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Jack: Carvel
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
Later that night, Jack asks Jack's mom who else Mr. Tushman called. She says that he called Julian and Charlotte, and Jack insists that Julian is a phony and Charlotte is a goody two shoes. Jack tries to tell his mom what August looks like just as Jamie walks into the kitchen. Jamie immediately joins in and says that August gave him a nightmare. Jamie says he screamed and ran away from August at the park. Jack's mom becomes angry and then serious. She sends Jamie away and seems ready to give Jack a lecture, but Jack agrees to meet August. Jack tells the reader that there will always be jerks like Julian, but if normally nice kids like Jamie can be so mean, then August won't stand a chance.
When Jack decides to help August, he begins to recognize that it's not enough to rely on others to be kind, especially since those others in this case include a known jerk like Julian. Jamie's behavior here reinforces Veronica's earlier point that one doesn't have to be actively mean to hurt someone's feelings, especially since Jack implies that Jamie doesn't fully understand how awful he's being. This shows clearly that kindness is something that people can learn.
Themes
