The Education of Robert Nifkin
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'''''The Education of Robert Nifkin''''' is a 1998 book written for young adults by [[Daniel Pinkwater]]. It is set during the 1950's in [[Chicago]] and is written in the format of a college application essay. It follows the unusual [[high school]] experience of the narrator, Robert Nifkin.
==Plot summary==
Robert goes to Riverview high school which is only notable for its [[Anti-semitism|anti-semitic]] attitudes, [[homophobia]], boredom, and [[Second Red Scare|anti-communist paranoia]]. Robert has no interest in any of his classes except for [[ROTC]], a class he is taking instead of [[Physical Education|PE]]. His boredom and hatred for school grows and he eventually stops attending for large periods of time, preferring to hang out with Kenny Papescu and his girlfriend Linda in a very [[beatnik]] part of town. On a day that he actually attends, he finds that his ROTC sergeant has been fired, on the grounds of being a [[Communist]]. Robert's [[truancy]] increases even more, except on the occasions that he seeks shelter in Riverview from the Chicago winter.
Finally the school orders him to be transferred to a correctional school but, from the recommendation of Kenny Papescu, Robert convinces his parents to let him attend Wheaton, a private school. At Wheaton, truancy, when it is even noticed, goes unpunished. This is how, Robern learns, Kenny Papescu has never been to school in over two years. Robert ends up getting [[Grading in the United States|straight A's]], some in courses he didn't know he was enrolled in. Robert matures greatly while attending the Wheaton school and learns to appreciate art, chess, and the city's [[architecture]]; the freedom that it provides allows him to explore his interests with the guidance of the teachers. Robert concludes his [[high school]] reflection with the hope that he is admitted into the college.
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[[Category:1998 novels]]
[[Category:American novels]]
[[Category:Young adult novels]]
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