Just Big Misunderstandings

 

Now here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with one's heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

 

 

Sometimes I feel like most of the world's problems are created by simple misunderstandings. All too often, we focus so intently on the things we see, that we forget to focus "behind the scenes," or the parts of situations that we don't see.
 
This is one of the main reasons I love Wonder. The book is divided into different perspectives, so we get to see more than one side of a situation. My feelings toward certain characters changed substantially as I read the reasons behind their actions.
 
Consider Via. If I wouldn't have heard Via's perspective of the story, I would probably have a hard time relating to her. Sure, it wasn't right for Via not to tell her parents about her participation in a play. By reading her side of the story, though, I saw that Via had grown up in a life revolving around August and his facial difference. Although she loved August immensely, Via didn't want to be defined by her brother any longer. By reading her perspective, I could easily sympathize with Via. If I would have just read that she intentionally failed to tell her parents about the play, I would have probably looked down upon Via. It would have been a simple misunderstanding.
 
Now, consider Jack. Before I read Jack's perspective, I thought he was just pretending to be August's friend. How could he say such horrible things about August? It was so hard for me to understand his actions. Though Jack may not have been morally right in speaking negatively about August's face, I began to understand Jack a little more when reading his side of the story. Jack actually wants to help August adjust to middle school! And he even learns to like August for his personality. But Jack's family isn't the richest family around, and when Jack hangs out with August, a lot of kids avoid the both of them. Once again, I found a little sympathy for Jack. Nobody wants to be hated. Jack said hurtful things about Auggie because he has the human desire to be respected and loved. It doesn't make his actions right, but we can begin to understand Jack just a little bit more by seeing the story through his eyes.

Perhaps this is why the illustrations contain faces with only one eye. We get to see the story of August Pullman through the eyes of different characters. We get the opportunity to turn our misunderstandings into understandings.