Wonder

Wonder

by

R. J. Palacio

Via Pullman  Character Analysis

Via, whose real name is Olivia, is August's fifteen-year-old sister. When August starts school at Beecher Prep, Via starts high school at Faulkner High School, a selective and academically challenging private school. When school begins, she struggles to discover that her best friends, Miranda and Ella, have suddenly become popular, while she hasn't changed at all. Via often picks fights with Mom out of her frustration with what's going on in her social life. However, Via is also very private about things with her family. She learned at a very young age to not ask for help or attention from her parents so as to not distract from August, though she believes that August is old enough to not be coddled quite so much. Though Via and August bicker a lot, she is also one of August's biggest guiding forces in navigating the difficulties of middle school. Via begins dating a boy named Justin, and they both sign up for the theater elective together. Via initially doesn't tell her parents about the spring play, Our Town, because she loves being at a school where nobody knows that August is her brother, and she knows that if her parents come to the play, August will come too. This culminates in a huge fight on the night that their dog Daisy dies, after which Via does agree to purchase tickets for her family. On the night of the play, Miranda feigns illness and allows Via to perform the female lead, which allows Via to feel celebrated and appreciated by her family in a way the novel suggests she hadn't felt before. Via and Miranda make up after this and after the play, Via achieves a greater sense of acceptance of her family situation and feels more comfortable in her social standing at school.

Via Pullman  Quotes in Wonder

The Wonder quotes below are all either spoken by Via Pullman  or refer to Via Pullman  . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Difficulty of Kindness Theme Icon
).
Via: A Tour of the Galaxy Quotes

After you've seen someone else going through that, it feels kind of crazy to complain over not getting the toy you had asked for, or your mom missing a school play. I knew this even when I was six years old.

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Mom, Dad
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
Via: Seeing August Quotes

"I love Auggie very, very much," she said softly […] "But he has many angels looking out for him already, Via. And I want you to know that you have me looking out for you."

Related Characters: Grans (speaker), August Pullman, Via Pullman 
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:
Via: An Apparition at the Door Quotes

I wonder how many nights she's stood outside his door. And I wonder if she's ever stood outside my door like that.

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Mom
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis:
Via: Time to Think Quotes

"Okay, that's fair," I said. "But it's not a contest about whose days suck the most, Auggie. The point is we all have to put up with the bad days. Now, unless you want to be treated like a baby the rest of your life, or like a kid with special needs, you just have to suck it up and go."

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Jack Will
Page Number: 115
Explanation and Analysis:
Justin: Olivia's Brother Quotes

it's not even like they know they're being mean, she adds. they were just scared. i mean, let's face it, his face is a little scary, right?

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Justin
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
Justin: Bird Quotes

it's just been so nice being in a new school where nobody knows about him, you know? nobody's whispering about it behind my back […] but if he comes to the play, then everyone will talk about it, everyone will know […].

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Justin
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
August: My Cave Quotes

"Auggie!" Mom yelled. "That's not true!"

"Stop lying to me, Mom!" I shrieked. "Stop treating me like a baby! I'm not retarded! I know what's going on!"

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Mom (speaker), Via Pullman 
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:

I don't even know how I got so mad. I wasn't really mad at the beginning of dinner. I wasn't even sad. But then all of a sudden it all kind of just exploded out of me. I knew Via didn't want me to go to her stupid play. And I knew why.

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Via Pullman  , Mom
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:
August: Daisy's Toys Quotes

So I went to my bed and put on my pajamas without anyone telling me to and put the night-light on and turned the light off and crawled into the little mountain of stuffed animals I had left on my bed earlier.

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Via Pullman  , Mom, Dad, Daisy
Page Number: 225
Explanation and Analysis:
August: Understudy Quotes

I knew right then and there that I was going to like the play. It wasn't like other school plays I've been to, like The Wizard of Oz or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. No, this was grown-up seeming, and I felt smart sitting there watching it.

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Via Pullman 
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 230
Explanation and Analysis:
Miranda: School Quotes

We knew we were being mean, but it was easier to ice her out if we pretended she had done something to us. The truth is she hadn't changed at all: we had. We'd become these other people, and she was still the person she'd always been. That annoyed me so much and I didn't know why.

Related Characters: Miranda (speaker), Via Pullman  , Ella
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:
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Via Pullman  Quotes in Wonder

The Wonder quotes below are all either spoken by Via Pullman  or refer to Via Pullman  . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Difficulty of Kindness Theme Icon
).
Via: A Tour of the Galaxy Quotes

After you've seen someone else going through that, it feels kind of crazy to complain over not getting the toy you had asked for, or your mom missing a school play. I knew this even when I was six years old.

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Mom, Dad
Page Number: 82
Explanation and Analysis:
Via: Seeing August Quotes

"I love Auggie very, very much," she said softly […] "But he has many angels looking out for him already, Via. And I want you to know that you have me looking out for you."

Related Characters: Grans (speaker), August Pullman, Via Pullman 
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:
Via: An Apparition at the Door Quotes

I wonder how many nights she's stood outside his door. And I wonder if she's ever stood outside my door like that.

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Mom
Page Number: 99
Explanation and Analysis:
Via: Time to Think Quotes

"Okay, that's fair," I said. "But it's not a contest about whose days suck the most, Auggie. The point is we all have to put up with the bad days. Now, unless you want to be treated like a baby the rest of your life, or like a kid with special needs, you just have to suck it up and go."

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Jack Will
Page Number: 115
Explanation and Analysis:
Justin: Olivia's Brother Quotes

it's not even like they know they're being mean, she adds. they were just scared. i mean, let's face it, his face is a little scary, right?

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Justin
Page Number: 189
Explanation and Analysis:
Justin: Bird Quotes

it's just been so nice being in a new school where nobody knows about him, you know? nobody's whispering about it behind my back […] but if he comes to the play, then everyone will talk about it, everyone will know […].

Related Characters: Via Pullman  (speaker), August Pullman, Justin
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 203
Explanation and Analysis:
August: My Cave Quotes

"Auggie!" Mom yelled. "That's not true!"

"Stop lying to me, Mom!" I shrieked. "Stop treating me like a baby! I'm not retarded! I know what's going on!"

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Mom (speaker), Via Pullman 
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:

I don't even know how I got so mad. I wasn't really mad at the beginning of dinner. I wasn't even sad. But then all of a sudden it all kind of just exploded out of me. I knew Via didn't want me to go to her stupid play. And I knew why.

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Via Pullman  , Mom
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:
August: Daisy's Toys Quotes

So I went to my bed and put on my pajamas without anyone telling me to and put the night-light on and turned the light off and crawled into the little mountain of stuffed animals I had left on my bed earlier.

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Via Pullman  , Mom, Dad, Daisy
Page Number: 225
Explanation and Analysis:
August: Understudy Quotes

I knew right then and there that I was going to like the play. It wasn't like other school plays I've been to, like The Wizard of Oz or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. No, this was grown-up seeming, and I felt smart sitting there watching it.

Related Characters: August Pullman (speaker), Via Pullman 
Related Symbols: “Our Town”
Page Number: 230
Explanation and Analysis:
Miranda: School Quotes

We knew we were being mean, but it was easier to ice her out if we pretended she had done something to us. The truth is she hadn't changed at all: we had. We'd become these other people, and she was still the person she'd always been. That annoyed me so much and I didn't know why.

Related Characters: Miranda (speaker), Via Pullman  , Ella
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis: