This study used picture books from the field of literature for children and young people to detect the roles of bully and victim taken on by adolescents in a school of high socioeconomic status in Bogotá, Colombia. Readers' responses arising from literary discussions pointed to conflicts of social inequality and intolerance. These were cross-checked with a questionnaire on television preferences; a questionnaire on identification with bullies and victims in TV series; notes taken by the observer of the school's pupils; a questionnaire on the frequency of bullying suffered and carried out.Elements common to all the above tools were sought. The data compiled allowed certain pupils to be identified as taking part in different bullying roles; these pupils showed preferences for violence on television, gave a greater number of performative responses and showed no cognitive empathy with victims in stories. In general, rather than identifying with a particular character, they displayed a need to justify violence on the part of humans. The study indicated that the guided post-reading discussions could reflect social circumstances and inequality and aggressiveness in communal life.