Epigraph and camp
“Beautiful Things” by Andain
In the book
Miranda’s parents are divorced, and she often feels alone at home. At summer camp, she invents a new version of herself to seem more interesting, including telling people she has a little brother with a facial difference.
The background
“Beautiful Things” is an early-2000s electronic song by the duo Andain about realizing you’d forgotten to notice the beautiful things in life.
Why it matters
Miranda’s made-up story shows how much she misses the Pullman family. The “beautiful things” she had forgotten were right there all along.
Talk about it
Why do you think Miranda pretended Auggie was her brother? What does it tell you about how she felt?
Chapter 94: School
The Elephant Man
In the book
Miranda signs up for theater mostly because Via did. When she finds out the drama teacher plans to put on The Elephant Man, she tells him they can’t, because her little brother has a birth defect that affects his face. The teacher switches to Our Town.
The background
The Elephant Man is Bernard Pomerance’s 1977 play about Joseph Merrick, a real man in 1800s London whose condition changed the shape of his head and body. A line from it is the epigraph for Part 5.
Why it matters
Miranda knows a play about a man stared at for his face would be painful for Via and her family. Even while she and Via aren’t speaking, Miranda protects them.
Read about The Elephant Man epigraph
Talk about it
Miranda told a lie to get the play changed. Was it the right thing to do? Explain your thinking.
Opening night of Our Town
Giving up the role of Emily Webb
In the book
Miranda earned the lead role of Emily. On opening night, she peeks at the audience and sees Auggie and his parents. She tells the drama teacher she feels sick and can’t go on, and Via plays Emily instead. Miranda isn’t even sure herself why she did it.
The background
Our Town (1938) is Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play about appreciating ordinary life and the people you love.
Why it matters
This is one of the kindest choices in the book, and almost nobody knows Miranda made it. Via gets to shine in front of her family, who usually focus on Auggie.
Watch Emily Webb’s goodbye in Part 6
Talk about it
Why did Miranda give up her role? What does this choice reveal about who she really is?
After the show
Major Tom
In the book
After the play, Auggie gets lost in the crowd backstage until someone scoops him up from behind. It’s Miranda. You can read Auggie’s side of this moment at the end of Part 6.
The background
Years earlier, Miranda gave Auggie his astronaut helmet and nicknamed him Major Tom, after the astronaut in David Bowie’s 1969 song “Space Oddity.” (See Part 2, Chapter 37.)
Why it matters
Even though Miranda drifted away from Via, her bond with Auggie never faded. The Major Tom nickname connects Parts 2, 6, and 7.
Talk about it
How can a gift or a nickname keep a friendship alive even when people grow apart?