The Perks of being a Wallflower beings when the reader receives a letter from someone who only identifies himself as “Charlie". He says that he has heard that the reader being a reliable and trustworthy person from a shared acquaintance, the kind of person that is a good listener and doesn't take advantage of drunk girls at parties. He says that he wants to keep everything as anonymous as possible and asks that the reader not try to find him. He needs to share the stories, but feels better about protecting the identities of everyone involved. Charlie then goes on to explain some parts of his life before writing the first letter, such as his friends suicide and that he is becoming a freshman in high school. The reader learns something about the structure of Charlie's family, about his mom and dad, his older brother (a college football player for Pennsylvania State) and his older sister (who attends the same high school), and his aunt Helen. He mentions that Helen was his favorite person in the whole world, but that something tragic happened to her and he would rather not discuss it.
From there the story really beings, but it still follows the format of letter writing. The reader is given the distinct feeling of being special, the only one worthy of correspondence, and throughout the book this will grow and make Charlie's triumphs all the sweeter and his troubles all the more painful. The beginning of the book follows Charlie as he sets out to make new friends and become less of an observer in life, following the sorts of growing pains that are not too uncommon to teenagers such as drugs, alcohol, and sex. The reader comes to know Charlie and more about his past is revealed, giving interesting insight that often takes odd twists later in the narrative. It culminates near the end of the year with surprising emotion and begs for a second reading so that all the little hints and clues to the conclusion become more apparent.
Thematic Elements
The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows the trend of other books that deal with coming of age and with the way that life changes as we grow older. There is also a running theme of discovery, both of personal discovery and the discovery of things forgotten. The book challenges readers with a realistic representation of characters, who are wholly likable, but who do occasionally disappoint us with their behavior just like real people. It really plays up the feeling that nobody is perfect, least of all the narrator. Perks bears a striking resemblance to Catcher in the Rye, something that is alluded to at several points in the narrative, something I will touch on in just a moment.
Analysis
Overall, I would say that The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a wonderful addition to any book collection, as it's a wonderful representation of character development and the challenges that face growing children. Its themes may not be suitable for younger readers, but students in high school should be mature enough to handle the material. Freshman especially will find themselves emphasizing with some of Charlie's struggles as a kid at a new school, while older readers will appreciate the struggles that he faces as he is forced to grow up and confront things that he never realized he knew.
As I mentioned earlier, Perks has a lot in common with The Catcher in the Rye. Both deal with troubled leads who are coming of age and feel less than up to the tasks placed before them. The personal nature of the narratives means that they do a better job of hooking readers and making them invest (on some level) with the main character. The two would be well paired in a reading class and I would suggest using Perks as a lead-in to Catcher. The latter lacks some of the more modern pop culture that makes Perks more interesting to readers of this day and age and, with the set up in Perks alluding to Catcher at several points, it might just spark interest in those who loved the book even half as much as I did to hunt down the similarities. This is coming from someone who hated Catcher when he read it in high school and starting to consider giving it another chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment