Do you have to look like the people around you to fit in with them?.Is there any situation in which it is acceptable to judge someone by their appearance? What makes these different from the case of the Ugly Duckling?.Why would someone tease/bully/make fun of people who look different from them?.Why did the other animals call the Ugly Duckling ugly? What did they mean when they called him ugly? Does looking different make someone ugly?.The story lays out a case of persistent, aggressive prejudice in a way that makes the harm of such discrimination very clear. Discrimination is a form of prejudice, which includes feelings of hostility, antipathy, or indifference, as well as belief in the inferior morals, intellect, or skills of the targeted person or group of people. While some forms of discrimination may be unintentional, the form that it takes in the story, as is the case with the schoolyard bully, is conscious and intentional. This constitutes a form of wrongful discrimination.

The bullied child is verbally and/or physically abused for what are perceived by the bully to be unacceptable differences such as wearing different types of clothing, having a different way of thinking, or simply for looking physically different.

His situation is much like that of a child being bullied by a classmate in the playground. He is constantly teased, bullied, and even physically harmed by the ducks and the members of any other group of animals he tries to find a home with, like the hen and cat. The Ugly Duckling is discriminated against by members of his family because he does not look like them. Read aloud video by Storytime with Nana Guidelines for Philosophical Discussion However, then he saw his reflection and saw that he too was a beautiful swan. He was surprised that such beautiful creatures would want to be with him. The young swans treated him like one of their own. By spring, he was fully grown and tried to join a flock of swans.

He wished he was beautiful like the swans he saw flying in the sky. The Ugly Duckling looked very different from his siblings, who made fun of him and treated him horribly because he didn’t look like them. Questions for Philosophical Discussion » Summary This classic story raises questions about bullying, discrimination, and the importance of being true to yourself.

Original ugly duckling story