Part Six: August

"But I couldn't go to sleep, even after I knew [Mom] had fallen asleep. I could hear Daddy sleeping, too, and I imagined I could hear Via sleeping down the hallway in her room. And I wondered if Daisy was sleeping in heaven right then. And if she was sleeping, was she dreaming about me? And I wondered how it would feel to be in heaven someday and not have my face matter anymore. Just like it never, ever matter to Daisy." (page 227)

In part six, we enter into the mind of August again, and this time, a lot of changes are taking place. Auggie gets hearing aids that make him look like a "Lobot" and his dog Daisy gets very sick and passes away. To me, this particular part shows August's emotional side, that even though he may not physically be just an ordinary fifth grader, he has thoughts and feelings that a normal kid his age would have. The night that Daisy was put down, no one was able to tuck August in bed and tell him goodnight, and that felt strange to August. As Via would put it, August wasn't the sun that night and that the universe didn't revolve around him. August has some deep thoughts in this part, especially in the chapter titled "Heaven" which is where the quote from above came from.

As I mentioned before, many changes and alterations in August's life as well as his family's life takes place in this part. Via performs as the lead in her school play even though she was just an understudy. Via was able to pick up Miranda's part and play it beautifully. August, as well as Mom and Dad, were clearing proud of his sister. Even though this part is told through August's eyes, a lot of attention was placed on Via and for a moment, Via was the "sun." Finally, this particular part truly shows how August is just a normal kid despite his abnormalities. He grieves, he smiles, he thinks about heaven, and most importantly he cheers on his family.

"I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives." (page 231)

Do I sense some foreshadowing....?