The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Reviewed by Billy Zhang

Fall 2016

REVIEW: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

ISBN#: 9781451696196

THE STORY:

A high school freshmen, who is currently alone in society tries to adapt to his new environment, high school. Charlie, the freshmen boy, is highly gifted in literature, and his English teacher, Bill, spots his skill after seeing him read a classical book. Charlie is able to make some friend after meeting Patrick unexpectedly. After meeting Patrick’s stepsister, Charlie find his crush, Sam, who will conflict him in the later choices he makes. After Charlie gets invited to a party by Sam and Patrick, he finds himself being in the group that he will stay until they graduate. As
time passes, Charlie grows closer to Sam and Patrick along with some of the people in his circle. After her sister broke up with her boyfriend because of an integrity thing, Charlie and his sister’s bond begins to rekindle. When Mary Elizabeth, a girl from Charlie’s friend circle asks him out, he accepts it. However, the relationship ended quickly since the idea of loving Sam never quite dissipated out of Charlie’s mind. After his friend Patrick breaks up with Brad, Patrick’s boyfriend, he spends time with Patrick until Patrick finally gets over Brad. His English teacher calls him one day and explains how he has talent in literature and Charlie becomes emotional about how he will see Bill less frequently. As school is about to close, he understands how he will rarely see his friends anymore and how important his friends are to him and he freaks out and suddenly goes into a trance. When he wakes up, he understands the situation and he deals with his mental problems. With one last memory with his friends, he decides to move on and live life. He ends off the communication with one final “Love always, Charlie”(page 213).(296)

MY OPINION:

Stephen Chbosky writes in a different way than what regular books are like. The book is a collection of letters sent to an unknown person, but the author is implying it as a way of involving the reader. The book is different than other cliché modern novels about high school. The book show the perspective of a naive boy who likes a girl who is in a relationship and is around a group of friends who rarely makes any mistakes. Due to the caring personality of the main character, Charlie, we get to see a vague look at the other characters’ feelings and actions, which the author invokes at an almost perfect time. The story also shows how complex high school is in reality about dealing with friends and family at that time. Conflict with others is one of the books best aspects and is what keeps the reader intrigued. However, the internal conflict the main character goes through is also prominent due to the fact that throughout the story Charlie deals with drugs, emotions, and mental disorders. The book is relatively easy to understand and readers from middle school to high school should try to read it if they are okay with the explicit language it shows sometimes. The rating I would give would be nine stars out of ten stars, and is interesting to the core about friendship, love and family.(233)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. Why does Susan, a friend of Charlie, ignore him in high-school?

1a. Susan and Charlie had their “friendship” broken when Susan head that he crush/boyfriend died, who was also a friend of Charlie. Susan wanted to meet other “cooler” boys and didn’t want Charlie to interfer. (page 6-8)

2.Why did Charlie’s sister have a fight with their parents?

2a.Charlie told Bill, his English teacher, that her sister had a fight with her boyfriend and then her boyfriend hit her. (page 24 and 25)

3.Why is Charlie doing drugs?

3a.Charlie most likely became a victim of “peer pressure”. His friends at the party were urging him to do drugs, and he accept that offer. (page 34-39)

4What does Charlie mean when he says “glory days”?

4a.Charlie means that it is the part if a person’s life that they feel is important and will cause others to be in awe. (page 52-53)

5.Why does Charlie like Patrick and Sam?

5a.Charlie feels that Patrick and Sam are friendly and nice in every way that it is easy for him to be himself. He also finds Sam attractive. (page 38-39)

Corpulent (pg.14)

Pragmatic (pg.16)

Wallflower (pg.37)

queer (pg.43)

prudence (pg.62)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. What did Charlie give to his dad? Why did he feel that the gift was significant?

6a. Charlie gave his dad a M*A*S*H disk because the family had a great time watching the show. He also made a precious memory with his dad during the end. (page 78)

7. When did Charlie’s aunt, Aunt Helen die? Why is he so traumatized by this event?

7a. During December 24, 1983 Aunt Helen died and the reason why Charlie is so traumatized is due to the fact that her death is because of how she wanted to give him a gift, but died in the process. Thus, he is given thought of how he caused her to die. (page 90-91)

8. Who is Charlie going out with? What advice does Sam give to him?

8a. Charlie is going out with Mary Elizabeth and Sam tells him he should try to listen to her and agree with all of her statements. (page 109)

9. Why did Charlie’s sister break-up with her boyfriend?

9a. Charlie’s sister thought she was pregnant, but it was just a false alarm, and since her boyfriend denied the details, she broke up with him for his lack of candid.(The letter written on February 23,1992)

10. Why does Charlie kiss Sam rather than his girlfriend, Mary Elizabeth?

10a. Charlie decided to be honest and kiss Sam since he liked her more than Mary Elizabeth.(page 135-136)

luminaria (page 80)

Sorority (page 81)

Sentimental (page 93)

Flaunt (page 109)

Snippy (page 123)

                               

LAST SECTION

11. Charlie is using drugs to make himself feel better. What was the cause of this?

11a. Charlie was using drugs after he broke up with Mary Elizabeth, so he became depressed and he started to do drugs, which made him feel better. (page 142-146)

12. After causing a fight, why did Brad thank Charlie for his actions?

12a. Brad felt guilty for causing a fight with Patrick and Charlie help minimize the injuries on Patrick. (page 152)

13. Why did Patrick feel depressed after he went out with Charlie?

13a. Patrick saw Brad with a different person, and since their breakup was recent, Patrick still liked him and was jealous. (page 163-164)

14. What causes Charlie to cry after Bill told him to meet him at his house?

14a. Bill explains about how Charlie is gifted and how they won’t be together in the next school year. (page 180-182)

15. What does Charlie mean by his “brother” analogy?

15a. Charlie explains how two brothers have a father who is a drinker. One of the brothers choose to not drink, and thus leading him to becoming a successful carpenter. However the other brother choose to follow his dad, and receiving a miserable life. What Charlie means by this is that origin doesn’t determine one’s life, but their choices.

Eerie (page 151)

Valedictorian(page 168)

Publicist (page 168)

Pimping (page 187)

Tipsy (page 191)