Also known as schoolboys, Schoolboys, Kolya's schoolfellows, Ilusha's schoolfellows, the preparatory boys.
The schoolboys first appear leaving school near the bridge, holding a council with stones in their hands. They are eager, rosy, and cruel in a pack, ready to turn a quarrel with one boy into a six-against-one fight. Alyosha approaches them as children rather than as little enemies, but their talk quickly reveals a school world of teasing, loyalty, and punishment.
IV-VII. And In The Open Air
Captain Snegiryov calls schoolboys merciless together though angelic alone. Their repetition of the wisp of tow taunt keeps his public humiliation alive for Ilusha.
X-I. Kolya Krassotkin
Kolya's school reputation shows the same group from another angle: the boys respect daring, cleverness, secrecy, and command, and Kolya Krassotkin knows how to rule them without seeming to ask.
X-III. The Schoolboy
By the time Smurov walks with Kolya, many of the boys have begun visiting Ilusha. Their former hostility is being redirected into concern, though Kolya still calls their sympathy sentimentality.
X-V. By Ilusha’s Bedside
Several boys sit by Ilusha's bed as reconciled visitors, laughing at Perezvon's tricks and sharing the room's fragile happiness. Their presence has become one of Ilusha's consolations.
Epilogue III. Ilusha’s Funeral. The Speech At The Stone
The schoolboys accompany Ilusha's coffin, cry with the family, and gather at the stone for Alyosha's speech. Their cruelty at the bridge is remembered openly so that their friendship and promise of memory can answer it.
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