Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Leonard sits in a pleasant courtyard at school, gazing at the sky. Vice Principal Torres asks why Leonard isn’t in class. He asks the Vice Principal to sit with him, but Torres repeatedly commands him to go to class. The Vice Principal starts counting to three so Leonard will obey him. Leonard complies, anticipating his plans later that day. 

Occasionally, Leonard skips school, dresses as a businessman, and boards the train to Philadelphia. Leonard observes how unhappy and unfriendly the passengers appear, despite their freedom. He compares them to Jewish people transported to Nazi concentration camps. Leonard compares himself to Jewish people who killed family members, protecting them from the Holocaust. 

Herr Silverman encourages students to consider how they might have behaved if they were Germans during Hitler’s rise to power. Leonard recognizes Herr Silverman’s call to think critically about one’s choices within their culture, whereas many students find his comments offensive.

When Leonard rides the train in his suit, he chooses “the saddest-looking person I can find” (45) and follows them out of the station and through the streets of Philadelphia. He wonders why adults like his mother Linda fixate on careers that cause stress and misery.