Wenni Iben English 7 Ms. Fitzpatrick 1-12-14 An Act of Kindness The Wednesday Wars by Gary D.

Schmidt, is a story about a seventh grader during 1967, in the middle of the Vietnam War. In this book, there are two very different stories of standing up to bullies bringing people closer. One is of Holling Hoodhood and his older sister Heather, siblings with a strained relationship caused by Hollings unwillingness to stand up to their father, even when his sister consistently stood up for him. Holling does eventually listen to Heathers advice and stands up to Mr. Hoodhood. Holling, by taking action and standing up for himself, changes their relationship. The other story of making the right choices tells the story of a Vietnamese refugee who is a student in the same class as Holling, named Mai Thi. Unable express her anger, Mrs. Bigio who had lost her husband in the war, takes it out on Mai Thi. You shouldnt even be here...while American boys are sitting in swamps on Christmas Day. Theyre the ones who should be here. Not you.(95) Mrs. Bigio does not realize exactly how much of a bully she had been until an eighth grader bullies Mai Thi right in front of her. In The Wednesday Wars, the author Gary Schmidt uses the relationship between Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio and the relationship between Holling and Heather Hoodhood to get across the theme of standing up for each other bringing people closer. In the early chapters of The Wednesday Wars, Heather Hoodhood and her younger brother Holling have a bad relationship because although Heather stands up to her father for Holling often, Holling never returns the favor. An event that gives evidence for this is the time Heather arrives at dinner with a yellow flower painted on her face. After arguing with her father about this subject, Heather turns to Holling and says, Thanks for all your help, Holling.... I want support for believing in something bigger than myself.(Schmidt, 36) Explains that Heather was upset because Holling had not stood up for her, and also that Heather shows that she has often stood up to their

father for him in the first sentence she says. That sentence shows that Heather had expected Holling to help her, which she would not expect unless she has stood up for Holling in the past. This really hurts Heather, however Holling does not understand why, all he sees is his sister rebelling against his father. On page 37, Heather first introduces the thought of choosing who you are to the story by saying, ...youre supposed to be...Holling Hoodhood...When I look at you youre just the Son Who Is Going to Inherit Hoodhood and Associates. Its the same thing, I said. Only if you let it be the same thing.;(37) Heather is telling Holling that not only does he get to choose his own destiny, but she is also telling him that she knows who he really is and believes that is the Holling worth being. By telling him this, she shows him that she cares about her little brother, although they constantly fight. Holling does not understand this until the chapter February when he begins to rebel against his father. He says, You should take the orchid and flush it down the toilet, (131). This is an example of Holling standing up to his father in a small way, and including his sister in this small rebellion because he understands that they are on the same side. Thi is only the transition portion of Holli ngs big change where he still has hope for his dad and is only standing up against him in small ways. Heathers attempt to get Holling to choose his own destiny is effective, eventually, as the chapters March and July show. Holling says, ...it was better to be running with my lungs screaming for air than be in a house with my father screaming at me.(164) At first glance a reader would see this sentence as proof of Holling running away from him problems, but if looked at harder, this quote would show that Holling is now starting to explore more and is choosing his own path based on these explorations. This is the reason the Schmidt has Holling consistently use many obvious metaphors throughout the book, to remind the reader to look harder at what Holling says and see the meaning behind the words. Holling finally saw the meaning behind the words his sister had been telling him in the chapter June. He says to his dad, Its not just about a jobIt has to do with choosing yourself. This was when Holling finally stands up to his father, talking about what becoming a man means. However, this

quote also shows that Holling finally understands what his sister had been saying about manning up and standing up to their father. He knows that by doing this, he chooses his own destiny. Unlike Holling, Mai Thi is unable to choose her destiny for herself, not because she has not tried, but because the person holding her back is hurting as well. Mrs. Bigio lost her husband in Vietnam, and because she has no one to get angry with, she blames Mai Thi. In her head, she thought it unfair that her husband died defending their country while Mai Thi get to sit in the school cafeteria in safety after her fellow Vietnamese killed Sergeant Bigio. Holling recounts, I saw them. And I wondered how many gods were dying in both of them right then, and whether any of them could be saved.(96) This quote is so sad because it shows the effect of bullying as well as losing an idol. Mai Thi had believed that if she took refuge in Vietnam she would be safe. This image of safety and freedom became her idol much like how Mickey Mantle was the idol of many other children her age. When Mrs. Bigio snapped at her, she took away that feeling of safety and freedom because Mai Thi was unable to defend herself from this bully. She could not take refuge or hide from Mrs Bigio. Because of this, she was unable to shape her own destiny. At the same time, something deep down in Mrs. Bigio knows that she is wrong to blame Mai Thi for the death of her husband. Holling is saying that he can tell that it is killing Mrs. Bigio to bully Mai Thi, just as much as losing her husband is. Yet she still does it. Holling describes another encounter between Mrs. Bigio and Mai Thi in January. In this encounter, Mai Thi is afraid of Mrs. Bigio snapping at her again and does not try to take a hot chocolate which Mrs. Bigio seems not to notice. He notes, I dont know if anyone else saw her put her cup of hot chocolate on Mai This desk.(112) Not only does this show that Mrs. Baker is a kind person, this quote shows that other people are noticing the way Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio feel. Because Mrs. Baker waited to place her cup on Mai This desk until after Mrs. Bigio left, the reader can infer that although Mrs. Baker does not agree with the reason Mrs. Bigio skipped Mai Thi, she understands why she was hurting and does not want to call her out on it. This cup represents the relationship between Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio because a simple act of kindness by brought them together. Mai Thi

and Mrs. Bigio both keep pushing each other away, just like how Mai Thi refuses to pick up the hot chocolate and Mrs. Bigio refused to stop and give it to her, an act of kindness, in this case Mrs. Baker handing Mai Thi her hot chocolate results in her getting the hot chocolate. This is similar to how Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio keep forcing each other away until Danny punches a bully in the face in front of Mrs. Bigio pushes her to apologize, resulting with Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio having an unexpectedly good relationship, the hot chocolate. This happens in the end of March. Holling states, Mrs. Bigio help each other tightly, and it seemed to all of us that they did not want to let go. Not only does this quote show that everyone say the forgiveness and even love between the two, but it shows how a small act of kindness from Danny turned a horrible relationship to a relationship between two people who need each other to survive. Neither Holling not Mai Thi would be able to choose their own destinies without Mrs. Baker. For Holling, Shakespeare really changes his view on life and the people around him. For example, before learning Shakespeare, Holling does not understand what his sister is telling him about getting some guts. At this point, Holling still does not stand up to his father, instead he idolizes him. Holling narrates an argument between Heather and his father, There was a pause while the whole world sucked in its breath. Although at first this quote seems like Holling is trying to explain the awkwardness of the situation, under further analyzation it would seem that Holling is saying that the whole world is on his fathers side, or even that his father is the whole world. The reason for this inference is that the sentence was placed at a time where normally the author would write that Mr. Hoodhood draws in his breath. While Mrs. Baker and Holling are reading Shakespeare together, Holling makes many metaphors relating to his life. One of these metaphors is Holling comparing his father to Shylock, a character from Shakespeares plays Merchant of Venice. Holling realizes, I suddenly wondered if my father really was like Shylock. Not because he loved ducats, but because he had become the person everyone expected him to become.(154) This shows Holl ing is really starting to understand who his father is. He does not idolize him any more, rather he feels sorry for

him and hopes not to be like him. This shows that Holling understands what Heather and Mrs. Baker have been saying about choosing your own destiny and knows his father does not feel that he has that choice. Much like how Shakespeare helps Holling and Heathers relationship, it also helps Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigios relationship. Watching Holling perform The Tempest made Mai Thi see the good parts of living in America. Holling notices, they were all[Mai Thi, Meryl Lee, and Danny] three crying.(87)Mrs. Bigio also knows this, which is why in February, she gives Holling tickets to see Romeo and Juliet. Mrs. Bigio knows how Shakespeare can change you, just as it changes Holling and Mai Thi, it also changes the relationship between Meryl Lee and Holling. There are many examples used by the author in The Wednesday Wars showing that acts of kindness can change relationships, two of these being between the Hoodhood siblings and the relationship between Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio. These are the most important relationship changes in the book because they were the most drastic. Those relationships were improved indirectly by Mrs. Baker having Holling learn Shakespeare and directly by those close to them performing small acts of kindness. The acts of kindness as well as the two relationships show that doing a favor out of the goodness of ones heart, not as Mr. Hoodhood believes to get a job, can change many l ives forever.
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Works Cited

Schmidt, Gary D.. The Wednesday wars. New York: Clarion Books, 2007. Print.