Wonder By Zora Neal Palacio: Quote Analysis

Near the end of the book Auggie feels accepted. On page 282 we find evidence of this when he says, “It was like I was one of them.” When he says “them” he is referring to the other students. Auggie could finally feel “normal” and it is necessary for August to feel this way because people have always seen Auggie as strange because of his face. At a point August even forgets he has Treacher Collins syndrome. On page 307 we find an example of this, “I wasn’t even thinking about my face. I was just smiling a big happy smile.” August felt like it didn 't matter what his face looked like. It just mattered that he was happy. For once, Auggie didn 't feel like everyone was trying to get away from him; on the contrary, he said, “It kind of felt like everyone wanted to get close to me.” (pg 308) August can finally feel like a “normal” kid.

The poem We Wear the Masks by Paul Dunbar is an example of how people hide their feelings due to what others think of them. Like in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the colored people in town are stereotyped due to their color and looks. The poem states, “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (Dunbar). When people are stereotyped they hide their feelings to make others happy. Wearing the mask is a symbol of how people cover themselves to get away from their feelings.

Masks portray a sense of mystery. “No one could see me clearly. No one could see my face.” Lucy, Grealy. Masks. Print. The unknown is often intriguing. Generally their worn to portray a character or someone other than yourself and symbolize an imaginary life. For Lucy, it portrayed a sense of freedom. The freedom from being stared at, teased, lonely, and occasionally envious of others. Halloween is the only day that Lucy experience’s an ordinary life. Unlike the majority of other days’ mask are customary and her disability is masked. Providing her with the confidence to express herself freely by asking questions and making comments. “Studies show children with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than their non-disabled

In today’s society masks are used depending on the specific social group we interact with. Most people tend to have various masks or personalities when they are with specific people; such as with their friends, family, and during work. In Kenneth Gergen’s essay “In Defense of Masks,” he claims that people are not apt to find a specific mask to which they can be true too however, having various masks could be important because it allows people to adapt to various social groups . I disagree with Gergen’s claim and counter argue that utilizing only one specific mask with whomever we interact with will help anyone live a genuine lifestyle. There are various categories that fall into masks; for instance, makeup, clothing, religion, and appearance. Many individuals acquire masks because they seek approval from others or simply because they are mimicking someone. Once someone adapts to having multiple masks, it is difficult to figure out our true identity due to the variety of personalities that are being portrayed.

In Wonder by R.J. Palacio, a boy named August has trouble going through middle school because he was born with a problem in his face. With the help of Jack Will, a kind, brave, and affectionate boy, August is able to conquer the challenges he faced in middle school. I chose Jack for this assignment because he faces middle school with August and is very close to him which gives more insight on how he really is. What I really like about Jack is that he stood up for August when most people would not and what I do not like about him is that at times peer pressure made him act a certain way to betray August. I guess in a way I am similar to Jack because if I see someone struggling with anything I always try to help.

For a long time August always wore anything that could cover his face mostly baseball caps even at water parks he would wear them because ever since he lost his Astronaut helmet he has nothing to wear to make people stop staring and when he is in school he had to keep his down because students can’t wear hats in school August’s baseball cap is important to the book because it stops people from staring at him which helped a lot in school but then he got his hearing aids which means he can’t wear baseball caps for a long time.

Usually when someone says “masking” they are hiding their true self from others so they won't get hurt or judged. Which connects to the struggle with being different from others, because when someone is different from other people then they feel like they don't belong anywhere which is hard on the person which is why they “mask”

"I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we go to see what we looked like under the masks." Auggie Page 73. Why-

Masks embody a side of ourselves many do not particularly know they have. Many masks are unrecognizable to the human eye, but come to appear when people are around certain others, for example many would not act the same around a teacher versus a friend. Throughout history masks have been worn even by the most cruel men and women; German Nazis. These soldiers of World War II, all wore an appearance that hides their true identity; a shaved head and a uniform transformed, these people into hostile animals. William Golding a film directory and school teacher, noticed these transformations due to being the army at the time and wrote about it in his,novel Lord of the Flies.

Imagine being made fun of every day in school. Imagine hiding your face in a mask. Imagine wanting a perfect face. This was sadly the life of August. August, a boy in the book Wonder by RJ Palacio, is not different from other boys.

Everyone uses masks to free them to do, say or act in a manner that they normally wouldn’t. People use them all the time, whether it is just changing to treat someone a certain way or just needing to be a different way to make a situation better, but can also be used in harmful ways that can be used to compel violence. Masks manipulate us to hide from our true selves, they will make the one who wears one inferior to all others. In the story, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the world is in the middle of the biggest war ever, the power of masks and anonymity throughout this time period establish the terror. They put on these masks to give them the freedom to commit terrorizing acts and have no shame, alike with how William Golding allowed his characters have their power over the others. Golding had his characters apply paint to their faces which then altered the boy's mindset to act in a detrimental way. The mindset these boys obtain leads to many cruel parts in the story, including the killing of other boys on the island. This demonstrates the effect and power of being anonymous that is provided to these blood-thirsty boys. Before Jack and the boys used their masks to release their inner-savage, they were civilized, but having anonymity enables them to kill, not only pigs but other boys.

Mask Many people tend to put on a “mask” to hide their true self. People will act differently to fit in or acquire something. A mask allows for a person to hide their true self and often times helps people deceive others. In the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth put on a mask to hide her cruel, manipulative, and greedy self.

He does not want to show the world his pain, discomfort, and illness. The speaker also says, “Nay, let them only see us, while we wear the mask” (Dunbar, 8-9), which tells the reader that he does not want the world to see his tears. He would rather let the world see him while he wears the mask with the hope that one day all will be well, “let the world dream”(Dunbar, 14) The author uses metaphor to compare how content African Americans act when they have the mask on but when they take their mask off, they are full of

Of course, Auggie didn’t want to have a face like his when he was born, he had no choice. Due to his unusual face, people tend to stay as far away from him as possible and strangers would constantly stare at him in public. Auggie always felt the need to hide his face from the world. On Halloween, Auggie thinks to himself, “I wish everyday could be Halloween. We could wear masks all the time.

In the chapter “Costumes”, Auggie describes the astronaut helmet that he wore constantly as a younger child--to Miranda, the one to give Auggie the helmet, Auggie’s father, who threw it away, and Auggie and his friends each interpret Auggie’s astronaut helmet itself in contrasting ways. First of all, Miranda gave the astronaut helmet as a gift to Auggie years ago when Auggie was experiencing life throughout his early years; the astronaut helmet signifies assistance and friendship to Auggie. When Auggie was given the astronaut helmet, Miranda was aware that the many pedestrians on the street would give Auggie unfavorable reactions upon seeing his face--as a result, Miranda felt the need to aid Auggie with his uncomfortableness with his facial