In Sideways Stories from Wayside School, characters are always described using one or two stand-out features—like missing teeth, a big round face, or in Stephen's case, green hair. In this book appearances distinguish one character from the next, while at the same time reminding us that looks can be deceiving. After all, just because one kid's name is Eric doesn't mean he looks like the other two kids named Eric. Everyone at Wayside is an individual… or a dead rat, of course.
Questions About Appearances
- Why do you think Sachar frequently starts a chapter with a physical description of the starring character?
- How does Sachar use appearances to give us clues about a character's personality?
- Allison is teased for being pretty. How does she cope?
- Stephen has green hair, but we don't find out that it's not a part of his Halloween costume until the end of his story. Why do you think Sachar left that fact until the very end?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The story of the three Erics illustrates the danger of making generalizations, especially when it comes to appearances.
Some characters at Wayside School have aspects of their appearance that reflect their personalities.