A Few Favorite Quotes from "Wonder"

Overall, this book evoked my emotions in many different ways.  I felt Palacio was pulling at the strings of my heart one second, and then the next she was yanking at them.

 

The way that Palacio used her words throughout the story is what kept me into the book.  I remember I was reading it one night, and I didn't put it down until three in the morning!  I couldn't believe that I had gotten so lost in a book, because I never believed that could happen.

I look at this book as a guide to my teaching career, a guide to show us that not all of our students are going to be the same, and that's okay.

 

Here are a few of the things Palacio either quoted or wrote during the story Wonder, and they're words that I will always keep close to my heart.

 

“Kinder than is necessary. Because it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”

This quote really stood out to me the most. Think about a time when you were kind to someone.  Were you just kind because someone was looking? Or were you kind because you wanted to be?  The thing that we as humans do is decided every moment which path we're going to head down.  Are we going to be mean to someone who hasn't done a thing to us, or will we choose to be the kindest person to them?  It's our decision to choose, and I choose "kinder".

 

“Jack, sometimes you don't have to be mean to hurt someone.”

If you're going to be a teacher, get ready for it.  You're going to run across the kid who is mean to someone, but comes up with the excuse that they never intended to hurt them, or they weren't even trying to be mean.  Whenever I become a teacher and run across this, this quote will probably be the first thing that comes to my mind.

Actions speak louder than words, and that's what we need to teach our children.

 

“AUGUST PULLMAN'S PRECEPT
Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world.

- Auggie”  

I love this precept more than any of the others in the book.  I believe every word that Auggie says about everyone deserving a standing ovation.  I believe that everyone has battles they're going through, even if they're small.  Everyone, even the person who is fighting the hardest battle ever imagined, deserves a standing ovation, because like Auggie said, we all overcometh the word.

 

Other Characters vs. Megan

I felt like every character in this book should be considered a major character,  because without them August's life would not be the same.

 

Each of the characters that helped August whenever he got into the fight with the few seventh graders may not have been the most important characters in the story, but at that point in time they were.  They were there to help August, even though August believed that they were always against him.

 

The teachers and the Principal of the school played an important part in August's life, too.  If Mr. Tushman would not have called the three kids up to meet August, then how would they have reacted when they first met him?  How would Julian treat August?  Would Jack and August even be friends?

 

Characters are an important part in a story, even if they major ones.

 

I feel as if they characters were so easy to relate to in this story because of the way that R.J. Palacio designed them.  The characters were all set up to be just like people we have encountered before.

 

The characters of this story are the reasons why I loved it so much.  The story seemed so real, as if someone I knew was explaining their fifth grade year to me.



Julian vs. Megan

"People may not always tell you how they feel about you, but they will always show you.  Pay attention."

Unknown, Personal Precept

If you say that you haven't dealt with a bully before in your life, then you're probably lying.

 

Julian is probably a guy that I would have even been afraid of in the fifth grade.  Maybe he was nice to August in the beginning, but he definitely changed his attitude towards him in the middle of the story.

 

I myself have never found joy in bullying someone because of their appearance.  I try to accept people from who they are and who they'll become in the future.  I'm a strong believer that we should treat each other the way that we want to be treated.  There's something that I want to change about myself and I'm sure there's something that you wish you could change about yourself, so why should we target someone who looks different than us?  I never really understood why kids do it, but they do.

 

Julian is a character that I feel like everyone can relate to.  I'm sure someone's said something bad about you because of something that wasn't normal for another person.  If you know what it feels like to be bullied, then you know what it feels like to be August when he confronts Julian.

Jack vs. Megan

Jack took me by surprise at the beginning of the story.  I seemed to really like him, until the day of Halloween.  I notice this too much in schools that I've gone to; some kid is nice to one kid until other people are around.  It always breaks my heart when I see this, and seeing it happen to Auggie made my heart ache.

 

R.J. Palacio really pulled at my heart with this character.  He wasn't who I thought he was going to be, in fact, he completely changed halfway through the story.  When Jack figured out why Auggie was mad at him, he instantly felt bad.  If I were August, I don't know if I would've forgave him so fast, but I probably eventually would have.

 

Jack really took me by surprise whenever he punched Julian.  I believe that Jack was just under so much pressure to be the perfect kid in the fifth grade, and I think that all kids are under that pressure.

 

Thinking of myself as a future teacher, I try to think of how I would react to someone like Jack.  We all get lost on our paths sometimes, and I think that's what I would tell Jack.  I believe that he was confused on what he wanted in the fifth grade, when all he really needed was to be August's friend.



Summer vs. Megan

Thinking back to when I first met my best friends, I don't really remember it being hard to go up to them and talk.  It just kind of happened, and nobody judged me for hanging out with them.

 

Summer was obviously different in many ways from the rest of her class.  She was the only one who actually wet up to August without being told to do so.  She's the kind of girl that everyone should hope to meet.

 

Relating myself to Summer is kind of easy.  When I was in elementary school and I saw someone who didn't have anyone to hang out with, I would always approach them and talk to them.  I became friends with many different people because of this, and when I found out that someone was picking on them I would always stand up for them.  That's what I thought was best, and I never understood why just because someone's different that they shouldn't have friends.

I was friends with everyone, no matter what.

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man, true nobility is being superior to your former self."

Ernest Hemingway, Personal Precept

 





Mr. and Mrs. Pullman vs. Megan

Can I take a moment and say that I fell in love with the Pullman family?

They were simply amazing, caring, and a strong family who obviously cared about each other.

 

I'm going to look into my future, and pretend that I am Mrs. Pullman, Auggie's mom.  What if I had a daughter or son who was like Auggie?  What if I had to deal with and answer the questions that Auggie asked his parents?

I know that one thing is for sure, and that is that I would love my child with all of my heart.

 

"Your best is good enough."

R.J. Palacio has introduced me to a kind, loving, caring family that I can only pray I will have someday.  I want to be the mom who my child isn't afraid to tell anything to, the mom who loves her children more than anything that she has ever seen.  I want to believe that as a mom, I will be able to help my children through their hard times just like Mrs. Pullman did.

 

Even though Auggie's parents didn't have a part dedicated to them, I believe that they should've.  I know that Palacio left out a lot, because if they would have had their own section, we would have seen August's and Via's lives from a whole different point of view.

 

Like I said, Auggie's parents are kind of like my role models as to how I want my husband and I to treat our kids.  I don't know if Palacio intended for me to fall in love with them, but I did, and I'm never going to stop loving their relationship.

Justin vs. Megan

I've never met someone like Justin, but going back to my first year of high school, I kind of wish I had.

 

Justin was nothing but perfect for Via, and I feel in love with the characters relationships immediately.  They were cute, caring, and the way that Justin accepted Auggie so easily made me happy.

 

I think that we are all looking for a Justin in our lives, it's just something that I don't know if all of us will find.  Someone who can be a big brother figure even to his girlfriend's brother's friend is simply amazing.  Justin wasn't a major part of the story, but he had a major role, and that was to help keep August and his friends safe.