Family Theme Analysis

Though Holling Hoodhood suggests that his family has always been somewhat dysfunctional, this dysfunction comes to the forefront over the course of Holling's seventh grade year as a result of the dramas of small town life and business competition between Holling's dad and other rival architecture firms. By exploring some of this dysfunction and, specifically, the ways in which Holling's parents are absent from his life in meaningful ways, the novel questions the consequences of this kind of neglect. The novel ultimately shows how, in the absence of loyal family members, others can fill in as chosen family.

The reader's first introduction to Holling's family comes in the form of an introduction to the Perfect House, the beautiful Colonial-style house where the Hoodhood family lives. Holling's dad keeps the exterior painted perfectly white, the flowers are well watered, and the house is exactly in the middle of town. This last quality, per Holling's understanding, means that the house—and his family by extension—exists on an island of sorts. This is reinforced by the fact that Holling's family is Presbyterian, while much of the rest of the town and Holling's classmates in particular are either Jewish or Catholic. In turn, this magnifies Holling's sense of loneliness in school and at home, as he is truly different from his other classmates.

Though the Perfect House looks flawless from the outside, Holling exposes a world inside that is decidedly not perfect. His dad is self-important, mean, and controlling, and he does whatever he can to control his children, wife, and the house to create the appearance of a "perfect" family. He openly mocks Holling's sister, Heather, for her liberal politics and desire to be a hippie, and he regularly tells Holling that his thoughts and feelings are stupid. Holling's mother, on the other hand, secretly chain-smokes and appears scared of her husband, even to the point where she won't help her children for fear of her husband's reaction. This puts Holling and his sister in a position where they must look both outside the family and to each other to find the love and support they need and desire. Most notably, when Heather runs away and gets stranded in Minneapolis, Holling is the one who saves her—something that neither of their parents would do, either out of spite or fear. After this experience, Holling and Heather begin to reevaluate their previously contentious relationship, particularly as the world seems to collapse around them with the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. Even more telling is that following these deaths, they light candles in the local Catholic church—a clear indicator that they must look outside even their own Presbyterian church family for a sense of community.

This idea of chosen family expands to Holling's experiences at school as well, both in terms of his personal relationships and the relationships he watches his classmates form with other adults at the school. Though Holling begins the school year believing that Mrs. Baker and even the rest of his classmates are out to get him, he comes to realize that they're the ones that support him when Holling's parents are absent. Mrs. Baker takes Holling to the emergency room when he gets hit by a bus, and Holling is shocked to see Danny, Meryl Lee, and Mai Thi in the front row for his performance in The Tempest—and most surprisingly, they're crying in awe, not laughing at him like he expected. With this, Holling learns that these other individuals can fill in the gaps where his family falls short, and in many ways, he comes to realize that these people are often kinder and more reliable than his own parents. Holling watches a similar relationship and sense of trust develop between Mai Thi, a Vietnamese refugee in his class, and Mrs. Bigio, the school cook. Though Mrs. Bigio is unspeakably cruel to Mai Thi after her husband dies in Vietnam, over the last few months of school, Mrs. Bigio and Mai Thi begin to regard each other with interest and understanding, especially after Mrs. Bigio apologizes for her cruel words and racism. This culminates in Mrs. Bigio asking Mai Thi if she'd like to move in with her and out of the refugee house, an offer that would make Mrs. Bigio and Mai Thi truly chosen family. When Mai Thi accepts, it stands as a testament to the power of generosity and understanding, and most importantly, being able to humbly admit that one has been wrong before—something that Holling's dad is never able or willing to do, which in turn keeps him from understanding his own children or wife in a way that would allow him to have strong, trusting relationships with them.

Taken together, the many different relationships shown in The Wednesday Wars present a number of different forms that family can take, from Danny Hupfer's huge extended family to the much smaller, chosen family that Mrs. Bigio and Mai Thi form. In all cases, however, the novel makes it clear that though it's impossible to choose one's own blood family, people still have the power to choose who they call family—and those chosen family members can be the most loyal and supportive of all.