Khushi

1/26/16 How did you feel once August was done with the tour? As we journey through Wonder with Auggie, we start to feel emotions with him, especially through the "Grand Tour." At the beginning, I was expecting everyone to be so rude to Auggie because of his condition, so I was extremely relieved to find out that Charlotte is nice to him. I start to gradually like Jack Will, and eventually I like him almost as much as Charlotte. At the first example, I hate Julian. When he smirks when Auggie didn't know what a homeroom was, I start to think he's a jerk. I confirm this when he says, "I don't think he wants to be in the school play, Charlotte," talks about dorks, asks about his face and if he was in a fire, and, finally, cuts in front of Auggie, causing him to stumble. As the tour ends, I feel angry at Julian, sad for Auggie, and relieved that August won't be alone in school.

2/1/2015 How do you feel about Auggie's September at his new school? As we all know, the first day of a new school is especially freaky, so we all feel and empathize with the difficulties facing August, and at the end it leaves us and our feelings confused. I start off the morning really nervous and anxious for Auggie, and my feelings plunged deep when I noticed how everyone was ignoring him or just noticing too obviously. Though, I believe that August handled them incredibly well. I just wish for someone to see him as he really is and not as he appears to be. I like his teacher, though, but I really start to think that, as well as being a jerk, Julian is a major suck-up. He is so deceitful. It put my nerves on end to hear that Darth Sidious comment, and I thought it was just hitting below the belt. I like his English teacher, Mr. Browne, and I especially like how he wants the students to dig deeper and choose kind, I think that if people started to do that, especially with August, it would make a world of difference. Plus, I sincerely enjoy Summer. I think she is kind of like me. I love her creativity, especially in the Summer-August idea. I am also glad of another blooming friendship--Jack Will's and Auggie's. Though, I feel so bad that August cuts off his braid because of Julian, and I understand where he's coming from. I think September leaves me hating Julian, loving Summer, liking the teacher, nervous and annoyed that everybody is ignoring him or noticing him too much, happy with Jack Will, and altogether confused and scared for the future school year.

2/3/2016 How do you feel about school? What could help him decide to return? At the end of October, I learnt a very surprising fact about Jack Will that made me instantly hate him, and it left me nervous about whether Auggie should or should not return to school. The fact that Jack would hurt August like that and say such rude things about him and his personality. At first, I thought he was just some fun-loving guy, and I loved how he treated Auggie like a normal friend. Then, as I realized he backstabbed Auggie, it made me feel like not only was he a jerk, but he was also two-faced. It also left me unsettled, how can somebody so nice be so mean? Is it just for popularity? I don't know, but I what I do know is that he shouldn't have done it, and Auggie should return to school to stand up for himself so that Jack won't say any more things. If I was Auggie, I would probably come back to school with my head up and show everybody who the real Auggie is, not a wimp or a weirdo, but a caring, compassionate, and amazing kid who they would be lucky to have as a friend. Auggie should remember Summer and precepts and the fun of school and ask himself the question, "Am I really ready to leave all of that behind for one kid?" Auggie has a lot of courage, and, as we has the entire weekend, he should resolve to use some of that courage to stand up to bullies like Jack. If Auggie really thinks about it, he'll come to the conclusion that he should come back to school.

2/4/2016 I have a lot of questions for Via at the end of the chapter. 1. Why is she crying?

2. Is her new and hard-to-get-into high school putting to much pressure on her?

3. How does she feel about Auggie's situation?

2/9/2016 The surprise I had as Via journeyed through her section was so great that it was hard to tell what surprised me most. I think the fact that surprise me the most, though, was the fact that her old friends just abandoned her and totally threw her out of the loop to be popular. I feel that being popular and changing your personality to have more friends is disgusting. I also hate that people can spend so much time and effort to be something that doesn't matter. How can you just abandon your real friends for some fake ones? For me, it just doesn't add up. Maybe that's what Jack was doing. I also think that if you're so close to a friend, you shouldn't let them go. The petty friendships are the ones that don't matter, but you'll always keep your good friends. Although, I love how Via found new ones, over time, but she definitely did. I think that Via is a strong girl who doesn't deserve to be treated like this. I could tell how much it stressed her out. These are the reasons I was so surprised by Miranda's actions. 2/9/2016 August and Olivia Pullman's differences in Halloween surprise me a lot. While Via was stressed out and nervous for Halloween, August was excited for a day in the life of a normal middle schooler. Via also had sad feelings about Halloween, as it was the day her grandmother died, while Auggie had only sad memories of it. Furthermore, Via stayed home crying with her mother, while Auggie went to school to enjoy a day of tears and sadness. Then, Auggie went home with the "stomach bug." After that, we were never told that Auggie had a conversation with Via, but for Via it was a big part of her story. Also, in Via's story, I never learned until later about Auggie's incident with Jack Will.

2/16/2016 Why was the Justin - Part Five important for us to read? What did we need to understand by reading Justin's perspective? Please explain your ideas and use examples. In Part Five, I feel that RJ Palacio made a very important, much-needed, and significant difference by making the part about Justin. In Justin's part, we get a whole new interest and opinion into the Pullman family. It helps us understand how close and fun they are in a new light. With Via and Auggie, it was all difficulties inside the family; with Justin, the readers get how content and loving this family is when Justin compares it with his own family. For example, on page 192, it says, “i like olivia’s family. they laugh a lot. my family's not like this at all. my mom and dad got divorced when i was four and they pretty much hate each other.” We also get the opinion of a different, insightful person and how they view August Pullman. With Jack, we didn't really see his adjustments, with Justin, though, we see how he, at first, struggles with Auggie, and then gradually learns to accept him. We see Olivia as she struggles with August and get perspective on the problem. On page 202 it said, "and when she's fragile like this, she's like a little lost bird looking for its nest." I think this perfectly describes her. Justin also gives us some new information that might have been too hard for the others too supply, at least not in such a beautiful way. His similes and simple yet complex way of thinking make the part such a beautiful an amazing chapter. Jack probably couldn't have talked about how Justin stood up to Julian and his friends, as he wasn’t there. Justin is a deep interesting person, who offers perspectives that Via, Auggie, Summer, and Jack can't.

2/18/2016 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">On page 248, Miranda finally admits to herself that she was absolutely happy, I believe that this is for a wide variety reasons. First, I think that, as her parents are divorced, Miranda feels no real family/home connection. She says, "After the divorce, I never saw my father...My mother acted stranger then ever...Remote." I feel like because of this, when she was accepted into the Pullman family, she felt that she had a family again. At one point, she says, "They[the Pullmans] were always so nice to me. I knew they loved their kids more than anything.I always felt safe there: safer than any other place in the world." That feeling alone would probably make anyone I know really happy. I also think that she had been secretly missing Via, no matter how much she bad-mouthed her. She even called Auggie, hoping Via would pick up the phone. The fact that Via wanted to have her come definitely made her pretty happy. I also think that the sympathetic and kind part of Miranda enjoyed seeing Via so glad and her family so happy for her. In conclusion, I think that the fact that Miranda had a family again, Via had made up with her, and seeing Via so happy, ended up making her extremely happy.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Characterization <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Protagonist- the main character who usually shows good traits; the good guy i.e. Auggie <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Antagonist- the bad guy, the one who is in conflict with the protagonist; the one who is the opposite of the protagonist i.e. Julian <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Internal Conflict- i.e. August vs. Self Doubt <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">External Conflict- <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Static- A character who makes little or no change in the story i.e. Summer, Julian <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Dynamic- A character who goes through change i.e. Miranda, Mia <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Indirect Characterization- when the author gives an example instead of being specific. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Direct Characterization- when the author gives exact wording

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">5/10/16

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">D <span style="color: #56245e; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">o you think parents should believe the stories their children tell, or should they investigate the truth when important matters are involved? Do you think a parent's role is to give a child emotional support even when he or she has done something wrong? Is there a point at which a parent may have to let society punish a child for wrong-doing?

<span style="color: #56245e; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">When parents are faced with the problem about whether to believe their children or punish immediately, I believe they should hear the child out--letting them explain their excuse and punish from there on. Credibility in the story is key. If it sounds unbelievable, punish. If the parent remains unsure, they should listen to the story again and listen to not just the words but the emotion and tone of the pleader. Parents should be able to understand the truth behind the words. I also think that when a child is at fault, that it is the parent's duty to make them learn, but it also depends on the how major the problem is, and the motive of the fault. Parents should also be able to let society punish their children for bad enough deeds.

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 10pt;"> When a rule at school does not make sense to you, do you have the right to decide which rules you will obey and which you will not? Can you think of a rule you would refuse to obey? What would be the consequences?

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 10pt;">When a rule at school doesn't make sense to me, I feel like people do have the right to disobey it, but they should be careful to what extent they break it and the motive and importance of breaking a rule. While I feel this, I also feel that sometimes people should only break a rule if absolutely necessary, if not the whole idea of rules and laws would break, and there would be absolute chaos. Furthermore, I think people should only break rules that harm them. For example, if I was a slave in the time before the Civil War, I would want to break the rule that slaves cannot run away though their master's cruel treatment and their own safety is rendering this necessary. In this case, the choice is absolutely necessary for my life. The choice would be between a life of cruel treatment and torture, and possibly the same for my offspring, and a lifetime of freedom, even with the possibility of death. If I got caught, there would be major consequences, possibly death by torture and a severe whipping. Yet, in this case, the idea overrules the consequence.