School Stories · Chapter
A Shocking Affair explained
The narrator recounts how Frederick Wackerbath Bradshaw, a fellow student at St.
What happens
The narrator recounts how Frederick Wackerbath Bradshaw, a fellow student at St. Austin's, devised a scheme to avoid the Thucydides examination by locking himself in the school Museum. Despite the narrator's skepticism, Bradshaw successfully evades the exam, and the chapter ends with a reflection on the moral of the tale.
Themes in this chapter
Trickery and Cunning
Bradshaw's elaborate plan to avoid the Thucydides exam by locking himself in the Museum demonstrates clever deception.
Authority and Rebellion
Bradshaw's scheme is a direct rebellion against school authority and the examination system.
Work vs. Pleasure
The narrator and Bradshaw prioritize leisure (reading Pickwick) over exam preparation, highlighting the conflict between duty and enjoyment.
Characters to notice
- Frederick Wackerbath Bradshaw
Protagonist of the tale; devises a scheme to avoid the Thucydides exam by locking himself in the Museum.
- Mr. Mellish
Form-master who sets the examination papers and later discovers Bradshaw's absence.
- The Doctor
Mentioned as part of the Museum incident; involved in the discovery of Bradshaw's scheme.
- M. Gerard
A master who jumps six feet in surprise during the Museum incident.
Key passages
“I dare not say what I think about that book.”
The narrator cannot express his true opinion of Thucydides Book II.
Reflects the narrator's dread of the examination material.
“I’m going to read Pickwick. Thicksides doesn’t come within a mile of it.”
Bradshaw chooses to read Pickwick Papers instead of studying Thucydides.
Illustrates Bradshaw's disregard for academic work.
“You may jaw as much as you jolly well please, but I’m not going to give this away.”
Bradshaw refuses to reveal his plan to avoid the exam.
Shows Bradshaw's secretive and cunning nature.
“Put it over your hand, and then shoot back the bolt.”
Use paper as a nonconductor to safely unlock the door from inside the Museum.
Key moment in Bradshaw's escape from the Museum.
“The moral of which is that the wicked do not always prosper.”
The story's moral is ambiguous; Bradshaw escapes the exam but misses a humorous sight.
The narrator humorously questions the conventional moral lesson.