Literary Essay

Some people are born with deformities and disabilities, but does that mean you should treat them differently?  In the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio Auggie starts going to Middle school.  Auggie is very nervous because he’s afraid that everyone will tease him.  Some people might think that it’s just a story about some kid with facial deformities.  But I think it’s much more than that.  I think when R.J. Palacio wrote Wonder, she wanted the reader to infer an important message.  Wonder teaches us that you should accept everyone no matter what they look like. (7)

In the beginning of the Jack Chapter, he expresses how much he doesn't want to tour Auggie.  One day his mom gets a call friom Mr. Tushman.  Mr. Tushman was calling to see if Jack could give the new kid a tour of the school.  He’s pretty open to it until his mom says “’I guess there’s something wrong with his face’”.  After that he says NO.  It reminds him of a memory.  In that memory, he is at Carvel and utters an “Uhh!” when he sees Auggie’s facial deformities. "'If I don't have to do it,' I said,'I don't want to do it.'".  He tells his mom how Auggie is "deformed" and how he can't do it.  But then he realizes how sympathetic he is that Auggie has to deal with bullies like Julian Albans and decides to give it a try.  Little did he know that they would end up as best friends.  Jack starts hanging out with Auggie all the times.  This shows Jack accepting Auggie even though he has a deformity, but he doesn't just accept Auggie, but he cares for Auggie. (13)

Summer is a really nice person, so she decides to sit with Auggie during lunch on the first day of school.  She doesn't really mind Auggie's face, but people tease her about how she hangs out with the "Zombie Kid" and tell her how she would be so much more popular if she didn't hang out with Auggie.  Since Auggie found out that Mr. Tushman asked some people to be nice to him and to be his friend, he sort of doubts that Summer is really his friend.  But after an intence argument, he discovers that she is a true friend.  Summer didn't care how he looked, she looked deeper and found that he is actually a nice person and someone who would be a great friend.  This shows acceptance because Summer sees Auggie as a friend not someone with a deformity. (6)

For some people, it takes a while before they'll show acceptance.  An example is Amos.  He isn't Auggie's friend in the beginning of the story but in the end, he accepts Auggie as a friend.  Amos used to be a cool kid who didn't associate with people like Auggie because he's too cool.  But then when Auggie is being bullied by older kids at the Nature Reserve, he steps out and shows that he's a real friend.  “’Just leave them alone, dude’ Amos repeated calmly.”  After that incident Amos starts being really nice and finally accepts Auggie as a good friend.  Not as someone who has a facial deformity or isn't normal. (8)

As we look at acceptance, we can see that it helps us make more friends and meet more people.  If we look deep into someone, we can always find a reason to accept them as a friend.  I think without acceptance you would always live in your own bubble that is isolated from everyone else.  For me, acceptance is the key to making friends because you’ll never turn down a friend.  If we learn to accept everyone as a friend, the world would become a more peaceful place. (5)