Analyse the Character: August Pullman

Nguyen Ha Phuong
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ANALYSE THE CHARACTER: AUGUST PULLMAN

The best- selling novel “ Wonder” by R.J. Palacio follows the life of August- a ten- year- old boy with the most unusual look. The appearance disadvantage puts him into unwanted and even hurtful situations many times. However, Auggie deals with it with courages, and how he handles all those difficulties reveals a lot about himself. We shall go through this story to have a sketch of Auggie’s character.

August is a shy kid.
August has an abnormal appearance. He refers to himself as “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s
probably worse”. The outlook disadvantages keep August from being a normal kid as he has
always wished to be. He can not walk in the streets without being chattered about and some people even give him disgust look or look away when they meet his eyes. Kids run away when they see him at the playground. As a result, he has only three friends. Unfortunately, they have new friends at school. August, on the other hand, study at home as his health doesn’t allow him to attend any classes. His circumstances make him an introvert child. He’s shy about meeting new people, advoids any eyes staring at him and hardly looks at anyone in the eyes. He has developed some workarounds to protect himself from any negative reaction he can get from people. He explains: “One of the reasons I grew my hair long last year was that I like how my bangs cover my eyes: it helps me block out the things I don't want to see.” And a few years before the bangs, there was the astronaut helmet given by his sister’s friend Miranda, which Auggie wore "everywhere he went”.
 August’s health conditions have improved in recent years so his parents decides to send him to Breech school to study in fifth grade. When he meets Principle Tushman in his first visit trip to school before the year starts, he only mumbles and looks directly at Mr. Tushman’s red Adidas. After the visit, Mr. Tushman asks Charlott, Julian and Jack to show August around the school. One thought crosses August’s mind that he wishes he wouldn’t have to meet those kids out the principle’s office. We understand that Auggie has troubles making eye contacts, and has even more troubles making conversations. He is so quiet that these first kids he met at school even ask him If he can talk. August likes Halloween eve best in the year, stating the reason that sinks our hearts: “ We can go around getting to know other people before they see our faces behind the mask”.

August does not give up trying to fit in.
 “What I wanted was to go to school, but only if I could be like every other kid going to school. Have lots of friends and hang out after school and stuff like that”. August knows that he’s a challenge to look at – “ I know I’m weird- looking, take a look, I don’t bite”. Describing himself as some kind of monster, Auggie somewhat accepts his appearance despite the bitterness it brings. He wishes kids would just get over it already. Since he can change what he looks like, the staring and whispering reminds him over and over again how abnormal he is. Hard as it is, August learns to live with all those jaggers like how he learns to handle his appearance. However, the pain is still there. He figures out that school doesn’t have any differences from other places..., that no one dares to touch him or have contact with him, as If he were the moldy cheese from “ Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. However, he’s surprised when a girl named Summer suddenly sits with him at lunch when no others do that, and they become friends afterward. While Summer and Jack stay besides Auggie and help him through everyday at school, kids like Julian still treat him mean and make him feel bad about himself.
August is a strong kid. 
It is undeniable that Auggie is a kid with strong fortitude. Auggie was born in a family of beautiful parents and sister, he grows up with curiousity, fear and even disgust from other people. Auggie builds up his own shell and cage himself in it. He advoids eye-contacts, barely talks to people, and grows hair that cover up his face. However, Auggie does not feel pathetic for himself at all. He has always tried to be a normal child and can fit in. That’s why he insists on going to school after the visit tour and even after his mother’s doubt about it. Auggie wants to go to school,  but being like everyone else is another matter. He struggles everyday with Julian’s insulting jokes and everyone’s cheating him like a “moldy cheese”.
Auggie’s school life gets better with Summer and Jack staying by his side. However, in a Halloween’s Eve, he overhears Jack talking mean thing about his appearance to Julian. Feeling betrayed, Auggie thinks that he’s done with school. He does not tell anyone the real reason why he does that, he just pretends to have a stomachache. Auggie does not want to upset his parents by telling them what Jack says about him, instead he carries the sadness all by himself and only let his big sister Olivia know. Auggie is persuaded to go back to school only because Olivia threatens him to teill their parents the truth, even though that decision forces him to meet again Jack. Auggie’s strong enough to face his own problem without the help of his parents, and strong enough to forgive Jack when he apologizes and wishes to be friends again. At the end of the story, Auggie manages to conquer all the strugglings and finally accepted by other kids. Moreover, when he received the award at school for being the most inspirational pupil, a strange thing happens when the whole audiences stand up from their seats and praise for him. People show their love for Auggie, as he deserves what he receives after all he has been through and how he has faced them with bravery.

Whatever August Pullman looks like, he is still perfect. He teaches us a lesson of accepting our own selves, and that nobody is born perfect. We have to try everyday to be a better person, and as long as you are sweet and kind, it’s okay not to have a beautiful outlook.  Auggie is exactly what his mother says in the end of the story “ Thank you for everything you have given us, for appearing in our lives, and thank you for being just you”. A wonder.

ANALYSE THE EPIGRAPH.

Epigraphs were created to add appetizers to the entry of the story. They illuminate the imprtant aspects of the story, and head us to the right direction. At the beginning of the novel, Palacio quoted the lyrics from the song “ Wonder”:
“Doctors have come from distant cities
Just to see me
Stand over my bed
Disbelieving what they're seeing