Mr pendanski was truly concerned about hte boy's well being?

Although Mr. Pendanski likes to think of himself as a "therapist", he clearly falls short. Pendanski's hypocrisy is manifested, however, in his interactions with Zero. Zero has no one to stick up for him, and as the smallest and quietest of the group, is the object of Pendanski’s ridicule. Pendanski also has several philosophies which don’t seem to fit the therapist image, including encouraging the campers to fight. In the same way that Mr. Sir is intimidated by the Warden, Pendanski appears to be lower in command than Mr. Sir - the power hierarchy in this novel is very clearly defined, and Mr. Pendanski is the lowest ranking of the adults in the camp.