High school—the only educational environment that's a microcosm of every personal bias, division, and special little group that has ever existed in the world. Maybe you wonder if kids back in the 1970s could really know the struggle, but the truth is, they did. Need evidence? Check out the social structure of Lightsburg High in Tales of the Madman Underground, where cheerleaders lead double lives as popular girls and Madmen and kids that rank lower on the ladder are forced to take abuse rather than defend themselves.
This is the world Karl belongs to, but is everything really the way it seems for the members of the school's intricate social castes? As John Barnes shows us, it isn't quite that easy.
Questions About Society and Class
- Why do you think Cheryl, Bonny, and Danny are able to so deftly navigate between being popular and being in the Madman Underground?
- How has Karl's dad's status in the community affected his son's status at school?
- What does the social hierarchy of Lightsburg High say about what it's like to be a kid with serious problems at their school?
- How do the Lightsburg faculty members seem to deal with students' problems and social issues?
Chew on This
Being a part of the Madman Underground is easier for people like Cheryl, Danny, and Paul, who have specific niches carved out for them in school clubs.
Although they make their stances on the subject clear by the end of the book, neither Karl nor Paul ever really want to leave the Madman Underground.