The book, “the perks of being a wallflower” by Stephen
Chbosky, is a coming-of-age tale from the perspective of a freshman named
Charlie. In the beginning of the book, Charlie’s best, and only, friend,
Michael, commits suicide. This is very emotional for Charlie and he feels
guilty about it too. Charlie feels as if he failed Michael as a friend, because
he didn’t know how depressed Michael actually was. Charlie wishes that Michael
trusted him as much as he trusted Michael; so that he could have helped
Michael overcome his problems.
Charlie also had an aunt who he really loved. Her name was Aunt Helen,
and she would always get Charlie two presents, and always let him stay up at
night to watch SNL. Then, his aunt died too, but in a car accident. Later in
the book, Charlie has a dream about Aunt Helen molesting him, and then he has a
flashback and realized she actually did. Charlie felt betrayed and lied to for
all those years. Charlie knew that his aunt was untrustworthy and not whom he
thought she was.
One
of the main themes in “the perks of being a wallflower” is trust. Charlie
trusts a lot of people, but then realizes that the two people he loved the most
are different from what he expected and not being truthful to him. During the
book, Charlie is very lonely and doesn’t trust anyone, except the reader of his
letters. Charlie is faced with obstacles with no support for once in his life.
Although, once Charlie meets Sam and Patrick, two seniors and siblings, he
makes his first friends in high school. Sam and Patrick take Charlie to many
parties and events, which force him to grow up and experience things a bit
fast. Sam and Patrick soon become the only people Charlie trust to tell them
things. While being friends with Sam and Patrick, Charlie’s life eventually
straitens out with the help of his friends, and for the first time, Charlie
felt like he belonged somewhere.
The book, “the perks of being a
wallflower” is about passivity vs. passion. Going into high school, Charlie is
very passive. He thinks a lot but doesn’t always speak his mind about the
things he wants. In the book Sam says, “Sometimes people use thought to not
participate in life.” I think this is exactly what Charlie was doing. For
example, when he was dating this girl Mary, he didn’t really like her, but he
didn’t tell her. She found out when he kissed Sam, the girl he loves. Also,
when Patrick, who is gay, started kissing Charlie, Charlie didn’t resist. Not
because he is gay, but because Patrick is his friend and he wanted to be nice.
Early on in the book Sam told Charlie not to think about her sexually. She said
this because she knew Charlie wouldn’t express himself, not because she didn’t
like him. Charlie was very passionate about Sam, but didn’t express it that
much around her.
At the end of the book, Charlie
becomes less passive and more passionate. Being passive around the people you
love is bad. It’s lying to them about who you actually are. Charlie learns to
participate in life and be passionate when he tells Sam how he actually feels.
Charlie was also using his letters to push out some issues and problems he had.
A wallflower is a person who has no one to dance
with and stands off to the side awkwardly. I feel like Charlie was a wallflower
and was just watching from a perspective while he should be the one dancing and
trying to face his problems like an adult. I think the main reason Charlie was passive in the beginning of the book was because he didn't trust anyone. Coming-of-age is about dealing with
your struggles maturely and without much supervision. Although it is always
easier to grow up with a person you trust and love that you can talk to.
