Sideways Stories from Wayside School

From the onset, Sachar blends elements of absurdism and realism to frame the events of Wayside School. Sachar uses setting, tone, and characterization to establish the plausibility of Wayside School’s world. The book’s Introduction explains that Wayside School was built incorrectly (i.e., “sideways”) as a 30-story building instead of a single-story building with 30 classrooms. This mistake causes abnormal and unusual circumstances to occur. In some cases, these occurrences reflect elements of fantasy or the supernatural. For example, Mrs. Gorf can transform children into apples by moving her ears and sticking out her tongue; Sharie can fall from a window and remain asleep while falling; dead rats can wear raincoats and speak; and math can cure itchy mosquito bites.

The absurdity at Wayside School is unquestioned and assumed to be “normal.” This is achieved by a matter-of-fact tone in which the unbelievable moments are presented as either commonplace or not worthy of further exploration. For example, Maurecia keeps ice cream in her desk, but there is no indication that the ice cream melts or makes a mess. Dameon is asked to use his pencil to write his name on his pencil—a task he struggles with but does not pause to question the futility of the exercise. John can read upside down, but no one marvels at this unusual skill. These scenarios are intended to be more than just humorous. The way in which their plausibility goes unquestioned by both the students and authority figures at Wayside School calls into question the meaning of logic. At its core, the novel questions why reality is given more credence than the silly or absurd.

The obstacles that students seek to overcome are often done so by way of absurd or illogical solutions. Joe learns to count correctly by suddenly waking up one morning having mastered the skill. A kiss from Joy frees Jason from being stuck to his chair. Nancy is able to obtain a new first name by spinning around one hundred times. Similarly, other teachers and students are complicit in and fuel the absurdity. When Rondi complains about the compliments she received for her nonexistent teeth, her classmates extend the absurdity by complementing items of clothing Rondi does not possess, further frustrating Rondi. Calvin is instructed to carry out the impossible task of delivering a nonexistent note to a nonexistent teacher. When he questions this, both Louis and Mrs. Jewls respond in a manner that suggests he is the absurd one for applying logic to the situation. The absurd world of Wayside School is portrayed as “normal,” and to question this is considered “crazy” or unrealistic.

Undermining or skirting authority is also a key aspect of the subversive world of Wayside. Deedee pretends to be a dead rat to be the first student on the playground (suggesting Mrs. Jewls cannot distinguish students from dead rats). In a parallel manner, the authority figures at Wayside sometimes lack knowledge or behave inequitably or unjustly, as children would, rather than correcting the children’s ill behavior or mistakes. Louis kicks Terrence over the playground fence, essentially doing to Terrence what Terrence has done to others. Mrs. Jewls repeatedly punishes Todd for speaking aloud during class but does not punish Joy for the same offense. Sachar’s novel amplifies a child’s perspective of the world to underscore the absurdist nature of perception. In doing so, Sachar suggests that while children may view the world of adults as chaotic and unjust, there is credence in their perceptions.