Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying, ableism, and death.

The Man Who Loved Clowns exposes how prejudice can isolate people with disabilities while also illustrating the great mutual benefits that arise when communities collaborate in close support of them. Delrita has seen people around her act with prejudice toward Punky her entire life, noting that people often stare at him in public, and some even seem afraid. As a result of incidents like these, Delrita and her family are defensive and protective of Punky and keep him close to home, unintentionally isolating him.

Delrita’s understanding of how people react to meeting Punky is formed early in her life. One particular incident, when Delrita brought a friend home in second grade, showed her the extent to which people’s prejudices are formed at an early age: “The girl had taken one look at [Punky’s] dwarflike body and his child-man face and run screaming from the house in terror” (6). Another formative experience Delrita has is when she hears a classmate, Georgina, and her brother laughing at Punky. Furious, she confronts them, but when school starts, Georgina warns all the others to stay away from Delrita because “she’s got a weird relative” (10).