How does the author use Duane’s transformation to highlight how wrong one can be to judge another based on their past behavior?

The author uses Duane’s transformation to highlight how wrong a person can be when judging someone based on their past behavior. People can grow and move beyond their past behavior, which is proven when Duane comes back to school. The narrator says, “The transformation was incredible” (99).

In addition to changing his looks, Smoke also changes his behavior, and the author shows how radical the change is by placing him in a situation that is similar to the one in which he ate Mrs. Starch’s pencil. This time, however, Duane apologizes for his behavior.