Mr. Barker Character Analysis

Mr. Barker is the vice principal at St. Daniel’s. He also teaches Ishmael’s Study of Society class. Mr. Barker is an imposing figure; Ishmael notes that one simply doesn’t disobey Mr. Barker, as Mr. Barker will absolutely punish any students who disobey him. He’s also a master of sarcasm. Though Ishmael trusts and respects Mr. Barker, Mr. Barker is occasionally cruel, especially to Bill Kingsley. When the PowerPoint for Bill’s final speech in Mr. Barker’s class turns out to have been tampered with (presumably by Barry), Mr. Barker instead accuses Bill of not taking the assignment seriously and wasting his time. And though Ishmael encourages Bill at several points to tell Mr. Barker about Barry’s bullying, Bill refuses—and for that matter, Ishmael never tells Mr. Barker about the bullying he experiences, either. So while Mr. Barker purports to not tolerate bullying and urges victims to come to him, the novel shows that his methods are actually extremely ineffective.