103 pages • 3 hours read
Gary D. SchmidtA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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Schmidt sets the novel against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, exposing young readers to a significant point in American history with which most are likely unfamiliar. Although the war does not drive the main plot events, it does directly affect several characters, namely, Mrs. Baker, Mrs. Bigio and Mai Thi. For Holling, the war transitions from being a background event that he doesn’t often think about, to a significant force that could decide his future. As he grows in maturity, he takes an interest in national events and their impact on the country’s future and his own.
Creating an accurate picture of the United States in 1967 and 1968, Schmidt mentions one of the key battles of the war, Khesanh, and depicts the contrast between the media’s reports of the battle versus the White House’s. He also mentions the unrest dividing the nation, using Holling’s sister Heather as a voice of opposition to the war. She agrees with the thousands of Americans who gather at the Pentagon to protest the war and supports Bobby Kennedy for President, who wants to end the conflict in Vietnam.
Additional references to the war abound, such as the death of Mrs. Bigio’s husband, Lieutenant Baker’s status as missing in action, and Mai Thi’s presence at Camillo Junior High as a refugee. Schmidt weaves the Vietnam War into several aspects of Holling’s life to show how the war, though fought across the ocean, affected the lives of almost every American. He shows the controversial nature of the war, contributing to the theme of the nation’s unrest during this time. Finally, to relate the significance of the war to young readers, he highlights how Holling’s life intersects with the Vietnam conflict. Not only does Holling see the suffering and loss caused by the war, but he also faces the possibility that it might decide his future.
Schmidt develops a religion motif to propel plot events, add to the novel’s setting of the late 1960s, and contribute to Holling’s coming-of-age process. At the beginning of the school year, Holling narrates the intertwined nature of culture, religion, and social class as he explains that Jewish families live on the north side, while Catholic families live on the south side. Holling, however, as a Presbyterian, lives right in the middle of town. His position as neither Jewish nor Catholic leads to the novel’s namesake—the Wednesday wars with Mrs. Baker, as Holling is the only one left in class on Wednesday afternoons. In addition, the weekly lessons that Holling’s classmates attend at their respective places of worship draw a distinction between Holling’s childhood in the 1960s and a typical seventh-grade experience today. In public schools today, religion is removed from the classroom; it would be rather unheard of for students to leave school early to attend religious classes. Furthermore, a typical New York classroom today would likely hold students from several religious or spiritual backgrounds, far more than the three options Holling mentions: Jewish, Catholic, or Presbyterian.
As Holling matures over the course of the school year, he interacts with different religions. For instance, he lights a candle at the Catholic church with Mrs. Baker and prays beside her. This experience seems to move Holling as he prays for the many people and things that weigh heavy on his heart. He even returns the following month with his sister to light a candle and pray for Bobby Kennedy the night of his shooting. As he faces sadness and difficulty, Holling takes his burdens to God and doesn’t worry about whether he’s in a Presbyterian church or a Catholic church. Finally, Holling also gains exposure to Judaism through attending Danny Hupfer’s bar mitzvah. Holling finds this tradition significant despite his father’s skepticism, and he appreciates the ceremony’s significance of transitioning from childhood to manhood. Even though Holling won’t get a special moment like this in which he is declared a man, Schmidt shows that Holling is well on his way to becoming one. He is open-minded, unafraid to show emotion and love others, and brave enough to pursue his own choices rather than following the path expected of him.
Schmidt provides vivid descriptions of the weather that symbolize Holling’s feelings or the events he experiences. Holling’s comments about the weather function as markers of the changing seasons and the progression of the school year, yet also match the mood Schmidt wishes to convey. For example, when Holling feels betrayed by Meryl Lee and the two aren’t speaking, Holling describes the February weather as dark and damp to match the cold and dark feelings between him and Meryl. In this way, weather descriptions further the tone Schmidt creates. In addition, the weather imagery from Holling’s point of view furthers his characterization as a typical seventh grader. When he looks outside on a sunny day, he sees the possibility of a baseball game or the promise of spring break in the air. By incorporating imagery of the weather into each chapter, Schmidt communicates the passage of time along with the mood and character traits of the novel’s protagonist.
Schmidt uses Shakespearean plays and characters to symbolize events and people in Holling’s world. Reading Shakespeare gives Holling insight into events in his own life and helps him understand other people and himself. For instance, after Doug Swieteck’s brother posts the embarrassing newspaper photo of Holling all over the school, Holling has a hard time believing Mrs. Baker’s interpretation of Macbeth: that “malice is a small and petty thing” (109) compared to love. Holling finds it difficult to understand the lesson Macbeth presents because of his current situation as an object of ridicule at school. Similar to Malcolm, he sees only a need for vengeance. By the chapter’s end, Holling, like Malcolm, has no more need for vengeance. The tables turn, and Holling is now hailed as a hero after saving his sister.
Beyond the plot events from Shakespeare’s plays that symbolize goings-on in Holling’s life, Schmidt also peppers the novel with Shakespearean allusions to offer descriptions from Holling’s perspective and to make connections between Holling’s life and the plays he’s reading with Mrs. Baker. For instance, Holling repeatedly uses curses from The Tempest, alluding to the play and acting as a source of humor. Despite Holling’s initial view that Mrs. Baker must really hate him to be making him read Shakespeare, Holling quickly finds that the humor, action, and life lessons in Shakespeare are entertaining and applicable to his life.
By Gary D. Schmidt
7th-8th Grade Historical Fiction
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Books on U.S. History
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Coming-of-Age Journeys
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Family
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Friendship
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Vietnam War
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