The lessons I learned from "The Perks of being a Wallflower"
This week I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, which has also been made into a movie. Last year we had a project in english class where we had to choose a book to read and write about that had been banned somewhere in the world and at any point in time. One of my friends read this book for that assignment and recommended it to me, so after many months I have finally read it.
The story follows a 15 year old boy named Charlie, who has an older sister and brother. The plot begins after the suicide of Charlie’s friend Micheal, which is talked about with few details. Charlie, being a freshman in high school, becomes friends with a girl named Sam, and her brother Patrick, whom are both seniors. With his new friends, Charlie attend many parties and experiences sex, drugs and alcohol, as well as what happens when these things are done in an unsafe way. As the story evolves, readers are able to uncover more about Charlie’s sad past and why he makes the choices that he does.
The book is written in a letter format, but since the receiver is never responding, it becomes more of a diary. This diary format enables readers to better understand the main character, Charlie. Charlie is a very reserved person with his feelings, and uses the diary as a place to release the feelings. Throughout the book, you learn that Charlie has gone through some traumatic experiences, within his family and social life. Charlie often refers to his depression as “that sad place I go sometimes”, which almost makes it seem less bad than it is. I feel like the book almost tries to his the fact that his mental health is not doing so well, and covers it by making his diary focus on school and girl problems. Although this seems bad, I do feel like it can be an accurate representation of what it can be like for some people experiencing what Charlie is going through.
One of my favorite aspects of this book is the grammar. The book begins with very poor grammar, such as run-on sentences and incorrectly used words and then as the book continues, the writing improves. The subplot of the book perfectly connects to that, because it follows Charlie’s connection with his english teacher Bill and how he is being given extra assignments to improve his english skills. I think that this is a really unique and interesting way to incorporate how Charlie is growing and learning throughout the book, especially since he is able to demonstrate the skill in the diary format of the novel.
This is a book that discusses many taboo topics, such as suicide and rape, but in an interesting manner. Since it is narrated by the main character, you see his perspective on these topics as very innocent, yet knows a lot about them at the same time. The way it is talked about actually reminded me of Purple Hibiscus because of the way they use code words to reference things, and many topics are avoided but still implied through the tone of whomever is talking. For example, Charlie’s sister is beaten by her boyfriend, but she claims it isn’t his fault and plans to marry him after high school anyway. This unhealthy relationship, can be compared to mama not wanting to leave papa in Purple Hibiscus, and making excuses for him, just as Charlie’s sister does in this novel. I think that this just demonstrates to readers and really anyone, that trying to get out of a relationship like that is more difficult than it seems to the outside person. Charlie’s sister explains to Charlie, that she loves her boyfriend too much. Love, can often be an emotion that overrides actions. So even if you know that you are not in a healthy relationship, it becomes easy to convince yourself that it is okay because you don’t want to abandon the person you love or admit to yourself that they are hurting you. But, unhealthy relationships, can be a tricky subject and are different in every scenario.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It was a storyline that most people can connect to, even if on a small level, since we have all gone or most likely will go through highschool. I really enjoyed the different things it taught me about standing up for what’s right, especially when it comes to abuse, and other social aspects as well.
-Amalia Bollero
I enjoyed reading your blog post. I think you did a good job of showing enough of the story so that we can understand what you are talking about, but not too much that it spoils the book. I think that the diary format would be very interesting, and it would give the perspective of the main character in a more raw way. I also am intrigued by the way that the writing/grammar progresses through the book. I have never really read a book that does that and it sounds clever. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog post. I thought your perspective on how the grammar changed with the character was very interesting. I also like how you compared aspects of the book with Purple Hibiscus, as it gave me a comparison. I have seen trailers for this movie, but after reading your blog post I am intrigued and will consider reading this book now that I know about its unique writing style and some of the issues addressed.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post as you did a good job conveying your feelings about the book. I liked how you talked about how the format of the book impacts the reader's experience of the book. I also think that you did a good job of discussing the plot, which can be hard to do sometimes without giving away too much. Some of my friends have read this book and I would definitely consider reading it. Overall, I think you have done a solid job!
ReplyDeleteI have read this book before and I really enjoyed it. You did a great job explaining the plot of the story without giving away spoilers. When I was reading the book, I also found the format to be interesting so I am glad you brought that up in your blog post. The references to Purple Hibiscus also strengthen the post and I think both books are important because they bring up the topics that are difficult to talk about. Good Job on this blog post!
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