The Forgotten Member of the Family

“Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten,” says the great Benjamin Franklin famous for wisdom and his accomplishments. Inspirational and touching as his words are; reality begs a different alternative.

Via Pullman, the older sister of the protagonist of the book, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, constantly feels forgotten and cast aside by her mother. She understands, August, her younger brother (the protagonist), requires a tremendous amount of attention from her mom because of his medical condition which resulted in the deformity of his face. She understands August does not have the best school-life, and understands her mom worries about his struggles. She knows how August is very frail, and knows how much her mother worries about that too. She is aware of many things that worry her mom, but sometimes Via can’t help but want her to worry about her too.

After losing her grandmother, a person she greatly loved and a person that greatly loved her back, Via was devastated. Via was alone. Her grandmother had once told her she was her favorite grandchild. Her grandmother told her she was there to look after her, to pay attention to her alone. Via’s grandmother had told her everyone was there to pay attention to August, but she was there to notice Via. After her grandmother past away however, no one was left to look after Via. She lacked the attention she desired. This desire for attention branched into a jealousy. Over time Via became jealous of the amount of attention her mom gave August.

On the anniversary of Via’s grandmother’s death, she wanted her mom and her to grieve together. To bond with one another for once. When the phone rang and news from August’s school came saying he was feeling sick, “August’s mom came out,” and “Via’s mom was put away”. Though she understood why her mom would have to rush out on her, Via probably wished she didn’t. I can tell because if I was in her position, I wouldn’t want it. I would want to keep Mom all to myself, the way Via would have wanted to.

I have two younger brothers. They are very troublesome at home and at their school. I understand they aren’t that great in their academics. And I am aware that Mom worries about their grades more than they do. I know leaving them alone in the house to step into the bathroom can result in an instant mess of papers, toys, and food on the floors. I realize Mom must take that into account whenever she turns her back. I know Mom wants me to be the one she does not have to worry about, but sometimes I want her to worry about me. To ask me what’s up when I’m angry. To yell at me to get up on time in the morning. To give me some of her attention so I don’t feel so forgotten. So my jealously over my brothers does not grow any bigger…

 Benjamin Franklin said in a family, no one is forgotten. No one is left to keep up alone. I’m not so sure about that anymore.