In The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, is Duddy at all justified in making the prank phone call to Mr. MacPherson?

Mr. MacPherson suspects, but cannot prove, that Duddy made the
prank call that ended in the death of his wife. He suspects that this is in retaliation for the
insult that MacPherson made against Duddy's father, and this is partially supported by the text;
it is clear that Duddy values his family above many other things and viewed the insult as far
worse than its face value.

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"Kravitz! Put out that cigarette
immediately."

"My father is aware that I smoke,
sir."

"Then he's not fit to bring up a
boy."

"He's my father, sir."

"Would you
like to stay on in this school, Kravitz?"

"Yes, sir. But he's my
father, sir."
(Richler, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz,
Google Books)

However, much of the
friction between them comes from Duddy's own actions; he, like the other boys, takes pleasure in
tormenting his teachers and seeing how much he can get away with. If he made the call, he never
intended it to result in a death; it was purely for amusement. However, actions have
consequences; Duddy thought that he was punishing MacPherson for the insult, but in fact he was
responsible for a lot more, including MacPherson's return to alcoholism. Looking at the whole
picture, including the insult that spurred the phone call, there is no moral justification for
the thoughtless act.