Sideways Stories from Wayside School

“‘Counting is easy,’ said Maurecia.

‘Now, now,’ said Mrs. Jewls. ‘What’s easy for you may not be easy for Joe, and what’s easy for Joe may not be easy for you.’”

Although Mrs. Jewls is quirky and often expresses backward logic, she does impart wise lessons to her students. This empathetic truism is one that can benefit students of all ages. Despite Maurecia’s jibes, Joe does not give up and is eventually able to succeed with Mrs. Jewls’s support.

“‘No,’ said Mrs. Jewls. ‘That isn’t how you measure art. It isn’t about how many pictures you have, but how good the pictures are. Why, a person could spend his whole life just drawing one picture of a cat.’”

Sachar develops the theme of Problem Solving and Learning by presenting solutions or resolutions that have multiple interpretations. On one hand, Mrs. Jewls seeks to teach students to work hard, even in the event that something may not come easily to them. This lesson is painful to Bebe, who disposes of over 300 drawings after learning that quantity is less valuable than quality. On the other hand, the quality of Bebe’s work is ironically never disclosed. In attempting to teach the students a broader lesson, Mrs. Jewls inadvertently stifles Bebe’s artistic endeavors. This outcome implies that simply believing the teacher may not always be correct.

“Myron wanted to be the best president ever. But it was such an easy job, he thought, that anybody could do it.”

Myron underestimates the importance of the task of turning on the lights. Ironically, this mentality costs him his job as class president. The assertion that “anyone” can do the job is true, in the sense that the skills needed to turn the lights on and off are ones all the students certainly possess. Mrs. Jewls subverts this notion by refusing to allow anyone except the class president to perform this task, thus making the role of president an important one since the class’s learning is dependent on the classroom lights.

“Myron, who was president for only a day, was the best president in the history of Wayside School. It was just that nobody knew it.”

Sachar typically ends each chapter with an ironic message for readers. Myron—in an attempt to live up to his new title—prioritizes helping a student over performing his presidential duty. However, because Myron fails to turn on the lights, Mrs. Jewls quickly replaces him as president. The 30th-story class does not appreciate Myron’s efforts, and the speaker makes sure to emphasize that “no good deed goes unpunished.” In citing Myron as “the best,” the speaker also underscores that good deeds are worth pursuing even in the absence of recognition.

“Mrs. Jewls asked, ‘Paul did you pull Leslie’s pigtail again?’

‘No,’ said Paul. ‘I pulled the other one.’

All the children laughed.

‘Are you trying to be funny?’ asked Mrs. Jewls.

‘No,’ said Paul. ‘I was trying to be fair. I couldn’t pull one and not the other.’”

The symmetry of needing to pull both right and left pigtails bothers Paul the most, and this compulsion leads to his undoing. This quote intentionally subverts meaning: Paul interprets Mrs. Jewls’s question literally and tells the truth in his response. He seems genuine in his explanation of wanting to be fair rather than speaking in jest or out of sarcasm. This exchange highlights how subversion of truth can be comical, a concept that Sachar explores throughout the novel.

“‘But, Mrs. Jewls,’ said Rondi. ‘I didn’t tell a joke.’

‘Yes, I know,’ said Mrs. Jewls, ‘but the funniest jokes are the ones that remain untold.’”

Sachar peppers the novel with broader life lessons. This quote suggests that something impossible is true, yet Mrs. Jewls’s words do prove to carry some truth. The joke Rondi proceeds to tell is not funny, thereby proving Mrs. Jewls’s assertion.

“You already know that this story also contains a solution. Deedee figured it out. See if you can too. Remember everything you know about Deedee, Wayside School, and Mrs. Jewls.

Hint: The next day, Deedee brought a cream cheese and jelly sandwich, some nuts, and shredded cheese in her lunchbox.”

By addressing the reader directly, the book breaks the fourth wall and draws explicit attention to its absurd premise. The suggestion that the solution to Deedee’s problem is a logical one defies what is true for Wayside School. Since logic does not hold, the hint offers readers no help. Indeed, Deedee’s solution proves imaginative and innovative, thus validating the magical surrealism of Wayside School.

“‘Come on, D.J. You can tell me. Why are you so happy?’

D.J. looked up at [Louis]. He said, ‘You need a reason to be sad. You don’t need a reason to be happy.’”

The chapter’s tension builds as DJ refuses to explain the reason for his happiness. When the payoff ensues, readers are likely surprised by the atypical nature of DJ’s response. Even outside of the strange world of Wayside School, DJ’s words bear truth. Sachar frames the students’ bizarre experiences as possessing deep, meaningful lessons for all readers.

“‘Hey! I can still read the blackboard and I’m not upside down. I can read right side up now. When I fell I must have flipped my brain or something.’

‘That is wonderful, John,’ said Mrs. Jewls. ‘[…] As a reward you may have a Tootsie Roll pop. They are in the coffee can on top of my desk.’

John […] looked under the desk, but he couldn’t find the Tootsie Roll pops anywhere.”

As is often the case for the students at Wayside School, the solution to John’s academic difficulty proves to be non-academic in nature. There is a kind of logic in the belief that, if John can only read upside down, his brain must be upside down. The author further plays with this notion by suggesting that other aspects of John’s brain are now subverted, as he mixes up “on top of the desk” with “underneath the desk.” In suggesting that each zany solution will only bring about a new problem, Sachar develops the theme of Problem Solving and Learning.

“‘Wait a second,’ Louis called. ‘I’ll give you a dollar for each of your pigtails.’

Leslie turned around and looked at him with fiery eyes. ‘Cut my hair!’ she exclaimed. ‘Are you crazy?’”

Leslie’s conflict—that she has no use for her toes—is an absurd one that she is willing to solve with an outrageous solution. Leslie’s willingness to defy logic is further highlighted by her refusal to accept a greater amount of money for something that is painless (having her hair cut). Leslie is more willing to cut off her toes than her hair. However, the certainty with which Leslie deems a haircut “crazy” lends credibility to the unreal and fantastical nature of Wayside School.

“Kathy doesn’t like you. She doesn’t know you, but she still doesn’t like you. She thinks you are stupid! In fact, she thinks you are the stupidest person she doesn’t know.”

This quote emphasizes the irrational nature of Kathy’s dislikes: She dislikes all people on principle and without a justified reason. Reason and logic are not only subverted throughout the book, but carried to extremes by Kathy disliking someone she has never met. Secondly, the direct address is an example of the narrator breaking the fourth wall and drawing the reader directly into the narrative.

“[Kathy] also has a good reason for not liking you. And she doesn’t even know you. She knows that if you ever met her, you wouldn’t like her. You don’t like Kathy, do you?

See, she was right!

It’s funny how a person can be right all the time and still be wrong.”

Kathy’s meanness and ill treatment of others lead to a self-fulling prophecy in which she is unliked by everyone. Kathy fails to recognize the ways in which she is responsible for her own fate. The author points this out with some clever and thought-provoking word play.

“‘Hey, now wait a second,’ said Ron. ‘Don’t go blaming it all on me. You’re half the team too, you know.’ And with that, he punched Louis in the stomach.”

Ron’s words remind the reader that there can be some truth in what appears, on its surface, to be irrational or backward. Although Ron’s poor athletic skills are the reason his team lost, Ron rightly points out that Louis, as his teammate, is also responsible. The punch to the stomach Ron gives Louis is an example of the ways in which students sometimes undermine authority in the absurdist world of Wayside.

“‘Allison,’ said Mrs. Jewls. ‘You learned a very important secret today, and I don’t want you to tell any of the other children, not even Rondi.’

‘What was that?’ asked Allison. She didn’t even know she had learned a secret. She loved secrets.

‘You learned that children are really smarter than their teachers,’ said Mrs. Jewls.

‘Oh, that’s no secret,’ said Allison, ‘Everybody knows that.’”

Allison gives away everything her teachers ask for, including a tangerine, a book, and a tennis ball. Allison believes her teachers are right to ask her for these things because they have given them to her in some form. However, Mrs. Jewls introduces the tempting possibility of reciprocation and offers to tell Allison a secret. Ironically, Allison claims to already possess Mrs. Jewls’s secret bit of wisdom that students are smarter than teachers. Through this exchange, the novel underscores that positions of authority do not equate superiority.

“Dameon’s pencil couldn’t write on itself. It was just like his beautiful hazel eyes with the black dots in the middle. They could see everything except themselves.”

The absurdity and impossibility of a pencil writing on itself is made explicit. The narrator uncharacteristically suggests that the impossible really is impossible. Further, the notion of Dameon’s eyes being unable to see themselves is reminiscent of the students being unable to taste their ice cream flavor in the Maurecia story. Both instances suggest that an individual is unaware of their own biases.

“He gave Jenny her speller. ‘Put this inside your desk.’

Jenny put it away.

‘I’m satisfied,’ said the man with the bald head.

‘Okay, Jennifer,’ said the first man, ‘you may go now.’”

The reader is led to believe that the mysterious men and Jenny’s spelling book are somehow key to uncovering the whereabouts of the missing students. Their appearance further puzzles the already confused Jenny. The identity of the men and their interest in Jenny’s spelling book remain unexplained. Instead, the narrator provides a humorously logical explanation for the students’ absence.

“‘You heard him, Louis,’ said Terrence. ‘Let me have it.’

‘Okay,’ said Louis.

He picked Terrence up and kicked him over the fence.”

Terrence is oblivious to Louis’s intentions, though the other children immediately recognize the double-speak of the “it” to which Louis refers. That Terrence is subjected to the same ill-treatment that he plagues the others with is a means of Louis teaching Terrence an important lesson. The punishment Terrence receives is humorous in its appropriateness. Throughout the novel, mean-spirited characters consistently receive their comeuppance.

“But a horrible thing happened. Joy couldn’t forget about filching Dameon’s lunch. And for the rest of the year, every turkey sandwich, piece of chocolate cake, apple, and Tootsie Roll pop tasted like Miss Mush’s porridge.”

Joy is a rare character who repeatedly behaves out of pure self-interest, treating her classmates cruelly or manipulating them. For once, Joy faces the consequences of her bad behavior. The guilt she feels over stealing Dameon’s lunch proves to have a greater impact than being placed on Mrs. Jewls’s discipline list. Sachar underscores that one’s conscience is more impactful than external punishments.

“They both spun around 100 times in opposite directions until they were so dizzy that they fell over. When they stood up, Mac was Nancy and Nancy was Mac.”

The act of spinning in a circle is a fitting way to enact a reversal. In Wayside thinking, it is a logical way to accomplish the desired task of changing names. In truth, although Nancy is still Nancy and Mac is still Mac, that they believe themselves to have exchanged names is all that is important.

“It turned out that nobody in Mrs. Jewls class liked his name. The children spun around in different directions until they got so dizzy that they fell over. And when they stood up again, nobody knew who anybody was.”

All members of the class join in the name exchange, highlighting the theme of The Importance of Community and Social Norms. The method of spinning around proves to work for everyone, just as it has for Nancy and Mac. Further, that the students would not be able to recognize one another by their faces is illogical but not unexpected or strange in the absurd world of Wayside School.

“[Stephen] ran up to Mrs. Gorf. ‘They all laughed at me and made me feel stupid because I was the only one who got dressed up. But they were the ones who were wrong. You and I are right.’

He put his arms around her and hugged her.

Mrs. Gorf gasped and disappeared.”

A student unexpectedly experiences validation and camaraderie from Mrs. Gorf, which aligns with the absurdist environment of Wayside School. That Mrs. Gorf immediately disappears upon receiving a hug suggests that kindness overcomes evil. Ironically, it is Stephen, whom the class has pitted itself against at this time, who solves the problem of Mrs. Gorf.

“On June tenth there was a blizzard. Louis was afraid that the children would have too much fun, so nobody was allowed outside.”

Sachar continues to subvert expectations throughout Chapter 30. A blizzard in June is unlikely, though this is no cause for concern at Wayside School. Similarly, children are typically prevented from playing outside during a blizzard for safety reasons, yet this is not the case. Instead, the reason given is an illogical one, as the purpose of playing outside is for the students to have fun. This ridiculous premise is presented in a matter-of-fact tone, which lends credibility to its “backward” way of thinking.

“Louis continued. ‘Now you might think the children there are strange and silly. That is probably true. However, when I told them stories about you, they thought that you were strange and silly.’”

Louis explicitly draws attention to the absurdist premise of the book. Sachar further exploits this trope by breaking the fourth wall and bringing the reader into the book’s conflict. Similarly, the character Louis has indeed been telling readers of the Wayside students via the book itself. This playfulness causes readers to question what is “normal” and develops the theme of Absurdity Versus Reality.