As a student with an abnormality sneaks into school fearfully, the bully slams him into the metal lockers demanding for his lunch money. Soon, as fast as lightning, the savior arrives to the unbalanced dispute, saving the fragile and poorly built victim. This action led to a more balanced dispute, ending with the bully in the principal’s office and a sincere call home and the victim’s parents demanding an apology and a five day suspension. The in the tale of “Priscilla and the Wimps,” the story tells of a boy named Melvin that is a target of bullying because of this height. His friend, Priscilla, however, becomes the protagonist of the story when she stands up to Monk, the antagonist and oppressor. Richard Peck’s short story “Priscilla and
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The wordplay used in this passage is known as high comedy, or a piece of comedy that needs to be thought over before understanding it and is meant to have the reader chuckle, more than a guffaw. To begin, in the beginning of the story, Peck wrote, “The school was old Monk’s Garden of Eden… the serpent in the Kobra’s Eden was a girl” (343). This passage shows how wordplay is used throughout the story. This specific pun was used to convey a biblical reference and explain how Priscilla is the satan of the school when Monk and the Kobras were tormenting Melvin. Second, in the middle of the story near the climax, when one of the Kobras starts the torment, he shouted, “Let’s call it a pass for very short people… A dwarf tax” (344). This shows how Richard Peck uses witty remarks to emphasise how the bullies torment the other students. The witty remarks, along with the satiric “comedy” show the whole theme of the passage of standing up for your friend if they are being bullied. Finally, in the part of the short story when Peck was introducing the characters, he wrote, “Priscilla was sort of above everything” (344). This particular description of Priscilla explains further how Priscilla is towering over the attendants of the school. All in all, with the wordplay used throughout this short story, Peck promotes the idea that
The wordplay used in this passage is known as high comedy, or a piece of comedy that needs to be thought over before understanding it and is meant to have the reader chuckle, more than a guffaw. To begin, in the beginning of the story, Peck wrote, “The school was old Monk’s Garden of Eden… the serpent in the Kobra’s Eden was a girl” (343). This passage shows how wordplay is used throughout the story. This specific pun was used to convey a biblical reference and explain how Priscilla is the satan of the school when Monk and the Kobras were tormenting Melvin. Second, in the middle of the story near the climax, when one of the Kobras starts the torment, he shouted, “Let’s call it a pass for very short people… A dwarf tax” (344). This shows how Richard Peck uses witty remarks to emphasise how the bullies torment the other students. The witty remarks, along with the satiric “comedy” show the whole theme of the passage of standing up for your friend if they are being bullied. Finally, in the part of the short story when Peck was introducing the characters, he wrote, “Priscilla was sort of above everything” (344). This particular description of Priscilla explains further how Priscilla is towering over the attendants of the school. All in all, with the wordplay used throughout this short story, Peck promotes the idea that