Short

In Chapters 20 to 25, Julia is given an opportunity to show how far she has progressed in her two goals: getting over her height and getting over Ramon. When her parents tell her that she’ll likely be “average” height, Julia becomes angry, showing that though she now appreciates her current height, she still puts quite a lot of importance on her stature. Though on the surface it seems that Julia has come to accept her height, she has simply traded insecurity about how short she might be for insecurity about how tall she might be. Through Julia’s negative reaction, the author communicates that body positivity is more than accepting a person’s current physical self; it is accepting the physical self as it changes.

Julia’s resistance to growing taller is bound up in the new identity she has constructed for herself, especially as it relates to other people. She takes pride in her role as a Munchkin, and through it she has befriended people like Olive. If she were to grow, she thinks, she would lose those connections: “If I was a regular-sized kid I wouldn’t be welcome [in Munchkinland]” (244). Her particular sadness at learning five feet four inches is the “average” height of an American woman suggests she also associates her stature with her developing sense of having something unique to offer the world. However, part of the novel’s lesson about Body Positivity, Discrimination, and Intersectionality is that every person’s experience is distinct; Julia may grow up to be of “average” height, but that is only one of the innumerable factors that combine to shape her individual perspective.

By contrast, Julia makes strides in working through the loss of Ramon. Though she goes to sleep with Ramon’s carving and collar, she contemplates giving the former away for the first time (though only hypothetically). The dream she subsequently has about Ramon is more bittersweet than sad, evoking joy and freedom via its flight imagery; if the play is helping Julia move beyond her loss, this subconscious association of Ramon with the play and the happiness it brings her is a bridge to letting go. Furthermore, when Julia learns about Mrs. Chang’s daughter’s death and they both cry together, Julia shows that she is actively processing her grief rather than living in denial or confusion as she was at the start of the novel. This moment of catharsis happens with Mrs. Chang, a character whom Julia was biased against, showing how bias can deprive people of life-changing relationships if unconfronted. Julia also references story structure as she thinks about death: “[W]e have to accept that we will have a beginning and a middle and an end” (239). In the context of Julia’s experience in the theater and her developing thoughts about art, this revelation demonstrates The Power and Purpose of Theater. Participating in the play has helped Julia understand and move through her grief. This conversation also foreshadows the climax, when Julia will have to accept the end of the play and say goodbye to Shawn Barr.

Shawn Barr has identified a strength in Julia: her attention to detail. In asking Julia to give him feedback about what she notices in the play, Shawn Barr gives Julia the opportunity to develop this skill and learn from others with more experience. This apprenticeship model is common in the theater, but Julia is quick to notice that it does not mirror her school experiences. Through Julia, the author suggests that apprenticeship learning, rather than lecture and notetaking, leads to richer learning for young people. The author also presents the theater as an intergenerational space: Children, college students, adults, and senior adults are all collaborating to accomplish a goal. Consequently, young people learn directly from more experienced performers and technicians. Julia embodies the positive outcomes of these spaces, as she’s able to learn from three different role models (Olive, Mrs. Chang, and Shawn Barr) throughout the story.