Hillbilly Elegy

me that I did good,” I told her. She said,
“Well, then, I was wrong. You shouldn’t
fight unless you have to.” Now, that
made an impression. Mamaw never
admitted mistakes.
The next year, I noticed that a class
bully had taken a particular interest in a
specific victim, an odd kid I rarely
spoke to. Thanks to my prior exploits, I
was largely immune to bullying, and,
like most kids, was usually content to
avoid the bully’s attention. One day,
though, he said something about his
victim that I overheard, and I felt a
strong urge to stick up for the poor kid.
There was something pathetic about the
target, who seemed especially wounded