Lessons Learned In The Wednesday Wars By Gary D. Schmidt

As Leo Buscaglia says, “Change is the end result of all true learning.” The characters Mrs. Baker, Mai Thi, and Holling all change as they learn throughout their life many things things that will help them through the difficult points of their life. In The Wednesday Wars, Gary D. Schmidt uses the characters to show that for every moment in life, there is something that can be learned. Holling's lessons, which he learned by using Shakespeare's stories, influenced him in his daily life. Holling learned in “Romeo and Juliet” that it is difficult to care for two things you care about at the same time (February p.97). In his dilemma with choosing between his father's way life or finding his own, Holling found that it was extremely difficult to pretend to or to care for both paths of life. Holling knew that it would be difficult to choose the path of freedom from his father's wishes, but part of him was torn between pleasing his father and pleasing himself. Holling figured out that when a person decides what their focus is, life will seem clearer, even though its difficulties may not be over. Throughout the story, Holling realizes that he must conclude what his point of focus is, and figure out how he will reach it, or else he would face troubles if he chose to focus on two targets. “Romeo …show more content…
Baker becomes worried, which begins breaking down a hard part of her heart. Mr. Baker meant everything to her, and to find out he's missing is devastating. In The Wednesday Wars, this is a new experience for Mrs. Baker. She is terribly sad, and is hoping and praying, like many other families across the world, that her beloved would come back. Through one of her toughest moments in life, however, her heart becomes softer. At the end of the book, her dreams come true after months of long, painful endurance. In all those months, Mrs. Baker's heart became softer as she felt worry and fear for what could've happened to the love of her