The Education of Robert Nifkin is a social comedy, that is it derives its laughs from showing the absurdities of social conventions, in this case those that apply to schooling in America. Although the era for the novel's events is the 1950s, young people and adults are likely to recognize some of the problems Nifkin faces: teachers who do not care about teaching, hostile school administrators, a coercive student body life in which normal students enforce conformity via ostracism, and a daily routine so rigid that students have no chance to explore their interests and to develop depth of knowledge in any given subject. Instead of just pointing out the absurdities of life in Riverview High School, which are funny enough, Pinkwater offers the contrast of a school that is the opposite of Riverview. Wheaton School has almost no discipline beyond a tacit understanding among its...