# A Shocking Affair explained — School Stories

> Chapter companion for School Stories by P. G. Wodehouse.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/school_stories_se/chapters/a-shocking-affair
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/school_stories_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/school_stories_se/chapters