society, or oneself, these pressures determine a person's decisions and behavior. The plots of Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye and Joan MacLeod's The Shape of a Girl both focus on the bullying of a girl and the effects of these actions on the people involved. The victims in both literary texts are selected because they do not fit social norms. In The Shape of a Girl and Cat's Eye, the stress caused by trying to conform to society's expectations causes mental distress to the characters and keeps them in a subordinate position. The negative effects on the psyche are caused by several reasons. First, the expectations placed on us by society are constantly changing, so they are impossible to achieve. Subsequently, these expectations are reinforced through dehumanizing methods. Ultimately, victims are forced to create a personality to fit into society. First, what is defined as socially acceptable is unstable and unattainable. In The Shape of a Girl, the protagonist Braidie describes the reasoning behind how bullies choose their targets: “Because she's big, because she likes that boy. Because she is dark and has lost the book; because he does not adapt and lies” (Macleod, 50). The victim in this quote is singled out because he differs from social norms; not only is he a minority in his environment, but he doesn't even fit the idealized body image. Parallelism is used to describe the variety of reasons others use to bully the victim, emphasizing how different they are from other students. However, students constantly point out new flaws, as they try to find new excuses to mistreat her. Oppressors do... middle of paper... timed, you have to create a person. Victims face mental distress and are placed in a subordinate position when attempting to conform to society's expectations. They struggle because expectations are impossible to achieve, but are enforced through dehumanizing methods, to the point that victims are forced to create a persona, masking their true self, to fit into society. Unfortunately, neither Elaine nor Suzie are able to come to terms with their abuse, severely hindering their psychological development. However, what is important is that they manage to survive these traumatizing events. Perhaps this is the strength of humanity; not the ability to destroy obstacles, but the ability to face them courageously. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. Cat's eye. New York: Seal Books, 1988. Print.MacLeod, Jean. The shape of a girl. Toronto: Talonbooks, 2009. Print.