Acceptance In The Novel 'Wonder' By R J. Palacio

How does your selected text communicate ideas of value to us?
The novel ‘Wonder’ by R J Palacio communicates values of acceptance primarily through the adversities experienced by the protagonist as a result of his facial deformities, narrated through his stream-of-consciousness. The text portrays how society’s preconceptions about an individual diminish the individual’s sense of self-worth and acceptance.

The text offers insight into how specific differences between individuals and other people in society can result in alienation and marginalisation. Palacio utilises polyphonic perspective and the protagonist’s stream of consciousness to contrast between the protagonist’s sense of self-acceptance and society’s lack of acceptance of him. This is evident through the repetition of ‘ordinary’, a term which becomes synonymous to acceptance, as August states “ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away…ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go”.
Palacio creates a serious mood as August faces instances of kindness from his classmate to emphasise the effect of their actions on him. Palacio alludes to other texts in her novel as she uses references from ‘A Diary of a Wimpy Kid.’ One such reference in the text is, "I didn't know they called it the Plague, though, I figured it was more like the Cheese Touch or something." This allusion highlights the sense of alienation, displacement and unacceptance August faces as his panic at the possibility of touching