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Homeless to Harvard

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Priscilla and the Wimps Francisco Vasquez By Bonnie per.6

“Priscilla and the Wimps”, is a humorous story about school bullies .In the story, Priscilla, a quiet, shy girl has a best friend named Melvin who get’s picked on by the school bullies, Klutter’s Kobras. Priscilla defends her friend and gives Monk Klutter, the leader of the gang, a taste of justice. Throughout the story the theme of the importance of friendship is demonstrated through the relationships among the students.

The importance of friendship is first shown in the story in an unlikely way. Monk Klutter is an effective gang leader because he has so many friends willing to do his dirty work. The narrator of the story reveals in the beginning of the tale that, “there was a time when you couldn’t even go to the rest room around this school without a pass… I’m talking about a pass that could cost anywhere up to a buck, sold by Monk Klutter.” In the previous quote, the narrator tells the reader that everyone had to buy a bathroom pass. Given the number of students and bathrooms at an ordinary school, Monk must have had a large group of people willing to follow his orders and sell passes. Although this kind of activity is not found in normal friendships, Monk’s gang members, his friends, are an important part of his school “business.” Without his friends, he would not have been such an effective leader. The theme is also shown in more traditional friendships in the story.

Without Priscilla’s friendship, Melvin would have had a much different, painful, school experience. Priscilla’s friendship with Melvin, saved Melvin twice from savage beatings. First, Priscilla saved Melvin from a gang member who tried to charge Melvin a “dwarf tax.”

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