The Worst Class Trip Ever

In this section of the novel, the tension increases as the main characters face new challenges, and the author lays out additional elements of foreshadowing and capitalizes on The Humorous Effects of Misdirection and Misunderstandings to imbue the escalating narrative with a lighter tone. This stylistic technique becomes particularly prominent when the children find Woltar and Lemi’s hiding place, for they once again rely on movie tropes to process what they are seeing. As Wyatt explains:

You know how, in like every horror movie, there’s a scene where the people who are about to get hacked apart by a chain saw maniac or turned into human lobsters in the secret basement laboratory come to a creepy house, and everybody watching the movie is thinking DON’T GO INTO THAT HOUSE YOU IDIOTS but they always do anyway? That’s what it felt like to me—a don’t-go-into-that-house moment (100).

Such tropes enable the author to build up anticipation quickly by providing a familiar narrative structure. In addition, the passage further mischaracterizes the two men as stereotypical villains, and additional misdirection is employed as the dragon kite in the back yard seemingly confirms the children’s suspicions about the men’s activities and ultimate goals.

As is typical of middle grade novels, the main characters decide to take matters into their own hands rather than calling on the help of adults. While such plot elements are less than plausible, they nonetheless conform to The Adventurous Setting of School Trips in Middle Grade Fiction, for rather than relying upon the safety net of adult supervision, the characters find what they believe to be legitimate reasons to actively avoid such assistance. Thus, the story focuses on the characters’ ability to navigate complex problems on their own. This dynamic becomes evident when the children plan a mission to find and rescue Matt, showcasing their increasing bravery and confidence. However, they still admit to being scared and overwhelmed by the situation, and this element of vulnerability makes them more realistic characters despite the implausible aspects of the story.

Finally, the fictional country of Gadakistan, which is first mentioned when Woltar and Lemi introduce themselves on the plane, is given more credibility when Barry provides a more detailed backstory establishing the identity of the country’s leader and the primary aspects of its political stance as an apparent ally of the United States. Gadakistan is seemingly based on contemporary representations of Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries with which the United States has had contentious relationships over the years. By extension, the protagonists rely upon overexaggerated stereotypes and prejudices to identify the characters of Woltar and Lemi as dangerous terrorists, and this aspect of the plot is designed to critique the cultural biases that underlie such representations in American media.

Additionally, Barry uses these biases to further employ The Humorous Effects of Misdirection and Misunderstandings, thereby suggesting that such stereotypes are unrealistic and unreliable. For example, Woltar and Lemi behave in ways that are typical of the villains in action movies and spy movies. As the two men wear disguises, kidnap Matt, and threaten the main characters by saying, “If you tell the police anything about us, anything, you will never see your friend again, you understand?” (63), their tone and wording reflects the straightforward and stereotyped language of such well-worn movie plotlines. Similarly, Wyatt also uses language reminiscent of crime novels, as when he observes the onset of nightfall and states that the men are “out there somewhere” (50). Barry also employs common tropes of the hostage exchange scenario, as when both parties agree to meet in a park and attempt to outsmart each other with disguises or distractions. These examples of misdirection play on familiar genre conventions to increase narrative tension. However, by creating false expectations that the events of the book will unfold predictably, Barry sets the stage for the narrative to subvert those tropes upon the eventual revelation of Woltar and Lemi’s noble intentions.