Priscilla and the Wimps 
“Priscilla and the Wimps”
Richard Peck’s , “Priscilla and the Wimps”, is a humorous short story about a brave girl encountering school bullies. In the story, Priscilla is a seemingly quiet girl who keeps to herself and doesn’t cause trouble. Her best friend Melvin is picked on by
Klutter’s Kobras, a group of mindless school bullies. Priscilla defends her friend and proves that true strength is a matter of character not brawn.
Monk Klutter is an insecure bully who is ultimately weak. He lacks confidence and bullies others in an attempt to elude from this fact. He feels a constant need to make himself appear bigger and better than everyone else. For instance, Monk doesn’t deal with his problems himself, “the gang that he ran, which ran the school for him, was also his collection agency”, to make himself seem superior to the rest of the school. The fact that he can’t deal with his business himself shows his insecurity. He takes money from other students to convince himself that he’s better than them and to gain a sense of control that he seems to lack. Peck continues to expose Monk’s lack of self confidence when he reveals that “ Kobras did nothing all day but walk a half step behind
Mink, carrying passes, a cashbox and a switchblade” (1) The fact that he has his lackeys walk behind him highlights his insecurity. He needs to have people walk behind him to show his power. He’s unable to earn respect from his peers, so he buys it in the form of unnecessary bullying and lunch money. Monk is a prime example of insecure people who put others down to lift themselves up. These people are not actually strong;
they are weak. They are not people of true character and usually don’t achieve many things later in life.
Priscilla, on the other side of the spectrum, is someone who shows true strength.
She proves that true strength is measured in character not brawn. When put in compromising situations, her inner strength shines through. For
Richard Peck’s , “Priscilla and the Wimps”, is a humorous short story about a brave girl encountering school bullies. In the story, Priscilla is a seemingly quiet girl who keeps to herself and doesn’t cause trouble. Her best friend Melvin is picked on by
Klutter’s Kobras, a group of mindless school bullies. Priscilla defends her friend and proves that true strength is a matter of character not brawn.
Monk Klutter is an insecure bully who is ultimately weak. He lacks confidence and bullies others in an attempt to elude from this fact. He feels a constant need to make himself appear bigger and better than everyone else. For instance, Monk doesn’t deal with his problems himself, “the gang that he ran, which ran the school for him, was also his collection agency”, to make himself seem superior to the rest of the school. The fact that he can’t deal with his business himself shows his insecurity. He takes money from other students to convince himself that he’s better than them and to gain a sense of control that he seems to lack. Peck continues to expose Monk’s lack of self confidence when he reveals that “ Kobras did nothing all day but walk a half step behind
Mink, carrying passes, a cashbox and a switchblade” (1) The fact that he has his lackeys walk behind him highlights his insecurity. He needs to have people walk behind him to show his power. He’s unable to earn respect from his peers, so he buys it in the form of unnecessary bullying and lunch money. Monk is a prime example of insecure people who put others down to lift themselves up. These people are not actually strong;
they are weak. They are not people of true character and usually don’t achieve many things later in life.
Priscilla, on the other side of the spectrum, is someone who shows true strength.
She proves that true strength is measured in character not brawn. When put in compromising situations, her inner strength shines through. For