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August Pullman
Dr. Flair
English
1 February 2015
The Deconstruction of Bullying in Wonder
Ferdinand de Saussure proposed that human beings, in an attempt to understand the world
around them, juxtapose different concepts against one another in binary oppositions (Parker 44).
A basic example of a binary opposition is men and women. By exploring the biological
differences between men and women, individuals are able to establish a basis on which to
construct and internalize what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman. A
philosopher named Jacques Derrida, however, challenged this structuralist point of view and
formulated the theory of deconstruction in order to destabilize the notion of binaries. Derrida
proposed that binaries are dissolved through the proliferation of meaning and anomalies which
exist outside of every binary that disrupt the system entirely. In other words, it is impossible for
someone or something to exhibit qualities associated with only one side of any given binary.
Certain elements from each side of the binary inevitably permeate and break down the binary as
a result (Parker 86-92). In her 2012 novel Wonder, and the additional chapter she released in
2014 titled The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story, R. J. Palacio utilizes the ideas of binaries and
deconstruction in order to allow her readers to gain a better understanding of the complex
relationship between bullies and their victims. Most people are quick to vilify bullies, but Palacio
crafted these stories to encourage readers to reconsider making such a damaging and unfounded
rush to judgement before realizing the circumstances which cause people to bully others.

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Palacio first establishes an insider-outsider binary in Wonder. Within this particular
binary, Julian Albans assumes the role of the insiderhis parents are wealthy, he has lots of
friends, he looks normal, and he does well in schoolwhile August Pullman assumes the role
of the outsiderhe was born with a severe craniofacial deformity called mandibulofacial
dysostosis, and many people are either frightened or disgusted by his appearance and avoid him
(Palacio, R. J. Wonder 129). Palacio writes, strangers seemed so shocked when they saw him
[August]. Horrified. Sickened. Scared, and Julian, who everyone knows is rich, was like, I
hate that I have to go back to Paris this Christmas. It's so boring! (Palacio, R. J. Wonder 85,
149). These passages reflect the stereotypical insider and outsider characteristics that one would
assume each of these characters to exhibit: Julian is rich and popular, while August has difficulty
even speaking to people because they are so repulsed by his appearance. Palacio strategically
constructs Augusts and Julians characters in this manner in order to support the insider-outsider
binary.
The next step Palacio takes is to reinforce the insider-outsider binary by crafting Julian
into a stereotypical bully. Julians bullying behavior escalates throughout the course of the story,
and he makes numerous derogatory comments towards August such as, August, whats the
deal with your face?...Were you in a fire or something?, and he also leaves notes in Augusts
locker that read I h8 u, Freak!...I bet your mother wishes youd never been born. You should do
everybody a favorand die (Palacio, R. J. Wonder 34; Palacio, R. J. The Julian Chapter 41-42).
These powerful scenes cement Julian in the role of the bully and the insider, while August is
pushed further into the realm of the outsider. August is facing an extreme case of bullying, and
Julian is, without a doubt, the bully. At this point in the narrative, Palacio is able to deconstruct
the binary she has meticulously constructed so that readers may understand why Julian behaves

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the way he does and realize that the insider-outsider binary that was blatantly apparent
beforehand is no longer valid.
Palacio begins to deconstruct the insider-outsider binary by first revealing Julians
motives for bullying August in The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story. She reveals that Julians
callous behavior was due to his severe anxiety issues and frequent night terrors which were
exacerbated when he saw disfigured faces. For instance, Julian mentions that he was terrified of
zombies, Voldemort, and Gollum (Palacio, R. J. The Julian Chapter 19-20). He admits that he
gradually overcame his fear, but confesses, the night after I [Julian] met Auggie Pullman, I
started having nightmares again. I couldnt believe it. Not just passing bad dreams, but fullblown, heart-pounding, wake-up-screaming kind of nightmares I had a panic attack every time
I started drifting off to sleep (Palacio, R. J. The Julian Chapter 20-21). This passage shows that
Julian was beginning to slip back into the horrific cycle of having night terrors and being unable
to sleep, so he unconsciously displaces his anxiety and fear onto August by bullying him. Julians
extreme sense of fear and anxiety are uncharacteristic of an insider, so these passages serve to
initiate the dismantling of the insider-outsider binary.
The insider-outsider binary is completely unraveled once Julian is transformed into the
outsider and August is transformed into the insider. Once Julian returns to school after nearly
being expelled for placing the hateful notes in Augusts locker, he notices everything has
changed. He says, everyone was being really nice to Auggie. Like, ridiculously nice. It was
like I had entered the portal to a different dimension, an alternate universe in which Auggie and I
had changed places. Suddenly, he was the popular one, and I was the outsider (Palacio, R.
J. The Julian Chapter 55). He goes on to say, No one wanted to hang out with me. I felt like I
could disappear from the school and nobody would miss me. Meanwhile, Auggie was walking

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down the hallways like some cool dude, getting high-fived by all the jocks in the upper grades
(Palacio, R. J. The Julian Chapter 57). Palacio definitively deconstructs the insider-outsider
binary within these passages. Julian is no longer the insider that he was before he met August.
Once readers are able to see the story from Julians point of view, they are inspired to re-evaluate
their feelings about Julian, August, and the issue of bullying. After all, Julian is forced to change
schools, loses all of his close friends, and is mercilessly thrust into the harsh reality of being the
outsider, while August becomes one of the most popular students at school.
Palacios construction, and eventual deconstruction, of the insider-outsider binary is
crucial to her purpose for these stories. She wants to challenge her readers to reconsider any
preconceived notions they may have about bullies and victims of bullying. Julian did bully
August, but the circumstances surrounding their turbulent relationship makes readers
sympathetic towards both of the characters. Each of them had their own struggles to face, and
they both had to find their own paths. Wonder and The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story
encourage readers to reserve judgement when dealing with cases of bullying in schools and to
look on all those involved with a sense of compassion and understanding.

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Works Cited
Palacio, R. J. The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. Print.
Palacio, R. J. Wonder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.
Parker, Robert. "Deconstruction." How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and
Cultural Studies. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 85-110. Print.
Parker, Robert. "Structuralism." How to Interpret Literature: Critical Theory for Literary and
Cultural Studies. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 43-84. Print.