Billy Elliot- Wonder (The struggle with adversity)
-Transcript-
Good morning/afternoon, today I will be comparing and contrasting Stephen Daldry’s ‘Billy Elliot ‘ with the novel ‘Wonder’ by R.J Palacio. Our prescribed text is about an eleven year old who challenges the social constructs in the rough mining town in Durham during the mining strike in 1984 in order to pursue his dream of becoming a dancer. He overcomes adversity with his family and friends throughout the film on his journey to pursue his dream. August Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school, but his parents, after a period of home schooling, have decided that it is time for him to go to a real school. He starts 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. Throughout August’s school experience he undergoes many adversities, including, bullying for his appearance, criticism for being different and exclusion. However, towards the end, people begin to accept August as they get to know him more fully as they understand who he really is. August receives a medal where he realizes how far he has come since the beginning of school, and he is proud of overcoming all the hardships he went through. The novel ends with his mother whispering in his ear, calling him a "Wonder." My chosen focus theme ‘the struggle with adversity’, as the main character, August Pullman in this novel undergoes many hardships and is a main theme that is repeated throughout the book. I will present an analysis of three scenes where I will annotate and compare them to my related text.
(significant extract) Have you ever felt like you don’t fit in? Like you are some lost disease? August considered himself “Not ordinary or normal”. From the scowling looks he gets at school, to the behind his back betrayals, August struggles to find a place at his new school. The word “Ordinary” is a very important and meaning that is included in the book. The book begins with the sentence “I know I am not an ordinary ten-year-old kid”. “Ordinary” has its own chapter, which introduces the book. August describes how some people describe him as ordinary and also how others don’t.
I chose‘Wonder’ as my related text because this book can teach people to accept others and themselves for who they are, instead of how they look. It teaches people that they don’t need to try and fit into society’s normalities and I know the damage that can be done to people when they think they don’t fit in and I feel that this book teaches people that you can overcome these afflictions. The novel conveys the main theme area of ‘the struggle with adversity’ which I think many people would have experienced many adversities throughout their life and could maybe relate to the hardships August faces.
August was given an astronaut helmet when he was much younger. The author uses this as a symbol of August’s own insecurity about the way he looks. In order to...
