Character Clues

Character Analysis

Action

In Wonder we learn what makes each character tick (or tic, in Justin's case) mostly by watching what they do, and listening to what they say—their colors come through in their day-to-day actions.

For example, Auggie shows how uncomfortable he is with his appearance by hiding: first behind an astronaut helmet, and later behind his bangs. He mumbles and looks down, and generally tries to keep his head down, which not only makes it harder for people to see him, but also keeps Auggie from having to see their reactions.

But he also shows that he wants to make progress. He learns to speak up, to look people in the eye, and to smile whether or not anyone can tell that he is. He shares homework, plays foursquare, and laughs in all the right places—in short, he acts normal. But after hearing the unkind things Jack says about him, Auggie completely stops hanging out with him. He doesn't explain anything to Jack, but his action communicates the ex-friend vibe pretty well.

Via's love and loyalty for Auggie are evident from the moment she abandons her Lily doll the day Auggie comes home from the hospital. She also grows up scolding strangers who stare and making endless accommodations for Auggie's special needs. When he's feeling terrible after Jack's betrayal, she holds his hand and lets him rage and cry—and then she pulls Auggie out of the depths of his despair by making him get up and go to the Halloween Parade.

Summer's kindness is clear the moment she sits down with Auggie so that he doesn't have to sit alone. We see her courage as she quietly leaves Savanna's popular-group party rather than drop her friendship with Auggie.

Jack's contradictory actions speak to his ambivalence about how being Auggie's friend will impact his social standing. He holds the door for Auggie and smiles at him, and he sits by Auggie in class because he's been asked to, but then he bails on Auggie at lunch. When at last he realizes that he really does want to be friends with August, he punches Julian in the mouth, finally recognizing Julian's continual efforts to squash the friendship. Now that's a monumental statement.

Speech and Dialogue, Direct Characterization

There's not a great deal of reading between the lines needed in order to figure out what's going on in Wonder. We hear most of what's discussed between characters through dialogue, and anything that isn't spoken to another character is usually just told directly to the reader.

It's easy to get to know characters who just flat out tell you stuff, and the abundance of narrators means we have a lot of access to everyone. If one narrator leaves a gap, it's interesting to wonder why they've done so, and you can bet that at least one of the other six different narrators is going to fill it in for you before long. It's fun to see who talks about whom, what each narrator reveals, and at what point they bring up a given topic.