The Wednesday Wars

As the end of the school year approaches, Holling’s class looks forward to the annual camping trip that Mrs. Baker takes with all of her classes. Mrs. Baker, however, warns the class about mosquitos, dew, and sleeping on rocks. Despite Mrs. Baker’s negativity about camping, Holling notices that she can’t stop smiling because Lieutenant Baker will be coming home soon.

Holling starts reading Much Ado About Nothing, and despite its categorization as a comedy, he doesn’t find it funny, nor does he find it realistic in its portrayal of love or the world in general. When the news reports that Bobby Kennedy has been shot, Holling goes with Heather to light a candle and pray; Bobby Kennedy dies the next day.

The day of the camping trip finally arrives, and Holling’s class takes a bus into the Catskill Mountains. They must hike to their campsite, and everyone is issued a backpack of supplies. Holling’s pack is filled with all the eating utensils and four large cans of chili, and he struggles under the weight of the pack as the last person on the path. By the time they reach the beautiful campsite with a stream and a waterfall, Holling’s pack is feeling considerably lighter. Only when they go to cook the chili do they realize that all of the eating utensils, except for one spoon, fell out of a rip in Holling’s pack, along with the can opener.

They make do with what they have, using stones to open the cans and slurping the chili with hot dogs for spoons. At night, Mrs. Sidman warns everyone about the dangers of snakes, and Holling and his friends stay up late around the campfire. Then, it starts to rain. Everyone gets soaked, except for Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Sidman, who have a tent. By sunrise, everyone is a muddy, soggy mess. Thankfully, the sun comes out after breakfast, and they all go for a swim in the stream, slide down the waterfall, and have the time of their lives.

Later in the day, the mosquitos come, and they’re inescapable. Luckily, Mrs. Bigio soon comes down the path with insect repellant and spoons in hand. She makes thit bo kho—a Vietnamese curry—over the open fire for dinner. While Holling and Meryl Lee are washing the pots in the stream, they witness a heartfelt moment when Mrs. Bigio invites Mai Thi to come and live with her; Mai Thi embraces Mrs. Bigio in response.

That night, Holling can’t sleep. He stays up all night thinking about the people in his life like Mai Thi and Mrs. Bigio, and recent national events such as the deaths of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. He also thinks about his own life, and how he’ll be required to register for the Vietnam draft in five years. When dawn comes, he wades into the stream, and witnesses the sun come up and flash on the never-ending flowing water, “something more beautiful than has ever been written” (258).

A week later, Holling goes with his whole family to Danny’s bar mitzvah. Holling is touched by the ceremony, a rite of passage by which Danny becomes a man. When his parents leave, Holling stands up to his father, who does not recognize the significance of the ceremony. Holling tells his father that becoming a man is about “choosing for yourself” (261), and that he’s still figuring out who he wants to be.

Holling returns to the bar mitzvah party where he dances with Meryl Lee and finds Mrs. Baker standing next to a bowl of strawberries. They talk about Don Pedro, a character from Much Ado About Nothing, and Mrs. Baker tells him she thinks Don Pedro—as well as Holling—will be all right. He’ll become a man who brings “peace and wisdom to his world” and will love others “greatly” (263).

Less than two weeks later, Lieutenant Baker comes home, and Mrs. Baker’s whole class goes to the airport, welcoming him on the tarmac holding boxes of strawberries.