62 pages • 2 hours read
R. J. PalacioAuggie & Me
Fiction | Short Story Collection | Middle Grade | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 3, Chapters 50-66Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 3: “Shingaling”
Chapter 50 Summary: “How I Walked to School”
Charlotte is a kindergartener. Every day, she walks to school with her sister. They pass a man who is blind sitting outside the A&P. He sits playing the accordion, accompanied by his seeing-eye dog. As they pass the man every day, Charlotte never talks to him herself—she can’t help but be a little afraid of the man’s cloudy eyes and his dog’s gray muzzle. Every day, Charlotte drops a dollar into the man’s accordion case. He hears the swoosh and responds, “God bless America” (182). As Charlotte approaches the fifth grade, she doesn’t see him anymore, since Beecher Prep is closer to her house. One day, when Charlotte passes the A&P, she realizes that the blind old man is gone.
Chapter 51 Summary: “How I Spent My Winter Vacation”
Charlotte claims that she isn’t dramatic, even though people often say that she is. The disappearance of the old man playing the accordion distresses Charlotte. She begins interviewing everyone trying to find where he went but has no success. Her mother suggests she “channel” her energy into a coat drive. Charlotte tries to point out that the old man already has an orange Canada Goose parka. Her mom claims that this is proof that he isn’t unhoused. Back at school, Mr. Tushman congratulates Charlotte on the coat drive and asks her to help them start one at school. Charlotte appreciates that Mr. Tushman doesn’t talk to her like a child.
Chapter 52 Summary: “How the Boy War Started”
While a few classmates have been nice to Auggie Pullman from the beginning, others say things behind his back and call him “Freak” (189). Charlotte believes that she would have been nice to Auggie, even if Mr. Tushman hadn’t asked her to be in the welcoming committee. While most people start treating Auggie better, Julian hasn’t. When he says something horrible to Jack about Auggie, Jack punches him in the face and gets suspended. Julian spreads the rumor that Jack is “emotionally unstable” and that the “pressure of being friends with Auggie had made him snap” (189). Everyone is gossiping about the rift between the boys, which Charlotte finds “stupid.”
Chapter 53 Summary: “How I Stayed Neutral”
Charlotte wants to be nice to Jack, even when others give him the cold-shoulder. But she doesn’t want to risk losing favor with the popular group, so she secretly meets with Jack to tell him about all the gossip.
Chapter 54 Summary: “How I Wanted to Tell Ellie About My Talk with Jack Will”
At lunch, Charlotte wants to talk with her best friend, Ellie, who has been canceling on her lately. Ellie tells her she switched electives. When Charlotte tells Ellie that she thinks Julian has been unkind, Ellie says that she thinks Jack has “serious anger-management issues” (192). This makes Ellie sound like her new friends, Ximena and Savanna. When Ximena arrives, Ellie leaves with her. Charlotte thinks that the group of girls looks perfect together. They are all the same height, each with a different color of long, curled hair. Charlotte is short and has short blonde hair.
Chapter 55 Summary: “How to Use Venn Diagrams (Part 1)”
Charlotte loves Venn diagrams and draws one to compare what she and Ellie had in common when they were in the first grade. She makes another Venn diagram of what they have in common now and shows that they have more differences than shared interests.
Chapter 56 Summary: “How I Continued to Stay Neutral”
When Charlotte arrives for dance tryouts, Ellie, Savanna, and Ximena are waiting. She can tell they’ve been talking about her. The other girls ask why she is “on Jack’s side” (197) and claim it’s because she likes him. Charlotte is embarrassed, realizing that Ellie must have told them about her secret crush. Ellie asks Charlotte if she wants her to sign her in for dance. When Charlotte says that she already signed in, Savanna rolls her eyes and says, “Charlotte’s always the first to sign in” (198).
Chapter 57 Summary: “How (and Why) I Love to Dance”
Charlotte has been taking dance lessons since she was four years old and wants to be a Broadway star when she grows up, so she works hard at dance lessons. She knows that Savanna’s comment that “Charlotte only gets what she wants because she’s first in line” (199) is not a compliment by the way she says it and knows it’s supposed to be an insult. Savanna often puts others down behind their back, including their dance teacher, Mrs. Atanabi.
Chapter 58 Summary: “How Mrs. Atanabi Introduced Her Dance”
When Mrs. Atanabi begins dance practice, Charlotte is placed behind Summer and realizes that she has started attending classes. Mrs. Atanabi announces that three girls will be selected to perform at the Benefit Gala. Charlotte thinks that she, Ximena, and Savanna will be chosen, since they are the best dancers. While she feels bad for Ellie, she hopes that this is her chance to belong “in the Savanna group, once and for all” (204).
Chapter 59 Summary: “How to Use Venn Diagrams (Part 2)”
Charlotte explains that lunch table groups aren’t the same as friend groups. On the first day of school, Charlotte and six other classmates from the advanced math class all sit together. Initially, Charlotte loved the table, because she sat with Ellie and Maya, her two best friends. They are shocked when Summer switches tables to go sit with Auggie Pullman. Charlotte realizes that she doesn’t have much in common with the others at her table, apart from Ellie. This is fine with Charlotte until Ellie switches to the popular table mid-year since Amos has a crush on her. Charlotte understands why Ellie left, since “it’s hard when you’ve been invited to a better lunch table” (208). So, Charlotte draws Venn diagrams and plays dots with Maya.
Chapter 60 Summary: “How a New Subgroup Was Formed”
On the day after dance auditions, Mrs. Atanabi chooses Ximena, Charlotte, and Summer for the dance performance. Charlotte is surprised to see Summer on the list and knows that Savanna will be furious.
Chapter 61 Summary: “How I Saw Savanna”
Charlotte tells her lunch table that she will be in the dance show. Her friend, Rand, tells her that the “mean-girl table” (212) is staring at her. Maya bares her teeth at them “like some kind of crazy ferret” (213), which embarrasses Charlotte. Charlotte turns to see Savanna staring at her. She realizes that Savanna must blame her for being chosen for the dance.
Chapter 62 Summary: “How We Got Off to an Awkward Start”
Charlotte, Summer, and Ximena wait for Mrs. Atanabi, who is running late for practice. Charlotte feels nervous around Ximena, who seems flawless to her. At the beginning of the year, everyone, including Charlotte, wanted to be her friend. When Savanna met Ximena, it was the “big bang” (215) of friendships. Ximena and Summer claim that they haven’t started their science projects yet. Charlotte lies and says that she hasn’t either, even though she started a week ago. She nervously says that the three of them could practice at her house if they wanted to. Ximena remarks to Summer that she forgets “that you’re friends with the freak” (217).
Charlotte 63 Summary: “How Nobody Gets Mad at the Lavender Fairy”
When Summer asks Ximena not to call Auggie names, Ximena agrees and apologizes, calling Summer a “saint.” When Charlotte chimes in that she agrees with Summer, Ximena says that this makes her look like “a jerk.” She claims that Charlotte wouldn’t be nice to Auggie if Mr. Tushman hadn’t asked her to welcome her, and that she is noticeably nicer to Auggie when teachers are around. This humiliates Charlotte, who does not want to be noticed for anything.
Chapter 64 Summary: “How I Received My First Surprise of the Day”
Mrs. Atanabi promises to give all three of them a dollar if she is late for practice again if they agree to pay a dollar if they are late. When she gives them the money, Summer, and Charlotte both respond, “God bless America” (224). When Charlotte asks, “The accordion-man?” Summer gasps (224).
Chapter 65 Summary: How We Went to Narnia
Charlotte and Summer have always known each other but never been close friends. Now that they both know about the accordion man, Charlotte thinks it’s like they discovered Narnia.
Chapter 66 Summary: “How I Received My Second Surprise of the Day”
After dance practice, Charlotte and Summer share stories about the accordion man. Summer says his name is Gordy Johnson, and she isn’t sure that he was an unhoused person. Summer’s father was a marine and told her that Gordy was a veteran. Ximena doesn’t understand why the two girls are excited, but Summer and Charlotte feel an immediate bond. When the two of them talk about finding Gordy, Ximena asks if Gordy will recognize her. Charlotte responds, “He’s blind, stupid!” (229) without thinking. Instead of taking offense, Ximena laughs, and the girls start giggling. Charlotte apologizes. Ximena apologizes for what she said about Auggie and Charlotte and says that she wants to be friends.
Part 3, Chapters 50-66 Analysis
These chapters introduce Charlotte as a character and set up her conflict between what she is passionate about and what is popular. In Wonder, Charlotte is a kind but slightly annoying classmate of Auggie Pullman. Her story, “Shingaling” in Auggie & Me shows that beneath her enthusiastic exterior, Charlotte is an insecure child who wants approval from her peers and adults.
While Charlotte gives off an air of confidence, she is incredibly self-conscious. One of her habits is drawing Venn diagrams comparing herself with others. She compares herself with Ellie and with the others at her table. She is constantly evaluating her identity in terms of others’ identities and is keenly aware of the ways she doesn’t fit in. While four of the popular girls have long hair that curls at the bottom, Charlotte has short, straight hair.
Charlotte is not just aware of her physical differences, but the ways that her personality is different. She insists that she’s “really, really, really not dramatic” (158) despite others insisting that she is. When she is upset over the accordion man’s disappearance, her family is annoyed when she won’t stop looking for him. She is passionate about dance and wants to succeed. Her classmates tease her for always being “the first to sign in” (199) as though her eagerness is a bad thing. While Summer telling Ximena not to call Auggie names is seen as kindness, Charlotte knows she cannot get away with saying the same thing: “If I had said something like this? Forget it, people would be all over me for being a goody two-shoes” (218). Charlotte wants to be excellent, but her eagerness to please makes others think that she’s a try hard. While Charlotte desperately wants to be a part of the popular crowd, her talent and passion drives her away from them. Savanna, the ringleader of the popular girls, dislikes Charlotte for “taking” her spot in the dance production. Ximena’s comment that “it’s been noticed” (220) that Charlotte acts differently in front of teachers shows that Charlotte is in a difficult situation. She can’t please her teachers and classmates at the same time. This section shows the complex social dynamics of school. While it’s easy for adults to write-off childhood drama, Charlotte’s narrative shows how the deep desire to be accepted plays a huge role in children’s lives.
Because Charlotte is desperate to avoid this scrutiny, she tries to “stay neutral” at all costs. When Ellie stops spending time with her, Charlotte does not make a fuss. When others are mean to Auggie, she doesn’t join in with them. She isn’t “someone who’s going to be mean to someone just because someone else says I should be mean to them” (190). However, she doesn’t speak out on behalf of Auggie or Summer when people make fun of them because she doesn’t want “people to whisper stuff behind my back” (207). Even though she has a crush on Jack Will and doesn’t like the popular kids making fun of Auggie, she doesn’t want to speak out for him in public. Instead, she insists on meeting with him in private to tell him she doesn’t like the situation. Not taking sides means that Charlotte doesn’t find many connections. Her efforts to “stay neutral” mean that she never aligns herself with anyone.
This section shows how powerful acceptance and connection are. While it’s easy for adults to underestimate childhood social dynamics, Charlotte’s story shows how they are complex. A single moment of connection can make the difference in a child’s life. When Summer says, “God bless, America,” revealing that she too knew the accordion man, Charlotte goes from feeling alienated to feeling like “an invisible bridge had instantly been built” (225). This moment of connection is so magical that Charlotte describes it like finding Narnia. Charlotte’s interactions with Ximena show that sometimes, friendship is impossible to force. When Charlotte tries to copy Summer, she comes off as mean. Her long-standing friendship with Ellie practically dissolves when Ellie makes other friends. While friendship is powerful, the social dynamics that rule schools can be strong and prevent friendships from thriving. The desire to fit into and belong to a group is strong. The way that Charlotte describes the laws that determine where students sit for lunch is stringent. When Summer transgresses her boundary to go sit with Auggie, everyone is shocked. While children like Charlotte desperately want to be popular, the popularity pyramid is a threat to friendship.
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