Tarina Boone

Literary Analysis
Journey into Reality
Throughout the novel, The Perks of being a Wallflower, the author Stephen Chbosky
writes of a socially challenged boy naed Charlie who doesn!t "uite fit in# Charlie!s story
consists ainly of his struggles trying to grow up like a noral freshen kid but for soe odd
reason this is very challenging for hi# This issue is ainly due to the fact that he!s very na$ve,
socially inade"uate, and also not too sure how to react with others and counicate in an
effective way% for e&aple, instead of Charlie acting and reacting to situations as a noral
teenage boy would, his perspective and thought process is one that is very different copared to
others# 'is own noral eotions, reactions, and situations alter his conscience so drastically
because of his over thinking that his feelings becoe too overbearing for hi and soe sort of
guilt takes over which leads hi to cry or becoe unreasonably upset# Because of the way he
takes things, soe would think he!s a very obtuse guy# But really, Charlie is brilliant# 'is new
group of friends that coe into contact with hi during the story help hi reali(e that his issues
are not faults of his own but his issues will not get better if he doesn!t e&pose hiself# They help
guide hi into reality and e&pose hi by getting hi to participate as a boy his age typically
would and put hi in situations that consist of love, se&, parties, drugs, and alcohol# The author
Stephen Chbosky counicates with his audience through Charlie!s struggles ) going through
all the pain, istakes, friendships, and heartbreak show how participating in life is the ost
typical yet vital part of growing up sane#
Charlie!s teacher notices how distant Charlie is and it unsettles hi# *n the te&t selected
fro pg# +, of the book, Charlie!s teacher notices Charlie!s unusual habits and lack of a social
life and then decides to address hi on it and let hi know that being an observant bystander
cannot take the place of living out your life#
Do you always think this much, Charlie?
Is that bad? I ust wanted someone to tell me the truth!
"ot necessarily! It#s ust that sometimes $eo$le use thought to not $artici$ate in life!
Is that bad?
%es!
*n the opening "uestion that Charlie!s teacher asks -.o you always think this uch, Charlie/0
shows how palpable Charlie!s strange behaviors are because his teacher even stopped to ask# But
the ost iportant thing that his teacher did was give Charlie so of his tie, getting to know
hi, and ost iportantly telling hi the truth# Because of Charlie!s highly sensitive feelings,
ost people, ainly adults, probably reassure hi too uch, ignore or playoff his outburst too
fre"uently, and tell hi 1ust what he!d like to hear instead of what he needs to hear way too often
or in other words lying to hi# The piece of truth that his teacher gave to hi opened his eyes a
little wider and helped lead hi into a ore active life to live and it!s all due to his teacher who
decided to becoe ore than 1ust Charlie!s teacher but his entor#
Because of Charlie!s will to be ore active in his life, he et new friends# 2ro the
outside looking in, these aren!t the friends that o and dad would necessarily pick out for their
son to hang around# 'is friends e&posed hi to so uch like drugs, se&, and gay relationships#
but nothing ore than what any noral teenage boy would be e&posed to# Charlie!s friends
weren!t the best role odels but they becae a safe place for hi# A place where he could find
solace because these friends cared, understood, and found ways to ake everything see alright#
'is friends ade hi feel special#
&e#s something isn#t he?
'ob nodded his head! Patrick then said something I don#t think I#ll e(er forget!
&e#s a wallflower!
)nd 'ob really nodded his head! )nd the whole room nodded their head! )nd I started to
feel ner(ous in the 'ob way, but Patrick didn#t let me get too ner(ous! &e ust sat ne*t to
me!
%ou see things! %ou kee$ +uiet about them! )nd you understand!
I didn#t know that $eo$le thought things about me! I didn#t know they e(en looked!
3pg456
Charlie was standing on the fringes of life, allowing his perspective to be uni"ue copared to all
others# 'e used to look fro the outside in# 7bserving everyone else!s lives but was rarely
involved in his own# 8aking hi see unbearably alone# But his friends gave hi unity# 'e
was finally part of soething# And not 1ust soe cli"ue, but a group of friends that really
understood# 2riends he could relate with and friends he could really find and be hiself with#
They ade hi a wallflower# Charlie never thought anyone had ever thought about hi, or
noticed hi, but now he knew he was all wrong# 'e wasn!t alone# 7thers have felt pain like his#
'is new group of friends reeled hi back fro the edge# 9ithout their interconnection, who
knows how Charlie!s story would have ended# 'is friends saved hi# And again, ost of all, he
finally knew he wasn!t alone#
As tie and all sorts of draa with his friends and hiself went by, not only was Charlie
a part of soe faction, he had e&perience# 'e had so uch e&perience% he was finally able to feel
like a part of the world, and not soe idle, unnecessary part, but a part of the world that actually
attered#
'ut mostly I was crying because I was suddenly (ery aware of the fact that it was me
standing u$ in that tunnel with the wind o(er my face! "ot caring if I saw downtown! "ot e(en
thinking about it! 'ecause I was standing in the tunnel! )nd I was really there! )nd that was
enough to make me feel infinite! 3pg +:46
2eeling infinite to Charlie wasn!t like being iortal, but soewhat the very opposite of that#
Charlie!s infiniteness was based on the fact that throughout all the bad things, he was still there%
with his friends and faily, he was still living# Loving others as well as being loved were the best
ways to actually -participate0#
*n the beginning of the book, Charlie was precocious, shy, and socially awkward but
worst of all stuck in soe alternate world# But as his year went by, for lack of a better phrase, he
found hiself# And as well as hiself, he found people that loved and cared enough for hi to
pull not pull hi away fro his world but show hi that he could 1oin his world and reality to
for his own sense of perpetuity#