Characters
This is the main character of the novel.
Who is August (Auggie) Pullman?
Auggie attends this type of school for the first time in 5th grade.
What is public school (Beecher Prep)?
The novel teaches that people should treat others with this quality.
What is kindness?
Most of the story is told in this point of view.
What is first person?
“Precept” means this.
What is a rule or guiding principle?
This character is Auggie’s older sister who feels invisible sometimes.
Who is Via (Olivia)?
Jack hurts Auggie’s feelings when he says this about being friends with him.
What is that he would “kill himself” if he looked like Auggie?
Auggie learns that true friends care about who you are on the inside, not what you look like on the outside. This is an example of this theme.
Acceptance
Friendship
This character’s point of view helps us understand what it’s like to be Auggie’s sibling.
Who is Via?
“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” This quote teaches this important lesson.
Kindness is more important than winning or being correct?
This friend stands up for Auggie at first but later struggles with peer pressure.
Who is Jack Will?
This big event at the end of the school year shows how much Auggie has grown.
What is the graduation ceremony?
Auggie shows this character trait by going to school even though he is afraid.
What is courage / bravery?
Switching narrators helps readers better understand this about each character.
What are their thoughts and feelings / different perspectives?
“Your deeds are your monuments.” This quote means this.
What you do is more important than how you look.
This character is kind to Auggie from the beginning and becomes one of his closest friends.
Who is Summer?
During this trip, older students try to bully Auggie and his friends.
What is the nature retreat / camp trip?
The story shows that judging someone by their appearance can lead to this mistake.
What is misunderstanding someone / being unfair?
When we see Jack’s chapter explaining why he said something mean, it helps build this story element.
What is character development?
“Everyone deserves a standing ovation.” This suggests this theme.
Everyone has value / everyone matters.
This former friend spreads rumors and bullies Auggie throughout much of the story.
Who is Julian?
At the end of the novel, Auggie receives this special award.
What is the Henry Ward Beecher medal (for courage and kindness)?
This theme is shown when characters learn to stand up for what is right, even if it’s hard.
What is integrity / standing up to peer pressure
The author uses multiple narrators mainly to show this big idea.
What is that everyone has their own story / perspective matters?
When Auggie says he feels like a “lamb to the slaughter,” he means this.
He feels nervous / afraid / like something bad is about to happen.