Besides learning about history and math and all that, the students at Woodridge Academy were also learning to be virtuous. The school was supposed to teach them how to be good people. When Tamaya was in the second grade, she had to memorize a list of ten virtues: charity, cleanliness, courage, empathy, grace, humility, integrity, patience, prudence, and temperance. This year, she was learning their synonyms and antonyms. But if you actually tried to be good, Tamaya thought bitterly, everyone acted like you were some kind of freak!
In the novel's third chapter, Tamaya waits for Marshall outside the school and reflects on how Hope teased her for being a Goody Two-Shoes at lunch. In this passage, Sachar blends narrative commentary with Tamaya's thoughts to highlight her frustration over the fact that the values taught at the school don't line up with those followed by the students. To a rule-following pupil like Tamaya, it is simply counterproductive for students to rebel against authority figures by forging their own standard of behavior and attitude.
She took off her backpack too. Ms. Filbert had once said that courage just meant pretending to be brave. “After all, if you’re not scared, then there’s nothing to be brave about, is there?” Pretending to be brave, Tamaya shoved her backpack through the gap. There was no turning back. Now who’s the goody-goody? she thought.
When Marshall surprises Tamaya with a "shortcut" through the woods, Tamaya is conflicted. Should she adhere to the rules set out by the school, as she always does, or should she follow Marshall under the fence? In this passage, Tamaya defies the taunts she received during lunch and proves that she too can break rules. Unbeknownst to her, Tamaya's decision to pretend to be brave precipitates a chain of events that will require real bravery.
Chad claimed he’d been kicked out of five schools, not just three. He was always coming up with new stories about things he had supposedly done. The more he got in trouble, the more everyone seemed to admire him.
While explaining how Marshall became the target of Chad's bullying, the narrator comments on Chad's propensity to hyperbolize rumors about himself. In this passage, Sachar emphasizes Chad's self-mythologizing impulse, showing how it builds his social standing. While a rule-abiding student like Tamaya wouldn't be impressed by his badness, most students admire him more, providing added incentive for Chad to prove his worth by performing his bad-boy persona.
Snide whispers followed him wherever he went, along with not-so-accidental bumps in the hallways. He became afraid to speak up in class. His grades got worse. Often when taking a test, he could feel Chad’s stare burning through the back of his neck, and his mind would go blank.
In this passage, the narrator shows how Chad's bullying—seemingly coming from nowhere—is a significant issue for Marshall as it breaks down his confidence and removes any joy from his existence. The problem comes not only from Chad, but from the "snide whispers" of other students who gossip about Marshall after he becomes a target. The pressure of knowing he is loathed by a fellow student causes Marshall enough psychological harm that he retreats into himself, declining to speak in class and being so distracted that his grades suffer. Marshall becomes so attuned to Chad's presence that he can sense Chad staring at him in class; it is as though his gaze makes a physical burn on Chad's skin.
It was the same with Tamaya. Everyone picked on him all day at school, and now he took it out on the only person who was nice to him. He’d hear himself say mean things to her and hate himself for it, but he couldn’t seem to stop.
While Chad's bullying diminishes Marshall's capacity to engage with his schoolwork, it also affects the way he treats others. With people picking on Marshall all day at school, he is in a constant reactive, defensive state, always poised to respond to an attack. The stress of prolonged hyper-vigilance leads Marshall to lash out at Tamaya, even though she is the only person who doesn't contribute to the bullying or ostracize him. In this passage, the narrator comments on how Marshall recognizes the unfairness of him being mean to her, but doesn't know how to stop. Conditioned by the bullying to react rather than respond, Marshall is incapable of holding his tongue.
She took off her sweater to see how badly it had been damaged. It was worse than she’d thought. There was a hole almost as big as her fist just above the right shoulder. She definitely didn’t know how she’d explain that to her mother. Even though she had been given a full scholarship to Woodridge, her mother still had to pay for the school uniform. The sweater had cost ninety-three dollars. It wasn’t fair.
While traversing the forest with Marshall, Tamaya finds that something is holding her back. After a moment of panic, she see it is only a branch caught on her sweater. However, the relief is temporary. The fist-sized hole is major problem for Tamaya, who takes pride in her school uniform, unlike fellow students who resent having to wear one. To Tamaya, the sweater represents the pride she feels in having the privilege to attend a private school with a reputation and history. And while other students are rich enough to replace torn sweaters, Tamaya's mother cannot afford a $93 replacement.
Her gaze returned to the fuzzy mud. It was possible, she thought, that the leaves had sunk down into the mud, but the mud seemed too thick for a leaf to fall through it. She wondered if that fuzzy scum somehow swept the leaves off to the side.
In this passage, Tamaya first encounters the "fuzzy mud" from which the novel takes its name. From the outset, Tamaya senses that something isn't right about the mud. While the rest of the forest floor is dense with fallen autumn leaves, the surface of the black mud puddle is devoid of foliage. It is also covered in a layer of mold-like fuzz, suggesting it may not even be mud. The passage is significant because it marks a crucial moment in the narrative. If Tamaya hadn't noticed the peculiar quality of the mud, she might never have brought the toxic mud to the world's attention.
“No one knows, no one cares,” Chad muttered.
After Tamaya finds Chad in the forest, he speaks in self-pitying language about his certainty that none of his family members will even notice he is gone. In this passage, Chad repeats for the third time, "No one knows, no one cares," the mantra he kept telling himself as he spent the night in the woods blind and alone. The passage is significant because it exposes how Chad, despite acting tough all the time, is much more vulnerable than he would readily admit. The fact he feels unloved by his family provides contextualization for the way he constantly seeks attention from others, even if it is for bad behavior.
“We were the last to see him,” she said. “We have to tell someone.”
The other boys were heading back to the building.
“No, Tamaya,” Marshall said firmly. “You can’t tell anyone, ever. Look, he’s the one who hit me. I didn’t hit him. Besides, it’s got nothing to do with us, anyway. He ran away from home or something.”
Upon learning that Chad is missing, Tamaya goes straight to Marshall. Unbeknownst to her, Marshall already lied to Mrs. Thaxton and claimed not to have seen Chad the evening before. While Tamaya understands the gravity of the situation, Marshall is frustratingly obtuse, half-heartedly pretending to believe that they had nothing to do with Chad's disappearance. The passage is significant because it shows how Tamaya's moral compass brings her into conflict: On one hand, she risks getting Marshall in trouble by going along with his feigned obliviousness; on the other, she risks doing nothing to help Chad. Ultimately, she decides to set out alone into the forest, hoping to rescue Chad without implicating Marshall and thereby staying loyal to them both.
Tamaya laughed at Marshall’s awkwardness. She wondered why boys were always so weird about hugging, but then her heart stopped when Chad’s eyes fixed on her. He opened his arms wide and said the same three words he’d said to her once before. “You’re next, Tamaya.”
At the end of the novel, Tamaya and Marshall visit Chad's hospital room after they have both recovered from their rashes. Having been in the woods overnight before Tamaya found him, Chad's condition was much worse, and he needed skin grafts from his bottom to his face. In this passage, Sachar shows how the harrowing experience has brought the three students together as friends. No longer hostile, Chad greets Marshall with a hug of solidarity. Repeating the threat he uttered in the forest after attacking Marshall, Chad tells Tamaya "you're next." However, in a moment of comic levity, Chad repurposes the threat to inform her that she is next for a hug.
