Priscilla and the Wimps by Richard Peck is about a girl named Priscilla Roseberry who fights back against a group of bullies that has been terrorizing her school. The gang, named Klutters Kobras, collected money around the school for their leader, Monk Klutter. They would force other students to give them a cut of their lunch money, charge money for “hall passes” and etc. One day, the Kobras stumble upon a little boy named Melvin, who was accompanied by Priscilla. Priscilla was someone that you would not want to mess with under any circumstances. She was easily the biggest student in school and had enormous strength, even surpassing that of “Mighty” Monk. As one of the Kobras tries to charge Melvin for going down the hallway, Priscilla forces him to back off. Later, Monk confronts Priscilla all by himself, which was a big mistake. Priscilla wasn’t just strong, but she was skillful in gaining the advantage in an even fight. She forced Monk into the locker and locked it. That night, a blizzard hit the town and the school was closed for a week. It’s unknown what happened to Monk, but he probably has learned his lesson.
When we face adversity, it is important to stand up for ourselves and not let others extort or exploit us. Kindness and obedience is a good quality, but it can sometimes become a weakness. Monk had been taking money from the school for at least several months, and all that time, nobody had ever thought of standing up against him. Because of this, Monk and his Kobras never faced resistance when taxing their schoolmates. Priscilla was the first person who resisted the Kobras and ensured the rest of the school wouldn’t be treated like little money bags. The reader is left only with his/her thoughts when the story ends, but Monk should probably learn not to mistreat everybody ever again, for he does not want to be locked in the locker again. In all the time Monk and his gang had been running the school, nobody resisted them out of fear, but the Kobras’ reign of terror was broken when Priscilla defeated their leader and stood up not just for herself, but for others. Kindness can sometimes be used by crooks, so we must not let it become excessive, or it will turn into a weakness.
Treat others how you want to be treated, for bullies always get bitten by their own actions in the end. Our actions will eventually catch up to us, regardless of whether they were good or bad. For a long time, Monk had avoided the consequences of his actions because he did a good job of hiding them from school staff and also because everybody was too scared to fight back. However, Monk’s pride and greed caught up to him. He tried to face Priscilla and the scuffle ended with him getting shoved in the locker and being stuck in there for a week. Monk had never been defeated like this before and that would be his last mistake. Monk believed that he was invincible and terrorized the whole school, thinking that he would always get away scott-free. However, he was wrong. When he tried to fight Priscilla, he was defeated in a few seconds, contrary to the belief that he could hold his own against everybody he knew. Good actions that we do will benefit us in the future; bad actions will bite us.
Often, society favors good-looking people and judges others based on their appearance, even though that is not a good way of gauging one’s ability. Most employers judge employees by appearance, which is why most dress up well and look as good as possible right before an interview. Priscilla used to be a target of the school bullies because she wasn’t beautiful. The short story states that Prsicilla was big, not fat, but still not that beautiful. Because of this, she was one of the bullies that Monk and his gang extorted. She was also underestimated by the Kobras because she was a girl. The Kobras previously treated Priscilla poorly due to her not being beautiful. They also underestimated her strength due to this, and that was a big mistake. Priscilla eventually turned out to be one of the strongest people in the school besides Monk Klutter, and actually defeated Monk very easily. Most of the time, society favors the pretty and good-looking because they think that appearance determines ability.
Priscilla and the Wimps by Richard Peck is a short story about bullying. In school, Monk Klutter was a notorious bully who ran a gang named “Klutters Kobras”. They would collect money from around the school and did things like forcing students to hand over as much as a dollar to be allowed to walk in the hallway and blocking those who did not hand over a cut of their lunch money from accessing the cafeteria. One day, a short boy named Melvin was being picked on by one of the Kobras. Priscilla, a strong girl, overpowered the Kobra and demanded to see his leader. She got her wish and was confronted by Monk Klutter. The scuffle ended before it even began, with Priscilla defeating Monk and locking him in his own locker. This story teaches us three themes. First, we must stand up for ourselves in the face of adversity, as we cannot simply expect others to leave us alone. Second, our actions will eventually catch up to us, and it is impossible to truly escape their consequences. Third and finally, society treats those who are not good-looking as inferior and doesn’t give them the same opportunities. This story is entertaining and can teach readers crucial life lessons.
Comentários