We are in the middle of reading R.J. Palacio’s now well-known book, Wonder. Some of us have finished reading it on our own. Some have even already been to see the movie, which is never as good as the book, right‽ As a group, however we are currently in the section from Jack’s perspective.
Jack is an interesting character. They all are, but what I find interesting about Jack is the particular set of flaws and challenges he has. Jack’s flaws are different from and less obvious maybe than August’s or less infuriating than Julian’s, but he has them. I find Jack’s challenges interesting to think about because they are familiar and common. How does one actually manage to do the right thing when it would require confronting friends and other peers, would draw a lot of attention and could mean being excluded?
Conflict is unpleasant, but to take on the kind of confrontation Jack might face were he to take a stand and declare his loyalties, especially as an adolescent when peers, friendships and social standing take on new significance, would require not only courage but the ability to think clearly and weigh big issues. Are there any of us who hasn’t avoided having an unpleasant conversation? It might be easy, reading a story, to decide what a character should have done, and that’s one great reason to read novels. Characters & stories give us a chance to think through conflicts that help us figure out who we are and who we want to be. But if I was facing Jack’s situation, as a 5th-grader, I’m not sure exactly how I would have dealt with it. I would hope I’d have done the right thing, but doing the right thing when we are called to act and in the face of all the complications of relationships & emotions is not so easy.
I do think Jack deserves a little of our scorn, but I wouldn’t want to be too quick to condemn him for having a very normal difficulty negotiating the kind of challenge we are all likely to struggle with. His character, his situation, and this whole story all help me reflect on important matters, and that is what draws my interest.
I’d like to know which characters you find particularly interesting. Who do you think is facing a particularly interesting challenge that wouldn’t be so easy to handle? What do you hope you might have done in the same situation? What do you hope the character would have done or will do?
1.I find summer interesting.
2.I think that jack has a challenge for finding why august is upset.
3.I would ask for help and then apologise.
4.I hope that jack will apologise to august and tell him the truth.
I think August is interesting in meany ways like he his faces and his personality
August IS an interesting character. He is usually very thoughtful, maybe because he knows what it is like to have a hard time fitting in. What is it about his personality that you find fascinating?
What Do you Hope The Character Have Done Or Will Do?:
(1)I think Julian is going to be August friend.
(2)I think Summer and August are going to spend more and more time thorougher
(3)I think if Julian is August friend. Julian’s mom is going to be mad at him
Interesting. Why do you think Julian’s mother would be be mad about Julian being friendly to August?
I find August a particularly interesting character and his situation is so terribly bad. I would try to ignore people, but that would be hard.
Maybe we find August interesting because it can seem hard to imagine living his life. We think he is up against different challenges than we have to deal with. It’s true, most of us haven’t had to go through the surgeries he’s had nor been stared at all the time, but aren’t his challenges also a lot like ours?
I think that August is inserting because his face problem and people don’t like him.Because they think they are get the face problem like August.
So you mean that you think people are afraid that being around him will make their faces look like his? Maybe I’m just not quite sure what you mean. Tell us more.
the character I find interesting is August because he is different than others and dosent care about what people think about him
August has had to get used to the way people react to him, and I agree that is pretty good at not letting the things that other people say or do bother him too much. I will disagree with you a little, though. I think he does care about what other people think about him. I think it mattered to him that the kids who first met him at school understood that he is smart. I also think his emotional reaction to what Jack Will said shows that it matters very much to him what Jack actually thinks about him.
I think that Summer is a interesting character because she sat with August though no one else sat with him. I think that Jack is facing the most interesting challenge because everyone is ignoring him and thinking he is emotionally unstable. If that were to happen to me i would talk to the “Julian”. What I hope Jack will do is pretty much the same as i would do.
Summer is an interesting character! Without her, the story would not be at all the same. Imagine what August’s experience of his first term would have been like without her! Do you think she affected anyone else?
Jack is your typical 5th grader, he doesn’t seem like he has problems. But when you think about it from his perspective, he faces challenges that many kids in general would not know how to handle. I’m interested especially in Julian. I think he might have a good side, that maybe just doesn’t always show. I would say that August is facing many different challenges then the others, most of them because of his condition.
I would hope that I could accept August for who he is. I hope that Jack and the others will will realize will realize that just because he looks different, he is still a human being, and deserves to be treated equally.
Wisely observed. We should all hope (and strive) to show kindness to others (no matter who is watching or listening).
i think that Summer Is An interesting and Very Courageous character because she sat with august and no other person did because everybody else was too scared to sit with him and that she wasn’t told to be one of the welcoming students by Mr. Tushman And Was Just Nice to him.
Jack made that same observation, that Summer wasn’t put up to being kind to August but did so of her own volition. Do you think she did it all for August, or might she have done it for herself in some way?
i find august a good person
Interesting. Tell us more. Why do you say so? Didn’t August choose to be right rather than be kind when he corrected Julian during the tour?
I think summer is interesting because she was the only one that became friends with August that wasn’t asked by Mr.Tushman. Lots of people in the book thought that he was weird, messed-up, or even scary, but summer thinks he is unique and special, which is true. Summer might also be facing the challenge of losing some friends, because she’s been hanging out with August, which her friends might find weird. I think that Summer is doing the right thing and she should try to convince her friends to become August’s friend too. It may be hard, but if she is brave enough to become friends with August, she can at least try. I hope she will do that.
I agree that Summer is an interesting important character. Is it most important that she is friends with August or that August is friends with her?
OM I DON’T KNOW I THINK I LIKE AUGUST BECAUSE I JUST THINK HE IS INSISTING I LIKE JACK BECAUSE HE IS THE BRAVEST CHARTER IN THE STORY. AND JACK IS NICE TOO MY FAVOURITE CHARTER OK! OM NEXT OM I DON’T KNOW THAN SORRY 🙂
IST
What do YOU think makes August the bravest character we’ve met so far? It would be interesting to hear more about that from you. (And thank you for practising leaving your first comment. Do review our commenting guidelines, lest it seem like we’re shouting at each other.)
1: I agree that Jack is a interesting character 2: I find that Jack is an interesting character because he has flaws that makes him more of a character that has alot of emotions.3: I find that Jack has a few interesting challenges one for an example his family is not the most richest character.That is my comment.
Thank you for bringing up the issues of wealth & status. It is definitely something Jack is aware of and that some of his peers remind him about (though maybe not intentionally). How is Jack’s family’s financial situation a challenge for him? Is it a benefit in any way?
1 I think jack is the most interesting one of all because he is nice and he became 2 2 friends with Aggie he even ate lunch with him once
3 I think summer is pretty cool because she became friends
We might say Summer is cool beans!
I think that August is inserting because his face problem and people don’t like him.Because they think they are get the face problem like August.
Do people dislike August? Do they have any reason to not like him? Would he be less interesting or in any way worse off if he had a different face?
I like jack he’s nice to august
OK, but why else do you choose to mention Jack? Isn’t Charlotte nice to August? Didn’t the Maxes play dungeons & dragons with him? Is there something else special about Jack? Wasn’t he two-faced and mean to August in a very hurtful way?