info. on Mr. Pendanski

If Mr. Sir is a pseudo-leader, then Mr. Pendanski is certainly a pseudo-therapist. A rather scrawny and awkward individual, Pendanski claims to have respect for the campers and to have their best interests at heart. He certainly appears more approachable and friendly at the beginning of the book than does Mr. Sir, and they almost have a good-cop, bad-cop routine going on. Pendanski encourages Stanley through his first day of work, and helps him settle into the camp environment.

Pendanski's hypocrisy is soon manifested, however, in his interactions with Zero. Zero has no one to stick up for him, and as the smallest and quietest of the group, is the object of Pendanski’s ridicule. Pendanski also has several philosophies which don’t seem to fit the therapist image, including encouraging the campers to fight. In the same way that Mr. Sir is intimidated by the Warden, Pendanski appears to be lower in command than Mr. Sir - the power hierarchy in this novel is very clearly defined, and Mr. Pendanski is the lowest ranking of the adults in the camp.