Wonder By R J Palacio Analysis

1. Analysis

The novel, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, delivers many obstacles overcome by the young protagonist, Auggie. Many themes can be found in this novel, but the most prominent is the power of how family and friendship help Auggie adjust to new situations. Palacio presented Auggie with a frightening new situation for any homeschooled student, let alone anyone with a prominent facial difference. As Auggie said, “I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds” (Palacio, 3). The love that Auggie’s family gave him helped push him through 27 surgeries’ makes a powerful bond that made him feel ready after getting used to the idea, of attending a mainstream school. His family, especially his mother, lived

In this novel, the characters start as strangers who develop into vibrant, real-life people by the end. The author helps the audience get to know the characters by changing narratives in multiple sections. The characters are very relatable as well as realistic. Olivia gives the great advice of “’we all have to put up with the bad days . . . unless you want to be treated like a baby the rest of your life’” to Auggie as a sort of pep talk and showed how she viewed the world (Palacio, 115). The author was showing us mainly Auggie’s point of view, but also how he affected other people’s lives in both positive and sometimes negative ways. Olivia loves her brother fiercely, but “me [Olivia] and Mom and Dad are planet orbiting the Sun” where Auggie is the Sun (Palacio, 82). The author brings Olivia’s point of view into the book to remind the audience that having a child with special needs will take away attention from any other children, and that is the way they are used to as they grow up. Olivia finally found something of her own, a new high school where no one knew her, as well as a boyfriend who clearly saw Olivia as “a little lost bird looking for its nest,” and that is what he became for her (Palacio, 203). Point of view means how the narrator sees the world. All the different points of views in this novel eventually came to love (in some way, shape, or form) Auggie as “’you don’t need your eyes to love’”

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think Auggie thought Beecher Prep smelled like a hospital when he walked in? Does it have anything to do with his fragile immune system?

2. Why do you think Miranda had such a close bond with Auggie, playing with him even after Via and Ella went to play something else?

5. My Personal Reaction

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this book. I had never heard of it before I saw the movie trailers on tv, and even after watching those and learning we were going to have to read it for this class, I was not looking forward to it. I had some preconceived ideas of how it would just be another inspirational story about a student with special needs who overcame adversity and had a happily ever after. So, imagine my pleasant surprise that I felt after reading the novel. I liked it because the cheesiness was kept to a minimum, but also, I enjoyed how different characters narrated different sections so we could get a full picture of everything that was going