...The Perks of Being a Wallflower As teens or young adults you are still trying to figure out who you are and what you have to offer the world. There is so much pressure around teen’s every day of their lives. They do not know what is the right or the wrong choice, but certain influences and relationships help determine the choices they make. They need guidance and someone they can talk to, like a non-parental adult. This is an adult who wants to make a difference in the life of teens, and is someone they can rely on for support. Non-parental adults can come from many different socially-defined contexts: Teachers, coaches, or extended family. These adults play a tremendous role in teens lives’, which is exemplified well in Bill, a male adult character in Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Chbosky, Stephen: Pocket Books UK, 2009) is a novel set sometime in the late 1990s, and focuses on the life of a fifteen year old boy, Charlie. He is a high school freshman, who is painfully shy, but also a very raw, real, vulnerable, and honest character. Throughout the book you see Charlie develop many different relationships. In fact, Charlie finds himself battling some moments of depression and he might not have found his way out without those relationships. An example of a non-parental adult that really impacts Charlie throughout his first year in school would be his English teacher, Bill. Bill recognizes Charlie’s intelligence and writing...
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...The perks of being a wallflower In these letters we learn about his family and friends. He begins his letters off by talking about his friend, Michael who has committed suicide. He describes how much he misses him, and about how he and this other girl, Susan, used to be best friends. However, things change, and she stops talking to Charlie after middle school. Then he goes on to describe his family. His family consists of himself, his mom, his father, his brother, and his sister. There are also the outspread relatives that they only see on holidays and his Aunt Helen. His Aunt Helen was his favorite person in the whole world. However, she got in a terrible car accident and passed away. His father is a very proud and strong man. He has an attitude of whatever he says goes. His mother is usually very quiet and lets her husband handle problems. She is a bit emotional, and loves her children very much. His brother is a freshman at Penn State University, and loves cars and models. He is now a football player at school and can only be part of Charlie's life at big events, like family events, holiday dinners, etc. As for his sister, she and Charlie never seem to really get along. She is a senior in high school and has a secret boyfriend throughout the novel. Her boyfriend becomes a secret due to an incident with her boyfriend hitting her and her parents finding out. They eventually breakup however, because she gets pregnant and he dumps her. She graduates second in her class. There...
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...As a novel of human reaction as well as development and growth the compelling epistolary novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky expands our understanding and invokes a deeper interpretation of self discovery. In the perspective of an attentive individual with keen eyes name Charlie. Charlie has a longing to stay out of sight as an aloof eyewitness which is filled by his subdued adolescence recollections. In spite of the fact that the novel is composed in an epistolary manner, concentrating on a progression of letters sent to an undisclosed beneficiary the over planned his own position inside of his social connection. These epistles likewise give illumination about the agonies and tribulations of accomplishing compromise...
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...The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about a 15-year-old boy named Charlie. Charlie is a very shy boy, who has just joined the high school. He doesn’t seem to fit in at school much and doesn’t really have many friends, until one night, when he meets Sam and Patrick, who open him up to the most exciting and crucial experiences of being a teenager. Charlie soon goes through the huge transformation of that once shy, unknown nerd to a wild, anxious teen at the peak of his life. Charlie’s inability to really open his thoughts, was responsible for his first relationship with Mary Elizabeth not ended that well. Charlie is the youngest of three kids. His older brother is a successful, handsome football player, and his sister is one of the smartest, most beautiful girls at school. You can say that Charlie lives in the shadow of his siblings. But one thing Charlie is good at, is listening. However, Charlie also want to have someone who listen to him. That’s why Charlie writes letters to an unknown person, telling his feelings. “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.” – Charlie Charlie is a shy and innocent boy. He has dark-Braun hair and deep Braun eyes. Charlie has quite an imagination, living in his own head and trying to figure out life. He wants to be a writer, and he becomes the favorite student of his teacher of literature, Mr. Anderson, who lends him...
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...The perks of being a wallflower ”The perks of being a wallflower” is a novel written by Stephen Chbosky. It is the first of his novels and it was published in 1999. It contains 231 pages of adolescent fiction about teenagers and their encounters within school, sexuality, violence, parties and much more. This report starts with a summary of the book, descriptively introducing the prime characters and setting while leading to the conclusion At first, we’re introduced to Charlie the protagonist, who seems to be a rather smart, yet troubled boy. He’s 15 years of age and a recently freshman in High School. The novel is written in letters, starting with Charlie sending out letters to an anonymous receiver, while only giving his first name, to also remain unknown. Charlie doesn’t have many friends, considerably due to his major intellect compared to the other kids. He had a friend named Michael, who unfortunately killed himself for a reason Charlie didn’t know. He actually wondered a lot how Michael could avoid talking to him about his problem, which surely must’ve had a huge impact on his mental state of mind. Charlie and Michael used to do sports together, just to have something to do, not because they urged to, but because there wasn’t much for them elsewhere. Now, Charlie is pretty much alone and as for girls, Charlie doesn’t really know how to communicate with them either. The first person for Charlie to really talk to is a senior named Patrick who people calls “Nothing”....
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...Perks of Being a Wallflower In Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie the main character went through a lot and had a tough life. Charlie struggled through many things but made many risks which was brave. Charlie didn't have many friends, he only had his best friend named Michael. Charlie's best friend committed suicide right after the 8th grade. They didn't explain much about Michael, only how Charlie felt, he wasn't the same after that, he had a breakdown and spent a lot of time in a mental institution. When he started to feel better, shortly after, Charlie had his first day of highschool, without having any friends, he sat all by himself at lunch. That was a big risk for Charlie because that brought up a lot of memories of Michael and without...
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...The Perks of Being a Wallflower analysis The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the famous book written by Stephen Chbosky about the 15-year-old boy Charlie, who is both the main character and the narrator in the story. Charlie is writing a bunch of letters to his “friend” who we do not know but Charlie is telling this friend absolutely everything he experiences throughout his first year of high school. These experiences include both friends, love, family and death. As mentioned Charlie is a 15-year old boy who is just about to start high school. At first he seems to be confused about his feelings because he says on page 3 that; “I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.” He is also a strong person, even though he has a breakdown towards the end of the book, but he is still standing tall despite the fact that his best friend Michael shot himself and his Aunt Helen molested him as a child and died in a car accident. Charlie is a very observant person, he talks a lot about his family and his friends and how they are doing and that is what makes him a wallflower. Just like Patrick says to Charlie; “You see things and you understand. You’re a wallflower.” Charlie never says much but he sees things and he is aware of everyone’s feelings, like when he sees his sister’s boyfriend hitting her and then tells his teacher, Bill about it. He is also very sensitive and cries easily. He dreams about Sam naked and most boys would...
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...1. Dating: In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie deals with the conflict of having a crush on Sam, and trying to figure out how to deal with his crush. Charlie deals with the conflict of his emotions, but does not just want to fall in love with someone. This is evident in the novel when Charlie states, “It’s just that I don’t want to be somebody’s crush.” Conflicts: Dating In The Perks of Being a Wallflower all of Charlie’s friends are dating except for him. Patrick is dating Brad even though their relationship is secret and Sam is dating Craig. Charlie really doesn’t like the fact that Sam is dating Craig because he doesn’t think Craig is the right person for Sam. “I want Sam to stop liking Craig…It’s just that Craig doesn’t really listen to her when she talks. I don’t mean that he’s a bad guy because he’s not.” (48). It seems as if Charlie wants what is best for Sam however he may be pointing out Craig’s flaws only because he’s in love with Sam and wants her to date him. Friendship Friendship is something that has been difficult but means a lot to Charlie, ever since his best friend Michael committed suicide. “And I think it’s sad because Susa ndoesn’t look as happy. To tell you the truth, she doesn’t like to admit she’s in advanced English class, and she doesn’t like to say ‘hi’ to me in the hall anymore.” (7). Charlie notices a lot about Susan during his first couple of days of school because she is one of the only people he knows. Charlie seems lonely in...
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...The Perks of Being A Wallflower Setting Although Charlie never said where he lived evidence reveals that Charlie lives in Pittsburgh in 1991. Plot Charlie is a 15 year old boy starting his sophomore year in high school. Charlie is a very smart sophomore and loves music. His English teacher often gives him books to read because he believes that he is smarter than most kids. In this novel letters are sent to an unknown person describing Charlie’s experiences. The letters talk about friends and family. His parents are complete opposites, His mother is shy while his father is very strong and stubborn. Charlie’s brother is away at Penn State and is a football player. Charlie and his brother only meet when the family has big events and him and his sister never got along. His sister is a senior in high...
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...Realisations of oneself provoked by individual circumstances and interactions with surroundings can either lead to a confirmation or denial of the way in which they understand the world. Good morning teachers and students. Chobsky’s 1999 novel the Perks of Being a Wallflower (TPBW), and Nakache and Toledano’s 2011 film The Intouchables, challenge how an individual’s unique context affects their perspective on themselves and the greater world. By utilising literary and film techniques respectively, these texts explore how, through interactions with their changing environment and others, an individual can overcome their personal background to undergo an inner transformation and expand their outlook on the world. Each individual has a distinctive...
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...Was that the End? In The Perks of being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky illustrates how a growing teen aged boy struggles with people around him to get himself known among them. He tries to explain this from a view point of an innocent boy, Charlie, who is going to high-school for first time. Charlie is a guy full of innocence, care and is very immature. He make new friends who are elder than him. He have the most influence of his friends in his development process. Charlie goes through many difficulties in his freshman year. But at the end, he seems to take things very easily. The way Charlie had faced difficulties in his freshman year with the never diminishing memories from his past, it would not have been easy for Charlie to recover the way it was shown in the book. Charlie relationship had never been stable with one person. He was not able to know how to deal with people. For example, Charlie met Patrick while watching football game. Patrick invited Charlie to a house party where he meets other people and become friends with them. He sees Sam and starts liking her. Since then Charlie becomes best friend with Patrick and Sam....
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...During Stephen Chbosky film, ‘The perks of being a wallflower’ the theme belonging is represented throughout the entire movie, as the protagonist, Charlie faces issues with belonging at school, home and in general society, he just doesn't belong, he's soon become a wallflower. The term belonging is a state of being a member of a group or organisation. It is the sense of being a part of something, to be accepted, to be loved and cared for, to have the comfort and support of someone. Charlie struggles to fit into any particular group at school, he watches other people talk and socialise, but doesn't join in himself. Throughout this essay, i will demonstrate how, ‘the perk of being a wallflower’, illustrates the theme of belonging. ‘The perks...
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...Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower is, on the surface, a typical coming of age story about a boy going through the ordeals of high school and the trials he encounters, but it deviates from the norm with its introverted protagonist, Charlie. We follow Charlie’s journey as he navigates his first year of high school through a series of letters he writes to an unnamed friend. Stephen Hawking once stated that “Quiet people have the loudest minds,” and Chbosky’s Charlie proves this quote to be true. He spends more time thinking and observing his surrounding than actively participating with others. Charlie’s passive nature negatively impacts his life by preventing him from developing relationships and obtaining happiness. In a way,...
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...Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as a “disorder resulting from the exposure to a traumatic event that threatens the self or others with death or serious injury” (Barnett & Conway, 2012). Individuals with PTSD will usually have symptoms in four areas: intrusion, numbing, avoidance, and arousal (Barnett & Conway, 2012). The individual may feel impulsivity, aggression, alcohol/drug use, and dissociations as a result of the disease. This paper will summarize how the movie, “Perks of Being a Wallflower,” depicts the life of Charlie, a teenager who suffers from PTSD. Post-traumatic stress disorder can stem from any traumatic event such as, sexual abuse, witnessing violence, critical life-threatening illnesses. PTSD is characterized...
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...“Everyone’s identity develops over time with the life changes they choose or have forced upon them.” This is evident through the characters of Paul Crabbe and Charlie Kelmeckis in Peter Goldsworthy’s 1989 novel ‘Maestro’ and the 2012 film ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ written and directed by Stephen Chbosky. Paul is the narrator and protagonist of Maestro while Charlie is the narrator and protagonist of Perks. Both the book and the novel are written as memoir, or in Charlie’s case letters, and focus on the protagonist’s transition from youth to adulthood. The Identity of Paul is constantly developing throughout the novel, as new experiences unfold throughout his life. One example of this is the death of Keller and Paul’s responsibility for it. Paul feels responsible for Keller’s death due to his insensitivity towards Keller’s fondness for him. This is proven through...
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