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August: The Cheese Touch
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Wonder, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Difficulty of Kindness
Independence and Growing Up
Status and Bullying
Identity
Parenting and Guidance
Summary
Analysis
August explains that Halloween is his favorite holiday. For one day, he gets to look like every other kid in a mask. He wishes that every day could be Halloween so that kids could get to know each other while wearing masks before they have to show their real faces. August also explains that he used to wear an astronaut helmet everywhere he went until he was around seven. After he had eye surgery, it went missing.
Mom's hard work on August's costume shows that one of the way she demonstrates her love for him is by making this holiday as great as she possibly can.
Themes
On Halloween morning, Via has a meltdown. Dad is late and is uncharacteristically not patient with her, so Mom and Dad finally decide that Dad will take August to school and Mom will drive Via. Dad gives August five minutes to put his Boba Fett costume on, but he suddenly doesn't want to wear it. He throws on the Bleeding Scream costume and quickly joins Dad.
Dad's strange lack of patience shows the reader that adults can be just as emotional and tumultuous as kids, though neither August nor Via seem tuned into that fact.
Themes
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