Part Five: Justin

"maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. the universe takes care of all its birds." (page 204)

This first thing I notice about Justin's part is obviously his lack of captialization and quotation marks. This type of writing style makes me think of e.e cummings and the way he wrote his poetry. I am not entirely sure why Palacio decided to write this part that way but I have a few hunches.

First, maybe it is the lack of education Justin has and  Palacio wants to show it through his part by getting rid of capitalization. Secondly, maybe Palacio wanted to show his unique "artistic" side considering Justin is a fiddle player in a zydeco band. Honestly, I have no idea. Justin's short part plays a huge one. Since Justin's family was never really around for him, it shows how supportive and close August and Via's family is. He feels as though he is part of the family even though he has only known them for a short time.

Justin's point of view in the story ends with him questioning why August was the one born with these abnormalities. Justin compares life to a lottery and that the universe picks out the "winners." He repudiates his statement by saying that the universe cares for all its fragile creatures, even Auggie. In the eyes of the universe, or in the eyes of God, we are all special and cared for, no matter what.

So, I was curious at to what a zydeco band really was, so I looked up video and found this: