Wonder by R. J. Palacio Journal Entry

Dear Mr. Wilhorn,

I’m reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio and I’m telling some character traits for Jack. I thought I had a pretty good idea about Jack, but my opinion might be changing.

Jack is respectful and empathetic. When I first met Jack it was when he gave Auggie a tour of the school. Charlotte mostly jabbered on and on and Julian was sort of a jerk. But Jack kind of stuck up for Auggie. He told Julian to shut up. Jack also smiled at Auggie and gave him some helpful advice, telling him that he would need to talk. It's like he understands what Auggie is going through as the new kid in school.

Jack was a friend to Auggie. Once school started, Jack sat with Auggie during class. They walked between classes together. When the eighth grader ran into Auggie and was like, “Whoa!!!” they thought that was hilarious. Jack said it looked like that dude peed his pants. They shared jokes together in class. One time they were laughing about Auggie getting plastic surgery, when Auggie said, "This IS after plastic surgery!" and they had to get separated by their teacher. Jack laughed with Auggie and supported him and they could joke together about serious things.

[Third character trait includes partial spoilers. Highlight to read.]

Now I think Jack is two-faced. Everything I said about Jack was true, but now it seems like it has all been an act. He’s really different from what he’s shown Auggie. On Halloween Auggie came into the class in a costume different from what he said he was going to wear. No one knew who he was. Then he sat at different desk. He overheard Julian and Jack talking. Julian encouraged Jack to just ditch Auggie. Jack said that teachers put him in the seating chart by Auggie, and then he said that if he looked like Auggie he’d kill himself. Two-faced jerk. (Sorry, but that's how I feel.)

Sincerely,
Brian Fifth Grader


That journal entry was written in class with the fifth graders. A few days later I gave them this teacher response. We didn't write a follow up, but it did lead to a great discussion.


Dear Brian,

Now that you have read Jack’s part, I’m curious what you think about him. You gave two positive character traits and a negative one. Which are right? Which are wrong? Have you learned anything else about Jack to show you the correct traits?

Sincerely,

Mr. W.