Polina Blinova, Grade 11
UWC Maastricht
I first read Wonder by R. J. Palacio when I was around 11 years old. Before the book itself became famous, the movie based on it was made, and before I ever started understanding the cruelty of the world we live in. It is a genuine heart-touching story about society's brutality, about the way we treat people different to us, and about the emphasis we put on our appearance. It is written for children, and it is one of the reasons why it should be of great significance and value to all of us. The simple language used allows the younger audience to follow the storyline, and if not fully grasp the deeper message, but at least realize the key idea the author is communicating - we treat people who are different to most of us unkindly, and it should not be the way our world works.
Auggie is an ordinary child, except he was born with deformed facial features, and despite all of the surgeries, his face can never look "completely normal." The storyline follows August's school year as a fifth-grader up until his graduation; we are shared into all of his struggles, and all of the incidents he is treated unfairly just based on his appearance. Wonder is brutally realistic in shedding light on the issue of society's intolerance - the problem that was relevant in 2012, when the book was published, but is still strikingly pertinent to the world of nowadays. The main character is 'bullied' and 'socially isolated.' He is betrayed by his friends and is put through numerous situations that, if looking differently, he would have never even thought of.
The message of the book should, without a doubt, be understandable to all of us. It is not just about those who look differently; it is about treating everyone equally, with kindness and respect. It is the type of story that I would recommend reading twice - at an early age and further along in life. Being a child, I fully agreed with what the book had to say; I cried when Auggie was bullied, and I smiled when I was shown that despite anything, there is always a reason to be happy. The main idea was transparent to me as a child, and I did not think it needed further emphasizing and truly believed that all people are good deep down in their hearts. It would, however, be more meaningful if I reread it now, now that I have been exposed to the world outside my little home in the middle of nowhere. It would be more significant if a high-school bully read it, and it would be more significant if a person brought up in an environment that encouraged intolerance to read it. It is sometimes difficult to see beyond our own biases, and it is harder to get rid of your prejudices when you are older.
"I was really angry at myself afterward for the way I had responded," - says the author of the book when asked to comment on what became the main inspiration behind writing the book. Palacio had once encountered a girl with a facial deformity and, after seeing her own kids being scared, hastily left. It is later on that she realized that her behavior was problematic and that exactly these kinds of actions lead to children growing up to become brutal towards everything that is different.
No matter how good, tolerant, and open-minded we think we are, we will all sometimes buy into thinking or acting badly, intolerantly, and close-mindedly. The important thing is to not let it become a part of our general way of thinking. Check your own biases, learn, change yourself for the better, and remember that "everyone is fighting their own demons, and no one ought to make their lives more difficult by being unkind." Auggie is a fictional character, but millions of people all across the globe are enduring the same kind of treatment Auggie had to endure, and it is crucial that we keep that in mind every time we face something different and unfamiliar
Auggie is an ordinary child, except he was born with deformed facial features, and despite all of the surgeries, his face can never look "completely normal." The storyline follows August's school year as a fifth-grader up until his graduation; we are shared into all of his struggles, and all of the incidents he is treated unfairly just based on his appearance. Wonder is brutally realistic in shedding light on the issue of society's intolerance - the problem that was relevant in 2012, when the book was published, but is still strikingly pertinent to the world of nowadays. The main character is 'bullied' and 'socially isolated.' He is betrayed by his friends and is put through numerous situations that, if looking differently, he would have never even thought of.
The message of the book should, without a doubt, be understandable to all of us. It is not just about those who look differently; it is about treating everyone equally, with kindness and respect. It is the type of story that I would recommend reading twice - at an early age and further along in life. Being a child, I fully agreed with what the book had to say; I cried when Auggie was bullied, and I smiled when I was shown that despite anything, there is always a reason to be happy. The main idea was transparent to me as a child, and I did not think it needed further emphasizing and truly believed that all people are good deep down in their hearts. It would, however, be more meaningful if I reread it now, now that I have been exposed to the world outside my little home in the middle of nowhere. It would be more significant if a high-school bully read it, and it would be more significant if a person brought up in an environment that encouraged intolerance to read it. It is sometimes difficult to see beyond our own biases, and it is harder to get rid of your prejudices when you are older.
"I was really angry at myself afterward for the way I had responded," - says the author of the book when asked to comment on what became the main inspiration behind writing the book. Palacio had once encountered a girl with a facial deformity and, after seeing her own kids being scared, hastily left. It is later on that she realized that her behavior was problematic and that exactly these kinds of actions lead to children growing up to become brutal towards everything that is different.
No matter how good, tolerant, and open-minded we think we are, we will all sometimes buy into thinking or acting badly, intolerantly, and close-mindedly. The important thing is to not let it become a part of our general way of thinking. Check your own biases, learn, change yourself for the better, and remember that "everyone is fighting their own demons, and no one ought to make their lives more difficult by being unkind." Auggie is a fictional character, but millions of people all across the globe are enduring the same kind of treatment Auggie had to endure, and it is crucial that we keep that in mind every time we face something different and unfamiliar
Bibliography:
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/jun/25/wonder-rj-palacio-review
https://www.npr.org/2013/09/12/221005752/how-one-unkind-moment-gave-way-to-wonder?t=1595146616107
https://childrensbooksdaily.com/book_reviews/review-wonder-r-j-palacio/
https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/jun/25/wonder-rj-palacio-review
https://www.npr.org/2013/09/12/221005752/how-one-unkind-moment-gave-way-to-wonder?t=1595146616107
https://childrensbooksdaily.com/book_reviews/review-wonder-r-j-palacio/
Image Citation: images.app.goo.gl/ryhJXGAuSiTK7t8X6
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