R.J. Palacio's 'Wonder': Exploring Characters and Theme Analysis

This essay provides an analysis of the central characters in R.J. Palacio's novel 'Wonder' and explores the theme of 'never judge a book by its cover.' The novel revolves around August Pullman, a boy facing judgment due to a facial disorder. Characters like Summer and Via demonstrate compassion and understanding, looking beyond physical appearances. Jack leaves his friends to support August, standing against those who judge him. The essay highlights how these characters embody the theme, advocating against discrimination based on looks and promoting acceptance and understanding.

Running head: ENGLISH ESSAY
ENGLISH ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ENGLISH ESSAY
R.J. Pa1lacio is a notable American graphic designer and author who has shot to fame
with one of her noteworthy compositions, Wonder. The novel had later been adapted into a
movie in the year 2017. The following essay aims to put forth an explanation of the analysis of
the central characters of the concerned novel in discussion, Wonder and the relevancy of the
characters in terms of the theme ‘never judge a book by its cover’.
The novel, Wonder, is observed to have been revolving around the various experiences
that have been gathered by the key character in the play, August Pullman, a boy who had been
facing judgements from his classmates due to the facial disorder that he h ad been suffering
from. The novel might be considered to aptly put forth the saying ‘never judge a book by its
cover’. The major characters in the novel include Summer, a girl who has been described as a
classmate of the protagonist of the novel (Palacio 2012). The author, through Summer depicts the
fact there exists a section of the society that knows to look through the various physical disorders
that might be present in a person. The author depicts the compassionate and the awareness of
Summer throughout the story with the depiction of the manner in which she attempts to convince
the other members of the school regarding the fact that a person should not be judged on the
basis of his looks.
The author tends to put the same message through the character of Via, the sister of the
protagonist. The author describes her to be looking at the person that August is and not at the
physical attributes that are evident within the concerned human being. The novel portrays an
instance wherein Via had been away from home for a long time and was kissed by her brother
when she returned. The author tends to depict the guilt and the shame that she had gone through
since she could for a fleeting moment feel what the other strangers felt about August (Palacio

2ENGLISH ESSAY
2012). She might be considered to be one of the advocates of the theme ‘never judge a book by
its cover’ since she was able to look into her brother despite the physical distortion of his face.
The third character that might be considered to be an advocate of the theme ‘never judge
a book by its cover’ is Jack. Jack is observed to have left his group of friends in order to maintain
a friendship with the protagonist of the novel, August Pullman (Palacio 2012). the former is
observed to have been taking the matter up with the other kids who depict an attitude of
meanness towards August due to his facial distortion, a matter that is not controllable by August.
Thus, from the discussion, it might be pointed out that the theme ‘never judge a book by
its cover’ has been depicted in the most relevant manner in the concerned novel in discussion,
Wonder. The author has put forth the characters who tend to be the mouthpiece against the
discrimination on the basis of the looks of the person.

3ENGLISH ESSAY
References
Palacio, R.J., 2012. Wonder. Random House.