Refund

Fritz Karinthy's 1998 play Refund is about a forty-year-old man who returns to the school where he previously attended and requests a refund of the fees he paid eighteen years ago, alleging that he learned nothing valuable at school and is now useless. Percival Wildlife, an American dramatist, adopted this play for a general audience. Refunds highlight Karinthy's outstanding sense of parody and wordplay in her creative work. The play is full of humor and deals with an extremely bizarre circumstance.

Wasserkopf, a former student, returned to the school where he studied 18 years ago. He argued with the principal that the education he had at school did not make him intelligent or qualified for a job or any other career. So it was useless to him. While he was roaming after being fired from his previous job, his friend Leaderer encouraged him to go to the school and beg for his tuition fee back. Then he went to his school and asked the principal to return his tuition cost. The principal was stunned to hear his ludicrous explanation. He'd never heard of anything like that in his thirty-year teaching experience. As it was impossible to persuade the student, the principal called the teacher to organize a re-examination to see whether or not he had learned anything. All the teachers decided to pass him by asking simple questions.

However, Wasserkopf was certain he would flunk the exam. The history instructor said, "How long did 30 years of war last?" Wasserkopf said that it lasted seven ears. The history teacher said that his response was based on recent research. At the same time, the mathematics teacher introduced the theory of relativity and quantum theory. He then explained why Wasserkopf's answer was valid. The teacher followed up with a question: "Do clocks in church steeples become smaller as you walk away from them, or do they merely appear to become smaller because of an optical illusion?"When Wasserkopf asked such questions and called the physics teacher an ass, the master replied that the answer was right since an ass does not have an illusion of vision.

As a result, Wasserkopf provided a metaphorical explanation that humans had an optical illusion, causing the clock to appear smaller as he walked away. Following that, the geography teacher inquired as to which city with the same name served as the capital of the German province of Brunswick. Wasserkopf attempted to fail the exam by answering with "same". The geography teacher explained the legend behind the city's name. Finally, the math teacher asked him two questions. He answered the first question incorrectly and grew excited because he thought he was going to get a refund.

The teacher immediately instructed him to calculate how much the school owed him. Wasserkopf calculated the amount properly, and the teacher commended him on answering his second question correctly. The principal then published Wasserkopf's results, stating that he had passed with distinction. The performance concluded with the principal saying that it would be their proudest boast that a student could not fail in their institution.

Some Important Questions

1. Sketch the character of Wasserkopf.

ans: Wasserkopf, a forty-year-old impoverished and greedy man born in Hungary. He is a short-tempered man who has been dismissed multiple times due to his poor manners and harsh behavior. Wasserkopf appears to be the type of person who does not do his job and blames others. He did not study well in school and was only concerned with getting by. He is not even familiar with foreign exchange. That's why he didn't land a good job. He claims to be useless. Wasserkopf also comes across as an irresponsible and impolite individual. He disrespects his teachers and uses nasty language with them. He believes he is intelligent enough to obtain the refund, but due to his folly and stupidity, he falls into his Mathematics teachers' trap.

2. Explain the following line of the play:

“Because I didn’t get my money’s worth, that’s why!”

ans: This line was spoken by the play's major character, Wasserkopf. In this phrase, Wasserkopf explains why he arrived and demands a return from the school's principal. According to him, his education at school provided him with nothing. He is out of work and facing financial difficulties. Wasserkopf is therefore right in requesting a refund. He says that a re-examination will show that his demand is valid.

3. How did the teachers outwit Wasserkopf?

ans: He failed the test by giving incorrect and absurd responses. But the teachers were smarter than him. After asking Wasserkopf a simple question, the mathematics teacher informed him that he had failed the exam and asked him to calculate the amount that the school needed to return. He did it exceptionally well. The mathematics teachers claimed that he solved the difficult question because he was a mathematical genius. The teachers declared that he had passed the examination. In this manner, they outwitted Wasserkopf.