How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
i'm an awful person" she says through her tears.
you're not an awful person, i say softly.
yes i am! she sobs. it's just been so nice being in a new school where nobody knows about him, you know? nobody's whispering about it behind my back. it's just been so nice, justin. but if he comes to the play, then everyone will talk about it, everyone will know….i don't know why I'm feeling like this…I swear I've never been embarrassed by him before. (5.Bird.24-26)
Via hasn't told her family about the school play because she has been enjoying the reprieve of no one at school knowing about Auggie. Via doesn't want "to be defined in terms of being the sister of a kid with a birth defect"—she wants her own, separate identity. And that's not wrong of her. In fact, it's pretty normal. But she sure does feel guilty about it.
Quote #8
I'm not even sure why, but I started playing this little make-believe game with the girls in the camp. They'd ask me stuff about myself, and I'd make things up: my parents are in Europe, I told them. I live in a huge townhouse on the nicest street in North River Heights. I have a dog named Daisy.
Then one day I blurted out that I had a little brother who was deformed. I have absolutely no idea why I said this: it just seemed like an interesting thing to say. And, of course, the reaction I got from the little girls in the bungalow was dramatic. (7.Camp Lies.4-5)
Miranda, who are you? Not even Miranda knows. Don't like your life? Invent another. No wonder she ends up being such a good actor….
Quote #9
I asked Mom to buy me a new rolling duffel bag because my old one had Star Wars stuff on it, and there was no way I was going to take that to the fifth-grade nature retreat. As much as I love Star Wars, I don't want that to be what I'm known for. Everyone's known for something in middle school. (8.Known For.1)
Creating your image/persona/identity in middle school can be as much about showing the world who you are as it can about concealing and protecting your innermost self. Auggie's always going to have a special place in his heart for Star Wars, but he's comfortable with leaving the obsession behind in order to establish an identity that is based on who he really is, instead of on his favorite movies.