School violence, from the events of Columbine to the most recent Newtown shooting, to the 31 shootings in between (Shen), is prevalent in American society. Unfortunately, the perpetrators of these crimes often go unnoticed – and therefore never treated – before the attacks; Since the signs of worsening of their mental state are gradual, the people around them fail to help them: they believe that there is time for children to change. The concept of school violence in relation to the fatality of the belief that “there is plenty of time to prepare” is frequent in everyday life, but is also shown in the novel Empire Falls by Richard Russo. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay School violence in the novel is shown specifically through John Voss, the boy who befriends Tick but is bullied by the rest of his peers. At the end of the novel, John arrives at school after being missing for five days, pulls a gun from his bag and opens fire, killing three people. He then tries to shoot himself, but the only bullet left in the gun doesn't fire. Like many criminals of this type, John Voss has a long history of physical and emotional abuse. When Tick Roby meets John, he is well aware that he is subject to frequent bullying. He notes that he, being "friendless, voiceless, and ungainly, has become the target of cafeteria bullies who consider it good sport to hit him in the back of the head" (Russo 177). He also knows that he has absolutely no friends, which is unique compared to the other losers in school due to this fact. After witnessing more and more taunts aimed at John, she considers the situation: "You should do something, you know, for John Voss's sake, but... if he doesn't do anything in his defense, why should she?" (384). This perfectly demonstrates how, despite sensing that something should be done, he convinces himself that he doesn't actually need help. She, along with her classmates, does not realize that he will soon collapse; they believe there is a long time before that happens and, for this reason, they are not ready for the eventual collapse of John Voss. Tick ​​is still a child, but not even the adults of Empire Falls recognize the urgency of the situation. . Before the shooting, Principal Meyer, while investigating John's disappearance, discovers in one of the school records that during his childhood, John's parents would "stuff him in a laundry bag, pull the string tight, and hang him on the back of the 'Wardrobe". door…sometimes they forgot about it…and left it hanging there all night” (403). If the principal had paid more attention to the boy before his disappearance, he would have seen the terrors John had endured as a child and perhaps would have been able to contact him or get help. However, it does nothing of the sort; instead of engaging in the search for the boy, recognizing that anyone in this situation could be driven to an unstable mental state and thus become a threat to the city, he casts him aside. He is unwilling to accept that John Voss' situation is terrible and chooses to believe that there will be time before something drastic happens. Another adult is Miles Roby, who, when Principal Meyer states, "All the kids love to pick on him for some reason" (259), makes no move to help John. Miles notices the boy's helplessness and evident troubled mentality, but decides not to think about it too much. He, just like Meyer, believes that John's affairs will take care of themselves, and since John's situation is developing slowly, both Meyer and Miles are not prepared for the shootout that will take place. Literature is. 2016.