Textual Analysis: The Model Pupil
The short story “The Model Pupil,” written by Thomas Bernhard in Frankfurt am Main in 1969, deals
with fear of the unknown, pressure to perform, and repressed anxieties.
The narrative displays the characteristics of a short story because it focuses on a brief moment—in
this case, the dream—and centres on only a few characters. The plot is concise, there is a turning
point when the pupil wakes up, and much is merely implied, leaving the text open to interpretation.
The plot begins with a nightmare in which the model pupil is unable to solve an arithmetic problem
and is humiliated by the teacher. His classmates react with malicious delight and push him into a
canal. The following day, he does not dare to go to school. At the end, he wakes from the dream but
keeps it to himself.
The model pupil appears hardworking and perfectionistic, yet at the same time inwardly insecure,
which constitutes the central theme of the short story. He does not want to be considered stupid and
therefore fears being humiliated. He is also afraid of being humiliated in front of his parents (ll. 18–
19). The teacher, his classmates, and his parents further intensify this pressure.
From a formal perspective, the text is structured linearly and ends with the pupil waking up. The
third-person limited narrative perspective provides insight into the pupil’s point of view; however, his
thoughts remain hidden from the reader.
In terms of language, the text is dominated by an elevated, objective style and hypotactic sentence
structures. Stylistic devices such as the metaphor of the canal (l. 9) and the statement that the model
pupil’s life is more methodical than the lives of adults (ll. 1–2) reinforce the sense of being
overwhelmed.
Overall, Bernhard shows that outward pressure to perform and perfectionism conceal deep,
repressed anxieties that place a heavy burden on the pupil.
The short story “The Model Pupil,” written by Thomas Bernhard in Frankfurt am Main in 1969, deals
with fear of the unknown, pressure to perform, and repressed anxieties.
The narrative displays the characteristics of a short story because it focuses on a brief moment—in
this case, the dream—and centres on only a few characters. The plot is concise, there is a turning
point when the pupil wakes up, and much is merely implied, leaving the text open to interpretation.
The plot begins with a nightmare in which the model pupil is unable to solve an arithmetic problem
and is humiliated by the teacher. His classmates react with malicious delight and push him into a
canal. The following day, he does not dare to go to school. At the end, he wakes from the dream but
keeps it to himself.
The model pupil appears hardworking and perfectionistic, yet at the same time inwardly insecure,
which constitutes the central theme of the short story. He does not want to be considered stupid and
therefore fears being humiliated. He is also afraid of being humiliated in front of his parents (ll. 18–
19). The teacher, his classmates, and his parents further intensify this pressure.
From a formal perspective, the text is structured linearly and ends with the pupil waking up. The
third-person limited narrative perspective provides insight into the pupil’s point of view; however, his
thoughts remain hidden from the reader.
In terms of language, the text is dominated by an elevated, objective style and hypotactic sentence
structures. Stylistic devices such as the metaphor of the canal (l. 9) and the statement that the model
pupil’s life is more methodical than the lives of adults (ll. 1–2) reinforce the sense of being
overwhelmed.
Overall, Bernhard shows that outward pressure to perform and perfectionism conceal deep,
repressed anxieties that place a heavy burden on the pupil.
