Being Special By R. J Palacio: Character Analysis

Kalina Kelley Dr. Nicholson English 11, Period 3 8 January,2018 Read Write Essay Being special is one of the worst things that can happen to you. Looking different than everyone else comes with a lot of conflict, even if you were simply just born that way. Auggie Pullman is a boy with a deformed face who is starting public school for the first time. Moreover, the author, R.J Palacio explains the main conflicts Auggie encounters to describe what his life is like. The four conflicts the author describes are person vs. peers, person vs. self, person vs. society, and person vs. family. One conflict Auggie encounters is person vs. peers. Because Auggie looks so much different than the other kids, he gets bullied often. One group of boys, in particular …show more content…
Irregular treatment like this happens with strangers in social settings as well. Everywhere Auggie goes people are always staring at him. Auggie explains his discomfort with this saying, “It’s not even like they know they’re being mean.” (Palacio 138). Society is also to blame because of the school’s policies. Auggie was the only exception to one of these policies by being able to have an at-home interview instead of a normal one. His principal claimed, “We felt that this slight break in protocol was warranted, but in no prejudicial” (Palacio 163) this made people upset because such a prestigious school should stick to its policies. There is not just conflict in public places, but at home as well. Auggie’s family also brings up conflicts . His sister, Via feels left out when it comes to their family. From her perspective, everyone always pays attention to Auggie and not so much her. The way she interprets it is, “ August is the …show more content…
She comes to envy him from time to time, which can make her become more distant. Another conflict is Auggie’s parents always babying him. His parents are overprotective because they do not want him to get his feelings hurt. This can be a problem as stated by Dr. Lisa Firestone, “ I personally believe there is value to investigating how the raising of our children might play some part in their lack of independence in adulthood.” In other words, babying Auggie can prevent him from growing up. Auggie’s family is also used to choosing sides. They are always fighting about what is best for him. You can see this happen with his mom wanting him to go to school and his dad asking her, “ So sending him off to middle school like a lamb to the slaughter”(Palacio 10). Side-choosing causes a lot of arguments with Auggie in the