Identity and Performance in I Kissed Shara Wheeler

The Thematic Claim

In I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Casey McQuiston presents a sharply observant critique of the performances high school students adopt to survive—and the painful, liberating work of dismantling those masks. Every major character initially occupies a role assigned by their community: Chloe Green is the ruthlessly ambitious valedictorian, Smith Parker is the golden-boy quarterback, Shara Wheeler is the pastor’s perfect daughter, and Rory Heron is the disaffected outsider. However, Shara’s disappearance and the trail of clues she leaves force these performers to collaborate, exposing the gap between who they appear to be and who they actually are. The novel argues that authentic identity is not something you find alone—it emerges when you stop performing for an audience that never truly saw you.

The Performance of Chloe Green

Chloe Green has built her entire high school identity around a single goal: becoming valedictorian. She treats her academic rivals, especially Shara, as obstacles to be outmaneuvered. In Chapter 4, she confronts Principal Wheeler with practiced defiance, noting that she “photosynthesizes spite” from his contempt (Chapter 5 evidence). Even her search for Shara is initially framed as a competition—she wants to prove Shara’s disappearance is a stunt to win the rivalry.

But the search forces Chloe to drop her armor. In Chapter 21, she finally understands Shara’s pattern of throwing away things that matter too much (Chapter 22 evidence). Chloe realizes she has been doing the same: hiding her attraction to Shara, hiding her fear of not being enough. When she rewrites her valedictorian speech at graduation (Chapter 24), she abandons the angry, performative tone for one centered on love and community. This shift marks the moment she stops performing the role of “the exceptional student” and begins to speak as her whole self—a bisexual girl in love, not just a competitor.

Smith Parker and the Weight of the Mask

Smith Parker performs the role of the perfect football star and boyfriend. He is visibly uncomfortable when the search begins because it threatens the image he has maintained since childhood. In Chapter 6, Chloe overhears him confiding to Summer that he feels like a “switched” bag of flour (Chapter 7 evidence)—a metaphor for being seen as one thing while feeling like another. His personal essay from the burn pile reveals he does not know exactly who he is, preferring to feel “endless” like the Holy Spirit (Chapter 14 evidence). At the theater party, he asks Ash questions about nonbinary identity, hinting at his own gender exploration (Chapter 14). Smith’s performance finally cracks when he tips off the news crew about Principal Wheeler’s scandal (Chapter 24). By taking that risk, he chooses his own moral compass over the role of the obedient Christian son.

Shara Wheeler: The Architect of Her Own Escape

Shara Wheeler is the most elaborate performer of all. She has spent years embodying the “perfect example of the type of young lady every Willowgrove girl should strive to be” (Chapter 22 evidence). She wears a cross necklace representing her parents’ expectations, then hides it because it became “too much” (Chapter 23 evidence). She orchestrates her disappearance not to run away from her problems, but to create a puzzle that will force Chloe, Smith, and Rory to see her—and themselves—honestly.

Shara’s performance is contradictory: she is manipulative yet vulnerable, calculating yet desperate for connection. In her letter hidden in Mansfield Park (Chapter 12), she admits to faking lab pairings and planning to ruin Chloe’s record—all part of her performance of rivalry. But she also confesses her obsessive love. The pink nail-polish heart in the elevator (Chapter 13) is her final clue: “I already told you.” She has been telling the truth all along, hidden beneath layers of performance. Her decision to take a gap year (Chapter 23) signals a refusal to continue the act.

Complexity and Contradiction

No character is entirely freed from performance by the end. Chloe still delivers a speech at graduation—only now it is an authentic one. Smith still plays football, but he has begun questioning his identity. Shara remains cryptic even as she opens up. The novel treats identity not as a simple binary of “real” vs. “fake,” but as an ongoing negotiation between who we are, who we are expected to be, and who we want to become.

Rory Heron’s journey illustrates this complexity. He performs the role of the apathetic burnout, but his burn-pile tapes reveal he secretly wishes he could be Smith (Chapter 14). In Chapter 15, Chloe gently suggests that maybe he doesn’t like girls at all, and Rory responds with a quiet “Shit” (Chapter 15 evidence). His performance of heterosexuality was a shield against a town that would punish him for being different. Even after the search, he does not come out—but he stops hiding from himself.

Symbolic Connections

The pink note cards are the most direct symbols of performance and revelation. Each card contains a clue that peels back another layer of Shara’s act—and the recipients’ own. Chloe burns them at the bonfire (Chapter 25), signaling the end of the performative game.

The cross necklace represents the weight of religious and familial expectation. Shara removes it to escape the role of “woman of Christ,” and later wears it again on her own terms. Chloe returns it to her, symbolizing her acceptance of Shara’s complexity.

The burn pile holds the characters’ secret truths: Rory’s confession tapes, Smith’s personal essays, Chloe’s notes to Georgia. These artifacts represent the identities they keep hidden from the public gaze. By sharing them, the characters begin to integrate those hidden selves into their public personas.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Chloe’s valedictorian performance change over the course of the novel?
Her initial performance is about winning—outscoring Shara, punishing rivals. As she uncovers Shara’s clues, she realizes that being the best means nothing if she cannot be honest about who she loves. Her rewritten speech prioritizes community over competition.

2. Why does Smith feel like a “switched” bag of flour?
He feels that his external appearance matches expectations—white, male, athletic—but internally he senses he does not belong. The metaphor reflects his discomfort with the roles assigned to him by his father and his school.

3. What does Shara’s cross necklace symbolize?
It symbolizes the religious and parental expectations Shara has performed her entire life. Removing it is her first act of rebellion; wearing it again later signifies reclaiming her faith on her own terms, separate from her father’s version.

4. How does the search for Shara reveal Rory’s performance of disinterest?
Rory appears detached and sarcastic, but his burn-pile tapes show deep emotional investment. Chloe’s direct question allows him to admit he might not like girls—his performance of apathy was a way to avoid confronting his sexuality.

5. Why does Shara leave a final pink note card with Chloe?
The card confesses that she threw the other one away because it meant too much (Chapter 22). It reveals that Shara’s entire performance—her calculated games, her distance—was a defense mechanism. She wants Chloe to understand that everything she destroyed mattered deeply to her.