Third Grade Angels

Suds Morton, the narrator and protagonist of Third Grade Angels, is depicted as a typical third-grader who must navigate the many challenges of growing up. As the novel delves into themes such as perfectionism, self-discovery, and the pursuit of goodness, Suds’s difficulties represent many common trials of school life, family dynamics, and friendships. The significance of Suds’s nickname, which is used by both his family and himself instead of his given name, “George,” plays a central role in portraying key aspects of his personality. Suds’s tendency to find solace in bubble baths during moments of uncertainty or anxiety emphasizes the importance of his chosen name, highlighting the impact of his anxious demeanor on his experiences in the novel.

One of Suds’s main struggles revolves around his pursuit of perfection and need for validation. He internalizes the pressure to excel academically and morally, constantly comparing himself to his peers and seeking approval from authority figures such as Mrs. Simms and his mother. Throughout much of the novel, he equates goodness with tangible acts of kindness and perceives the result of a school competition as a symbol of his worth and success. Suds’s perfectionism manifests in his fixation on winning a