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In The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, what is wrong with Holling Hoodhood's perfect house?

Physically, almost nothing is wrong with Holling Hoodhood's perfect house.  It's right in the middle of town, it has a perfectly manicured lawn, and everything is painted to perfection.  The furniture is neat and orderly as well.  Everything is set to look and feel like a powerful architect is in control of every aspect of his house.  And that's exactly how it is.  Mr. Hoodhood is obsessed with having his house reflect him and his...

Physically, almost nothing is wrong with Holling Hoodhood's perfect house.  It's right in the middle of town, it has a perfectly manicured lawn, and everything is painted to perfection.  The furniture is neat and orderly as well.  Everything is set to look and feel like a powerful architect is in control of every aspect of his house.  And that's exactly how it is.  Mr. Hoodhood is obsessed with having his house reflect him and his business.  The only thing that is physically wrong with the house is mentioned about halfway through the book.  In February, the entire newly plastered ceiling fell down and smashed all of the furniture underneath it.  


Emotionally though, Holling Hoodhood's perfect house is a mess.  It's a mess because it is a house, not a home. People live there, but the family doesn't act supportive or loving to each other.  Mr. Hoodhood doesn't care about Holling unless Holling might be able to help him get another contract.  Heather Hoodhood rebels against just about everything, and Mrs. Hoodhood is nothing more than a body taking up space.  The perfect house presents a false perfect image.  The house is emotionally cold and empty.  



The carpet looked like it had never been walked on. Which it almost hadn't. And the baby grand by the window looked like it had never been played. Which it hadn't, since none of us could.  But if anyone had ever walked in and plinked a key or sniffed the artificial tropical flowers or straightened a tie in the gleaming mirror, they sure would have been impressed at the perfect life an an architect from Hoodhood and Associates.  


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