PM Class Expository Essay: Practical Jokes

Don’t you just love the great rush of adrenaline you get when you’re trying not to get caught? You have just pulled off the perfect practical joke, and no one knows you were the culprit. The only problem is that no one but you is laughing. Has your prank been naughty or nice?

A harmless practical joke is when no one gets hurt, physically or emotionally. Harmless pranks should be fun for everyone involved including the perpetrator, the bystanders, and especially the victim. Traditional practical jokes include gadgets like the hand buzzer, squirting flower, pepper gum, and the ever popular whoopee cushion. Over the years, however, pranksters have forsaken the old-school devices and have designed more elaborate tricks. Last Halloween, my whole family dressed up like mummies. My parents stayed behind to give out candy and possibly scare a few kids with their bandaged bodies, while my brother and I went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Most of the houses we visited handed out candy, but a few houses were dark. We decided to ring their doorbells anyway, and run. It was our twisted version of ding-dong-ditching. When our candy sacks were full, my brother and I headed back to our house to sort through our loot. When we opened our bedroom door and switched on the lights, we saw a horrifying sight. Our room was completely woven with toilet paper from ceiling to floor like a giant spider’s web. As if that was not enough, our parents suddenly sprang from the closet and tried to grab us. We started screaming bloody murder! Mom and Dad had observed our doorbell prank and decided to get us back. Our room was a mess to clean up, but we all had a good laugh.

Not all practical jokes are fun. Some pranks can be harmful to everyone involved. Practical jokes cross the line when the victim, bystanders, or even the perpetrator gets hurt physically or emotionally. If property is damaged in the process, the prank is called vandalism, and that is against the law. When I was in fifth grade I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I was trying to have fun, but when it was all over the joke was on me. I was walking home from the store when I met up with some kids from my neighborhood. One girl was holding a carton of eggs, and I could tell they were up to something. “I dare you to throw an egg at Old Man Jenkins’ house,” somebody said. That sounded fun, so I grabbed an egg, wound up, and fired away. The egg splattered all over Mr. Jenkins’ front door. But before I could even laugh, I was all wet. When I looked up, my elderly neighbor was aiming a garden hose straight at me. Apparently, he had been waiting in the bushes to see what we were up to. The next thing I knew, my “friends” disappeared and a police car slid into the driveway. Mrs. Rodriguez from across the street was standing on the porch with her phone in her hand. I was SO busted, but in the end Mr. Jenkins agreed not to press charges if I cleaned up the mess. Did you know there is nothing that smells more disgusting and is as hard to scrub clean as dried raw egg?

Even though many practical jokes are harmless, it is important to make sure that they don’t turn into harmful pranks or even vandalism. Such is the case with TP-ing. If you decide to TP a friend’s house or yard, you better pray it doesn’t rain! Better to be a clown than a bully.