Wednesday Wars By Gary D. Schmidt: Literary Analysis

In the novel, The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt, Holling finds out that his new teacher, Mrs. Baker, wants him to spend every Wednesday afternoon with her, catching up on schoolwork and learning new things, such as reading Shakespeare books and taking tests on them. At first, Holling thinks that it is because Mrs. Baker “hates his guts,” but after a while, he establishes a good relationship with her and she helps him in many areas, even outside of the classroom. The three literary elements addressed in this stunning book are conflict, characterization, and tone.
First, the author uses conflict to show what the characters have to overcome throughout the course of the story, such as Mrs. Baker forcing Holling to do chores at school and

Hoodhood and Holling. “So, Holling, what did you do that might make Mrs. Baker hate your guts, which will make other Baker family members hate the name of Hoodhood, which will lead the Baker Sporting Emporium to choose another architect, which will kill the deal for Hoodhood and Associates, which will drive us into bankruptcy…” (8). This is characterization because it shows that Holling’s father feels that his business is the first priority in the family. This is important because his architecture business led to a few major parts in the story, like the argument Holling had with Meryl Lee about her father stealing his father’s architecture design. “I looked at my desk. I didn’t see any trip wires, so probably there weren’t any explosives. I checked the screws. They were all still in, so it wouldn’t fall flat when I sat down” (10). This is characterization because it shows that Holling does not trust Mrs. Baker. This is important because throughout the story, his thoughts towards Mrs. Baker change, and she becomes a crucial person in his life. This shows that Schmidt uses characterization to demonstrate the traits of all the characters, like Holling and his