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Liliana Trujillo

Professor Jane Lee

English 308

November 30, 2017

More to Them, Than You Think

R.J Palacio does not focus on one character in her novel, Wonder, rather she allows

readers to embark into the lives of various characters. She does this in order to show how the

characters each have a voice, individual struggles and challenges. Although the characters each

connect with one another, through one person, they each have their own individual stories. Her

text argues that children need to be taught that people are not one-dimensional, there is more to a

person than what they see. Palacio uses her young adult novel to show the complexity in the life

of young adults and how they are multidimensional, rather than simply portraying one storyline

of a young boy with a deformity, she opens up various storylines that showcases the different

roles the young adults play and that there is validity to their problems.

Palacio chooses to introduce Auggie’s sister, Via,’through Auggie’s eyes first, in order to

reveal how she is a multidimensional character. Auggie introduces Via as just his caring and

protective sister, but his sister is actually trying to breakaway from her singular identity as a

sister. In the chapter narrated by Via, she right away identifies herself as Olivia Pullman, not

‘Via’, the name her brother coined her when he was younger. Olivia attends a different school

than Auggie and she enjoys this because there, no one knows her at all. Olivia understands that

she will always be, “the sister of a kid with a birth defect…,” however, she does not “want to

always be defined that way” (91). Olivia has a lot more going on in her life than being defined as
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just a sister, she is experiencing her first love, dealing with friendship fall-outs as well as being

part of her first theater show. However, as Olivia is taking part in all of these different roles in

her life, it is still a challenge for her to breakaway from her past identity as a sister. This can be

noted when she feels guilt for choosing to keep her family in the dark about her theater show and

not inviting them in an effort to keep Auggie away. She confesses that she does, “…not want

them to come!They’ll bring Auggie with them, and I just don’t feel like…” (203). Olivia is trying

to figure out who she is without Auggie being part of it, yet it is difficult for her to do this

because she will always be tied to her brother Auggie. Palacio is revealing how much more

complex the lives of young adults are and how their validity to them as well. She opens up the

story of Olivia to use her experience as a reflection of the same complexities young adults have

to deal with, such as trying find their own identity.

Palacio purposely chooses to explore the young character of Jack in order to show how

young adults may be perceived to have no difficulties because of age, but their lives too can be

complex. Although Jack is only ten-years old, there is a lot more to him than what he is

perceived as through Auggie’s eyes. Jack befriends Auggie when they meet during Auggie’s

introduction of the school, but when school starts Auggie notices that Jack begins to avoid him.

Which then leads Auggie to think that Jack is just another person that did not want to be friends

with him because he is different. However, Jack is actually dealing with the complexity of trying

to ‘fit in’ in school and not be an outcast. In order to fit in, Jack has been portraying a false image

of himself so he will not be perceived as different than the other students. He admits that,

“[P]eople sometimes think that everyone who goes to private school is rich, but that isn’t true

with us,” meaning his family is unlike others at the school (149). However, Jack continues to
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lead people into believing he is rich, by not denying it. He simply continues to follow along with

the ‘false image’ the other boys believe of him. Then when Auggie comes along, Jack genuinely

wants to help Auggie get through school because he knows, “a kid like August doesn't stand a

chance in middle school” (141). Jack himself is struggling trying to keep up with a false image

he has made others believe be true, he could only imagine how much more difficult it would be,

if he looked like Auggie. Nevertheless, when Jack befriends Auggie, he realizes it is only making

‘fitting in’ more difficult for him, which forces him to stay clear of Auggie. Palacio uses a young

character like Jack to show how young adults, although perceived as having no problems at such

a young age, actually do. Their lives are complex and they have roles that have to play, such as

pretending to be someone your not in order to fit in. Jack is fearful of being looked at as the kid

that is different so he chooses to allow people to believe he is like them in an effort to get by

without any trouble, even if that means losing a friend.

Palacio chooses to not offer the adults in the novel a voice nor a storyline because her

focus is on showing the validity to the various problems and challenges young adults have. The

adults are the one-dimensional characters, and the way in which the children perceive and

describe the adults is the only representation of who they are. For instance, when Auggie begins

to attend the private school, one of the parents feels that Auggie has been inappropriately placed

in the school and should be transferred. The parent sends an email to the principal stating that,

“Beecher Prep is not an inclusion school…[and] that many parents question the decision to let

the child into our school” (162). However, the parent has yet to meet Auggie in person and is

only making this statement from having seen him once. In addition to this, she includes the word,

“our ”, when in fact, Auggie went through the application process, was accepted, and has been
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attending the school for a whole week. The conversation the adult has with the principal is all

that is said about the parent. There is no in-depth look into her reasons as to why she chose to say

this or what events may have led her to believe this. She is simply portrayed as a character that

expresses ignorance towards a student, whereas, with the young characters in the novel, there is

background story to them that reveals that they are multidimensional and one action is not all

there is to them. Palacio almost seems to tease the readers by describing gestures, or eye contact

that is made amongst the adults in the novel, such as when Auggie’s parents are driving home for

the school visit, “Mom gave daddy a look,” but that is as far as she goes (21). She only

acknowledges the complexity in the lives of the young characters and how there is a lot more

going on in their lives, but the adults are not given this same attention. Her novel is focused on

the complex relationships and challenges young adults have to deal with so she does not offer

any of the adults a space to do the same to only show the validity in the problems the young

adults have.

Palacio uses the young adult novel to display the complex relationships and multiple

roles young adults have to embark in as they grow up, and how there is validity to the problems

they deal with. She skillfully starts the novel with Auggie’s view of each one of the other

characters, but then has chapter devoted to each one of the other characters he mentions, and in

the chapters, they narrate their story and their take on the events. This is how she expresses the

multidimensionality of young adults. There is more to them than what is perceived and there is

just as much validity to the problems they deal with as they grow into adulthood, as adults.

Perhaps, Palacio could have also been using the young adult novel to show the need for young

adults to develop a sense of self-awareness. In the end of the novel, all of the characters come
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full circle and develop a sense of compassion and understanding towards each each other.

Therefore, Palacio could have also been trying to implement the need for a sense of self-

awareness in young adults since sometimes it may seem that the only problems they have are of

themselves, however other people lives can be just as complex as theirs.