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August: Paging Mr. Tushman
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
Mom and August follow Mr. Tushman through the school. August hides behind Mom and feels "babyish" doing so, but he explains that he doesn't feel brave. They enter the office of the middle school director, and Mr. Tushman introduces them to Mrs. Garcia. When August looks at her, he notices that she does what everyone else does: she quickly looks down and then smiles a "shiny" smile. August refuses to look at her. Mr. Tushman explains that "Mrs. G" runs the school, and she's the one to ask if he needs anything. Mom compliments Mrs. G on a photo of her grandson, and then Mrs. G turns seriously to Mom and promises to take care of August. August notices that Mom looks just as nervous as he feels.
The exchanges between the adults reinforces that August's success at school isn't something that he alone controls— the teachers are partially responsible for guiding August’s experience. This shows August that teachers are also going to help and guide him alongside his parents. Further, though August feels "babyish," he recognizes that Mom is also extremely nervous. This is proof that he's beginning to look outside of himself and his own experience to see adults as real people as well.
Themes
