Character Analysis: Wonder By Raquel J. Palacio

How does Wonder communicate ideas of value?

Wonder by Raquel J. Palacio communicates the idea to not judge someone or something immediately or by their appearance. August Pullman, a boy born with severe facial deformity experiences a great deal of exclusion and finds it extremely difficult to mingle and fit into a crowd. This, however, is overcome in the novel as the author represents courage, sympathy and unity. August is able to slowly form a strong relationship with others who realise his true identity.

Throughout his life, August has experienced and continues to experience abusive and insulting behaviour. When he first joins his school, August is bombarded with actions and comments that absolutely crush him on the inside. "What's the

“Amos looked at me and nodded. ‘It was cool how you stood your ground, little dude,’ he said, high-fiving me.” As August spends more time with those who are sympathetic, they begin to accustom to him and treat him as a regular individual. “And now that they'd protected me, I was different to them. It was like I was one of them. They all called me ‘little dude’ now— even the jocks. These big dudes I barely even knew before would knuckle-punch me in the hallways now.” Since a small group of people had taken action to treat August as a standard human being, others began altering their ways as well to realise who August genuinely is. This new-formed unity provided a sense of trust and belonging for August and now his personality was who he was known for, not what he looks like.

The invaluable idea of not judging someone on how they appear to be at a first glance is elaborated efficiently in Wonder. It communicates this through August who eventually is able to overcome the negativity surrounding him by making himself known for something else, not his face. His exterior features affect his life majorly, but he is able to get the better of his situation and slowly make others realise his true