Often when taking a test, he could feel Chad’s stare burning through the back of his neck, and his mind would go blank. Snide whispers followed him wherever he went, along with not-so-accidental bumps in the hallways. While a rule-abiding student like Tamaya wouldn't be impressed by his badness, most students admire him more, providing added incentive for Chad to prove his worth by performing his bad-boy persona. In this passage, Sachar emphasizes Chad's self-mythologizing impulse, showing how it builds his social standing. While explaining how Marshall became the target of Chad's bullying, the narrator comments on Chad's propensity to hyperbolize rumors about himself. The more he got in trouble, the more everyone seemed to admire him. He was always coming up with new stories about things he had supposedly done. Unbeknownst to her, Tamaya's decision to pretend to be brave precipitates a chain of events that will require real bravery.Ĭhad claimed he’d been kicked out of five schools, not just three.
Should she adhere to the rules set out by the school, as she always does, or should she follow Marshall under the fence? In this passage, Tamaya defies the taunts she received during lunch and proves that she too can break rules. When Marshall surprises Tamaya with a "shortcut" through the woods, Tamaya is conflicted. “After all, if you’re not scared, then there’s nothing to be brave about, is there?” Pretending to be brave, Tamaya shoved her backpack through the gap. Filbert had once said that courage just meant pretending to be brave.
To a rule-following pupil like Tamaya, it is simply counterproductive for students to rebel against authority figures by forging their own standard of behavior and attitude. In this passage, Sachar blends narrative commentary with Tamaya's thoughts to highlight her frustration over the fact that the values taught at the school don't line up with those followed by the students. In the novel's third chapter, Tamaya waits for Marshall outside the school and reflects on how Hope teased her for being a Goody Two-Shoes at lunch. But if you actually tried to be good, Tamaya thought bitterly, everyone acted like you were some kind of freak! Narrator, p. This year, she was learning their synonyms and antonyms. When Tamaya was in the second grade, she had to memorize a list of ten virtues: charity, cleanliness, courage, empathy, grace, humility, integrity, patience, prudence, and temperance. The school was supposed to teach them how to be good people. Besides learning about history and math and all that, the students at Woodridge Academy were also learning to be virtuous.
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