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Monica Cruz
Mrs. Petty
Eng 101
10 December 2014
Words Can Choke You
Imagine yourself in the mind of a child who is affected by words. He is letting the words
choke him, like an actual hand. He is crying and looking at the abuser, hoping he would stop. He
is feeling hopeless and feels like he cant do anything about it. Words can have different
meanings behind them, but using words to harm someone can be especially hurtful to a child. He
doesnt know the reason behind the words. He may feel that no one will help him escape from
his misery. The photograph of the child being choked by the words thrown his way, is clearly
affecting him in some way. There are tears running down his face and his eyes look very glossy,
his hair is a mess, and he is quivering his lip. He is sad and afraid of whats to come. Children
shouldnt be victims of such abuse. The ad is supposed to send a message. It is supposed to show
you how a child feels or reacts to such harsh words being thrown his way. No one deserves to be
mistreated by offensive words. Verbal abuse can leave a permanent effect on a child because
words can leave invisible scars, it can affect their interaction with other people, and can be as
painful as physical abuse.
As the offensive words are being thrown at the child, they are slowly leaving invisible
scars. In the photograph, some of the words that make up the verbal hand are moron, jerk,
and worthless, and they are also in bold, black font. Its words like these that can leave
permanent scars that can last a long time. In an article written by the Harvard Mental Health

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Letter, they write that, Words are weapons that can cause lasting wounds, especially when
wielded by parents against children (1). In some instances, either one of the parents is the one
causing the abuse. A childs first instinct is to love and care for their parent, no matter what. But,
if either one of the parents are the ones causing the abuse, who is the child supposed to depend
on, for love, care, and support? The child may be incredibly affected by the words being said to
him, that he may grow up not knowing what love and affection is like.
If a child get verbally abused at a young age, as he grows older, he may have trouble
communicating or interacting well with others. In a child abuse article, the writer talks about
how the child may redirect his abuse on someone else. It can also make the child feel guilty for
doing it. Emotional abuse often results in abnormal or disrupted attachment development and a
tendency for the victim to blame himself or herself for the abuse, leading to a learned
helplessness, emotional numbing and overly passive behavior (Child Abuse). The child wont
want to interact with other people, and it can be harder for him to open up to people and form
relationships with them. Words like moron, and weakling can leave a big impact on a young
child. He can feel useless and neglected, and repeat the harsh words to another person.
Although, it is not the same type of abuse, verbal abuse can be just as painful as physical
abuse, in the sense that it can leave permanent damage to your mental state. Words may be just
words, but they can have the same negative impact as if it were physical abuse. The picture
displays a child crying with a verbal hand. The verbal hand is made up of harmful words in
black bold font and the hand wraps around the childs neck. The child wants the harsh words to
stop, but he has no way of letting the abuser know that their words hurt. Words can leave bruises
as well. It is never okay to let a child get abused in any way, shape or form. It is also
heartbreaking to see the child sad or in pain because of such abuse. They are human beings as

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well. They do not deserve the mistreatment of being called offensive names because they have
not done anything wrong.
Children do not deserve to get verbally harassed by anyone. Whether its their parents,
siblings, relatives, or friends, getting called moron or pig is hurtful. Children are only
innocent human beings who deserve anything but being mistreated by such harsh words. They
should receive the invisible scars left behind by verbal abuse. They also dont deserve growing
up without knowing what love and affection is. Even though verbal abuse doesnt leave bruising
on the skin like physical abuse, it does leave bruises in your brain, and it may have the same
impact as if it were physical. The photograph wants to make people realize how verbal abuse
can feel like to a child. It can have a long term effect on a child, and anyone with an affection for
children, should make sure that the children in their life dont get neglected.

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Works Cited
Child Abuse. Network of Victim Assistance. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014
Debevec K, Romero J. Self-Referent Processing in Perceptions of Verbal and Visual
Commercial Information. Journal of Consumer Psychology (Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates) [Serial on the Internet]. (1992, Jan). [Cited November 23, 2014]; 1(1): 83.
Available from: Academic Search Premier.
Names Will Often Hurt You. Harvard Mental Health Letter 23. 10 (2007): 6-7. Psychology
and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.

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