Copy of Book Report
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By: Stephen Chbosky
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Perks of being a Wallflower is a coming of age novel written in the style of letters. The story begins with Charlie. Charlie is a 15 year old boy who tends to be on the outskirts siting and watching analyzing trying to understand rather than jumping in and picking up an understanding through experiencing. Charlie is writing these letters to someone that has no idea who Charlie is but Charlie had heard that this person was kind felt that he would not be judged by this person. He is writing these letters as a way to try and cope with the suicide of his friend , the anxiety of starting high school alone with no friends and the death of his favorite Aunt Helen.
On his first day of school Charlie's English teacher Bill befriends him and becomes a sort of mentor to Charlie. Bill soon finds that Charlie has a great passion for reading and writing and decides to give him extracurricular reading and writing assignments. Bill felt that this would help push Charlie to do his best. Not too long after the school year starts Charlie befriends the two step siblings, Patrick and Sam. Charlie rather quickly develops a crush on Sam. Charlie who is a very honest person tells Sam about his feelings. Sam subsequently tells him that she does not feel that way about him and that she is currently in a relationship.
His new friends expose him to a world he has never experienced before, with a whole new culture. The world of first dates and first kisses, drugs and alcohol, and a whole new style of music. He deals with losing his friends and the gaining them back. He finds himself involved in the Rocky Horror Picture Show audience-participation culture.
Charlie's home life is relatively stable. He has supportive parents, though they tend to be rather distant. At the end of the school year Charlie has a severe mental breakdown and ends up in the hospital. this breakdown is caused by a traumatic experience that Charlie had repressed all his life.
In Charlie's final letter he expresses feelings of sadness that the past is now only a memory and hope because the future holds more wonderful and sad things that will eventually fade into memory, but that moment when you are experiencing it seems like it will never end as if it is infinite.
"This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story,
you are alive.
And you stand up and see the lights on buildings
and everything that makes you wonder,
when you were listening to that song
on that drive with the people you love most in this world.
And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite."
Analysis of the Development f the Protagonist
Charlie's Last Letter
Analysis of the Development of the Protagonist
Charlie's First Letter
(abridged)
"Dear friend,
I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand...I just need to know that someone out there listens and understands.... I need to know that these people exist.
I think you of all people would understand that because I think you of all people are alive and appreciate what that means. At least I hope you do because other people look to you for strength and friendship and it’s that simple. At least that’s what I’ve heard.
So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be...
One thing I do know is that it makes me wonder if I have “problems at home” but it seems to me that a lot of other people have it a lot worse. Like when my sister’s first boyfriend started going around with another girl and my sister cried for the whole weekend.
My dad said, 'There are other people who have it a lot worse.'
...
Some people really do have it a lot worse than I do. They really do.
I should probably go to sleep now. It’s very late. I don’t know why I wrote a lot of this down for you to read. The reason I wrote this letter is because I start high school tomorrow and I am really afraid of going.
Love always,
Charlie "
Analysis of the Development of the Protagonist
My Thoughts
First
In Charlie's first letter it is evident that he is simply in need of someone to talk to. Someone who he can unburden all the things that hje is dealing with. It is simply a way to cope with all that is happening in his life. He expresses a fear of the future, of high school, of new beginnings.
Last
VS
In Charlie's last letter it is a sort of farewell to whoever it is that he has been receiving his letters. At this point Charlie's view of the world have changed drastically. charlie no longer fears the future but looks to it as the next great adventure whether good or bad , sad or happy, it will be filled with the people he loves and that is what matters to him the most. He wants to forge his own new future.
Analysis of the Themes
This book is full of many themes some common and some controversial ones that are not talked about nearly enough. One of the more common among them being the theme of coming of age. In this novel Charlie struggles with what it is to be a man. He has many role models such as his father, his brother, and his English teacher Bill. But charlie soon discovers that he is much different than all of them. He struggles with fact that his sister loves a man who hits her as their aunt Helen did. As he tries to contemplate how such a relationship is anything but wrong he looks to Bill for guidance. Bill wisely tells him that"We accept the love we think we deserve."
Charlie's coming of age story is a unique and interesting one because he has to deal with and work through the fact that his aunt that he had always looked up to with a loving admiration had sexually abused him as a child. This brings up the theme of sexual abuse which is an ever present problem in this world. This is a topic that is never talked about enough and Stephen Chbosky has brought it to the attention of all those that read his book.
He touches on this and many other contravention things that many others don't. In his book Chbosky also brings touches on the use of drugs and alcohol in adolescents. In this book Charlie and his friends Sam, Patrick and a few others all use drugs including both pot and Ecstasy. In this story Charlie's use drugs and alcohol allow for him to be more open about his feelings and through this he discovers different things about himself. This leads back to the theme of coming of age and with age comes sex. Through out the book Charlie expresses a fascination with sex. In many of his letters he talks about Sam. And how his sexual desires revolve around her and how he finds himself ashamed of his desires.