|
JS: |
I’ve noticed that he’s very polite as well, does that/ |
|
Derek: |
He’s too polite, it’s like the formal thing we did in English/ [in that |
|
JS: |
He speaks in quite a formal register |
|
Derek |
And we’re informal |
|
Sinclair: |
He can’t sort of say, ‘Shut up,’ to someone |
|
Derek: |
And he doesn’t say any swear words or anything |
|
Calvin: |
We don’t use swear words/ |
|
Sinclair: |
Well not in school |
|
Calvin: |
No, we don’t say them ever [laughter from Derek] |
|
JS: |
So he always speaks in the same way, whereas you’d speak to your |
|
Derek: |
Yeah, and he doesn’t have different interests, he doesn’t really like South Park does he? [turning to the other two boys] |
|
Calvin: |
He doesn’t like anything we like/ |
|
Sinclair: |
He doesn’t like anything violent or rude |
And so, again, all the reasons given above can be categorised under difference. Indeed,
at one point, Calvin actually says: ‘He’s different from everyone else’. Although the
reasons include his poor sporting ability (he does not like games, he is no good at games,
he is frightened of getting hurt in games), there are also a number of other factors which
have caused Timothy’s exclusion. He uses the computer in a different way, he does not
enjoy life, he lacks perseverance and gives up too easily, he’s prudish when getting
changed, he does not stand up or himself, he cries in front of his peers (the antithesis of
manliness), he is too polite, he does not swear, he speaks in rather an affected, posh
register, he does not like the same cultural interests such as watching the TV programme
South Park and so is unable to share in common topics of conversation. Time and time
again in the interviews, the boys would refer to Timothy’s ‘posh accent’. Although,
nearly all of the boys at Highwoods were very well spoken, they felt that Timothy’s voice
was rather unnatural and affected, and this set him apart from themselves. Although
some may argue that this may have been a class reaction, I would maintain that it is used
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