grapple - To seize something and hold it firmly; to wrestle with; to ponder and intensely evaluate a problem; to struggle to deal with

When Bill got lost on his trip to Paris, he had to grapple with the task of finding a place to sleep and not knowing the language.
dunce - A derogatory term used to ridicule someone who is not very clever, or who does not learn easily.
Being called the dunce of the class motivated Joe to work harder and he finished top of the class. Now sometimes he puts on a joker's costume to make fun of those who used to make fun of him.