Whenever Holling mentions Doug Swieteck's brother (never referred to by his first name), it's usually to point out his bad behavior. The primary character trait that becomes attached to Doug Swieteck's brother is that of the misbehaving "bad boy." (Let's call him "D.S.B." for short.)
In the "November" chapter, Holling mentions D.S.B. several times. Once, he compares the curses Caliban uses in The Tempest to him:
Even Doug Swieteck's brother couldn't cuss like that—and he could...
Whenever Holling mentions Doug Swieteck's brother (never referred to by his first name), it's usually to point out his bad behavior. The primary character trait that becomes attached to Doug Swieteck's brother is that of the misbehaving "bad boy." (Let's call him "D.S.B." for short.)
In the "November" chapter, Holling mentions D.S.B. several times. Once, he compares the curses Caliban uses in The Tempest to him:
Even Doug Swieteck's brother couldn't cuss like that—and he could cuss the yellow off a school bus.
Holling uses more language from The Tempest to describe the way D.S.B. frightens other children on the playground:
At lunch recess, Doug Swieteck's brother lurched across the field, sixth graders scurrying out of his way as if he was a southwest wind about to blister them all over.
Holling also observes that D.S.B. smells of cigarette smoke.
In "December," D.S.B. gets a mention when Holling is describing why his school uses plastic Christmas decorations: "…because last Christmas Mr. Vendleri had seen what Doug Swieteck's brother did to the glass ones."
What do cussing, scaring small children, smoking, and (presumably) smashing glass decorations have in common? Well, they're not the actions of a perfect angel—pretty much the opposite. It's clear that, based on how often Holling brings up D.S.B. as the do-er of all bad things, Holling sees him as the baddest of all bad boys.
You can read more about the characters in The Wednesday Wars .
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