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August: Awards
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 can barely understand what's happening. His classmates push him up and towards Mr. Tushman, high fiving him along the way. August feels like he's floating as everyone stands up and keeps clapping and whooping. He marvels that he's getting an unexpected standing ovation as Mr. Tushman puts the medal over his head. August feels like he's a victorious Star Wars character. He thinks he's not sure why he got the medal, but then decides this isn't true: to others, he's an inspiration, even though he feels perfectly normal. He also survived fifth grade.
August's comment about feeling like he's a victorious Star Wars character shows that his love of Star Wars is still an essential part of him, even if it's not a part he chooses to share as openly with the world. This reinforces the idea that identity is partly what people choose to show others and partly what they feel on the inside—August now recognizes that he can accept both factions of his identity.
Themes
