The Misfits

“Maybe it’s the whole rest of the seventh grade at Paintbrush Falls Middle school who’s misfits. Maybe when they grow up and go out into the big, wide world, they will see that Paintbrush Falls was the only place they could ever feel at home, because the rest of the world is made up more like me and the rest of the Gang of Five […] In other words: people who are misfits because they’re just who they are instead of ‘fits,’ who are like everybody else.” 

Even though Bobby and his friends don’t fit in at their middle school, they try to be themselves instead of trying to fit in. This quote touches on bigger themes of coming of age and growing up; here, Bobby is hopeful that once he becomes an adult, he will be more accepted for who he is. This is a common theme in coming-of-age literature: the idea of adolescents wishing they were older because they expect to function more easily outside the rigid hierarchies of high school.

“My dad says it’s better just to get along, not make waves. He says bringing attention can be a dangerous thing.” 

This quote, spoken by Bobby at the Forum, speaks to his character at the beginning of the novel. Bobby starts out as a character who tries not to draw attention to himself. However, by the end of the novel, he will learn that he can make change by speaking up and defying expectations. As such, he will learn that he is much more similar to his late mother than to his father.

“‘He’s a grouch, for sure,’ she goes on. ‘But one thing I’ve learned in my twenty-eight years of living, Bobby, is that if somebody’s a grouch, it’s usually because they’re not happy. And if they’re not happy, there’s a reason for it.’” 

Pam speaks these words in reference to Bobby’s boss, Mr. Kellerman. At the beginning of the novel, Bobby sees Mr. Kellerman as mean and strict. However, as he gets to know Mr. Kellerman, he will realize there is a reason for Mr. Kellerman’s unhappiness. Here, Bobby starts to learn an important lesson about not judging others based on first impressions.

“For characters like Skeezie and me, a town this size is a perfect fit; at least, that’s the way it feels to me at the age of twelve. […] I have my suspicions that both Addie and Joe will be looking for something a lot bigger, something that will give them plenty of wiggle room while they try and figure out who they are and what they want to do with the rest of their lives.” 

Bobby reflects on where his friends will end up as adults. This quote is significant because it speaks to Bobby’s character development over the course of the novel. In the beginning, Bobby doesn’t mind living a simple, quiet life in Paintbrush Falls, but it is revealed at the end of the novel that Bobby will go on to become a senator. 

“It was Pam who helped me see that Mom and Dad were letting me be who I was instead of trying to make me into something else. She told me that was just about the best kind of love anybody could give anybody.” 

In this quote, Joe explains how his parents show him that it is okay for him to be gay, even though he hasn’t officially come out to them yet. Joe, Bobby, and their friends are often bullied at school for being different, but here, Joe explains the importance of letting someone be themselves without judgment. Moreover, it reflects the extent to which Joe is fortunate to have parents who are supportive of his identity, even if it exists outside a heteronormative framework.

“And then there’s me. Pork Chop, Roly-Poly, Fluff. And I’m thinking there’s a lot more to all of us than the names we’re called or what we show on the outside.” 

Bobby is often called mean names at school because he is heavyset. Even though Bobby tries not to let these names bother him, he doesn’t appreciate how people judge him based on what they see on the outside. This will become an important reason why Bobby and his friends fight against name-calling at school.

“So how come we’re not cute anymore? I mean, how come little kids are cute to everybody, doesn’t matter what they do, but when you do the same things a little older you aren’t cute anymore. Y’know? I mean, what kinda stinkin’ deal is that?” 

When they were kindergarteners, Skeezie and Joe could hold hands as school field trip buddies, but if they were to do the same thing as seventh graders, people would make assumptions about their relationships and may even be cruel or use homophobic slurs. Skeezie, Joe, and Bobby are realizing that society’s expectations become harder and more complicated as they grow up. They also realize how unfair it is to judge someone based on what one sees on the outside, another important theme in the novel. 

“This business of really knowing people, deep down, including your own self, is not something you can learn in school or from a book. It takes your whole being to do it—your eyes and your ears, your brain and your heart. Maybe your heart most of all.”

It can be easy to make assumptions about people based on first impressions, but these assumptions can be untrue or even hurtful. Similarly, it is hard to know your own self, especially in middle school. Even though it is a difficult lesson to learn, Bobby realizes the importance of getting to know someone on a deeper level—including himself—before making assumptions. 

“Why do adults get to have all the power? Mr. Kiley and Ms. Wyman both say, ‘work within the system.’ But it’s their system! Kids should have power, too. If the student council really meant something, we would have power!” 

When Addie tries to create her own third party, Mr. Kiley and Ms. Wyman encourage her to work with one of the two existing parties. However, Addie and Bobby realize that sometimes they need to break the rules and change the system if they want to bring about real change. This quote also shows how the book functions as a political allegory, holding up a mirror to a two-party system in the United States that many believe does not adequately serve the public.

“It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been called names, it still hurts—and it still always comes as such a surprise that I never know how to respond. Or maybe I do, but I’m afraid.”

Bobby has just been called “Blubber” by a bully at school. Even though Bobby has been called many mean names before, the names are still hurtful. This makes Bobby realize how cruel name-calling can be, and inspires him to take a stand against name-calling at school.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. I am going to stop being a get-along kind of guy and turn into somebody who makes a difference.” 

This moment represents a turning point for Bobby’s character. Whereas Bobby always tried to be the kind of person who stayed under the radar, he begins to take a stand against name-calling, even though it means drawing attention to himself. Bobby realizes he can make a difference if he speaks up. This quote also expresses a break away from Bobby’s father, who is similarly described as “a get-along kind of guy.”

“I’m looking at them now, waiting for them to laugh, I don’t know why, and they’re looking at me like that’s what they expected, too, that I’d come up with something funny. But what I’ve come up with it something other than funny. Something even better than funny. What I’ve come up with is the truth.” 

When Bobby comes up with the name, purpose, and slogan of the No-Name Party, Bobby and his friends realize he is speaking to a very real problem at Paintbrush Falls Middle School. This is an important moment for Bobby’s character because he is learning to speak up for a cause he believes in. Moreover, in this scene Bobby realizes he is capable of much more than simply being the clown of his friend circle.

“So I’m thinking about all this as I’m closing in on Shadow Glen Trailer Park, pondering how Mr. Kellerman has had his mom go and die on him, too, and wondering if maybe—even though he’s a grown man and his mom was an old lady and all—just maybe he feels the way I did, knowing his mom has died but waiting for her to come home.” 

Bobby always assumed Mr. Kellerman was a sad, angry man, but after Mr. Kellerman’s mom dies, Bobby feels more sympathy toward him. Bobby and Mr. Kellerman never really got along before, but Bobby now realizes that he shouldn’t judge Mr. Kellerman so harshly and that maybe he and Mr. Kellerman have something in common after all. This is an example of one of the book’s most important themes: that individuals shouldn’t judge others without knowing their full stories.

“No matter how many times I have heard my dad tell me I am just like my mom, I have always thought I was just like him—a get-along guy, somebody who doesn’t want to make waves, who doesn’t know how to dream for himself. All of a sudden, I’m thinking maybe I am more like my mom, not just a dreamer but somebody who can make things happen.” 

Bobby has always been a quiet kid who tried to stay out of trouble, but throughout the novel, Bobby’s character develops into someone who is willing to speak up and occasionally break the rules to make change happen. Here, Bobby reflects on both his parents’ characters and realizes he has something in common with his mom after all. Thus, this is an important turning point for Bobby and a major factor in his ultimate decision to leave Paintbrush Falls and become a politician.

“Mr. Kiley’s expression stops me. I can tell that he has heard enough and that I’ve won. I’m thinking, I really am a good salesman. Thinking I am good at something makes me smile, I can’t help myself.” 

Even though Bobby was always a quiet kid, he is able to speak up and explain to Mr. Kiley why the No-Name Party is so important. Bobby learns something important about his character in this moment. He realizes that he is good at speaking up for something he believes in, and he can use his voice and his personality to bring about change.

“You might figure—we did, anyway—that putting our names out there like that, especially with certain choice epithets right underneath them, would make us sitting targets for ridicule. But it doesn’t happen. I mean, what can anybody say that doesn’t just prove our point? Even Kevin Hennessey is at a loss for words.” 

Bobby and his friends hang up the posters for the No-Name Party, which each feature a mean name with a circle around it and a line drawn through it. This is a powerful move because Bobby and his friends are able to reclaim these mean names. By speaking up and pointing out how hurtful the names are, school bullies aren’t able to use those mean names against them.

“Being beautiful didn’t matter. In some ways, it made things worse. People expect things of you when you’re beautiful. They expect you to be happy all the time, as if being beautiful is the same thing as being happy. What’s even worse is they expect you to make them happy.” 

Bobby assumes Pam was popular in school because she was beautiful. However, Pam explains that things weren’t always easy for her, even if she was attractive. People from all different backgrounds can experience judgment, insecurity, and bullying. This is another example of why it is important not to judge someone based on first impressions.

“When you’re living through it, though, especially when you are twelve and you think the whole world is changing until you realize it isn’t the world, it’s you, no piece seems little. It’s all so big you think it can kill you. But it doesn’t. Which is why life goes on.”

As a middle schooler, everything can feel like a big deal. Bobby has already experienced a lot of hardships in his life, from the death of his mom to the bullying he experiences at school. However, Bobby learns he can live through these difficulties, and he is able to gain confidence and self-assurance along the way.

“Something happens in that moment. It’s not something spoken, not something we acknowledge in any way, but I know we all feel it. For the first time, we consider the possibility that we just might win. That we, the Gang of Five, are winners.”

As outcasts at their school, Bobby and his friends aren’t used to feeling like winners. However, they realize, through the No-Name Party, that they can make a difference. This is a significant moment for each character’s development as they are able to gain more confidence and pride in themselves.

“Well, there is no point in blaming others, although I do think names belong more to the people using them than the people on the receiving end. But what can we do? We’re all so ready to believe the worst about ourselves, we just accept them without even thinking about what they mean or even if they’re true.” 

Here, Mr. Kellerman shares with Bobby that he was also called mean names when he was Bobby’s age. Mr. Kellerman helps to point out just how hurtful mean names can be. Even if the receiver knows the name isn’t true, it’s hard not to believe in the mean name in the moment. This quote helps Bobby develop his speech and realize the importance of his campaign against name-calling at school.

“Another thing I think about names is that they do hurt. They hurt because we believe them. We think they are telling us something true about ourselves, something other people can see even if we don’t.” 

During his speech, Bobby highlights why name-calling is so hurtful. Name-calling can make a person feel bad about themselves, even if the mean name wasn’t something they had ever considered before. Thus, adolescents and adults alike internalize cruel labels, to the point that they start believing they are true.

“But if I told you those things I’d be lying. ‘Happy ever after’ only works out in stories, not in life—leastwise, not happy the way you think it should be. For my money, this story does have a happy-ever-after ending, but it isn’t the kind that’s got anybody chanting, ‘Bob-by, Bob-by, Bob-by!’” 

After the campaign speeches, Bobby observes that happy endings don’t always work out the way one might expect. Even though the No-Name Party loses the election, Bobby and his friends win other victories. First, Mr. Kiley agrees to create No-Name Day at school. Moreover, Kelsey and Bobby gain the confidence to reveal their feelings for one another. Thus, this experience leads to some unexpected happy outcomes for Bobby, even if they don’t include an election win.

“Bobby, up until yesterday morning I accepted kids calling each other names. I didn’t like it, I put a stop to it whenever I heard it, but for the most part I just shrugged it off as kids being kids. Well, I was wrong. It doesn’t have to happen.” 

Many people think name-calling is a mostly harmless part of middle school life, because it is simply kids being themselves. However, thanks to Bobby’s speech, Mr. Kiley realizes the importance of putting an end to name-calling and bullying. Even though the No-Name Party lost the student council elections, they were able to make a difference at their school by speaking up about this problem.