- A one-paragraph STAARS analysis of some portion of the text (15 points)
- A one-paragraph personal response through which you defend an original controlling idea or thesis using specific details cited from the text (10 points)
- A question for your peers that requires textual investigation to answer AND/OR a 3-5 sentence response to a peer's question that includes evidence from the text for support (5 points)
To resolve some issues from the first blog, please review the instructions on the STAARS process that you have been given multiple times already this year. Especially review "Attitude" and the proper format for the commentary paragraph. Please cite your evidence from the text properly with a page number in parentheses followed by a period, ex: "This is an in-text citation" (1).
Also, please be sure to comment on THIS POST rather than creating your own or commenting on one created by another student. That way, you can benefit from reading everyone's responses and it's all in one place when it comes time for me to harvest the comments for grading. As always, please see me with your questions or concerns.
Thank You,
Mrs. Siragusa
What do you think the Big Boy symbolizes?
ReplyDeleteS- subject: Loneliness
ReplyDeleteT- theme: You cannot depend on others to always make you happy because once they leave you, then you will not know how to be happy on your own.
A- Attitude: Empathetic, Cautionary, wise
R- rhetorical strategy: characterization
Strategy/textual evidence:
“I just wish that God or my parents or Sam or my sister would just tell me what’s wrong with me. Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense. To make this all go away. And disappear. I know that’s wrong because it’s my responsibility, and I know that things get worse before they get better because that’s what my psychiatrist says, but this is a worse that feels too big,” (P.139)
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like. It’s much easier not to know things sometimes. And to have French fries with your mom be enough.” (P.144)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a bildungsroman novel by Stephen Chbosky which explores how our narrator, Charlie, is consumed by his own loneliness. Chbosky uses the rhetorical strategy of characterization to allow the reader to better understand where the loneliness, that is haunting Charlie, stems from. In the beginning of the novel, Charlie does not have any friends and is very troubled until he happens to meet Sam and Patrick. Because of them, his social interactions begin to increase and he has many friends whom he can spend time, and share his thoughts with. When Charlie makes a foolish mistake, he is quickly isolated from all of his friends and returns back to his troubled state which we first met him in. Readers see that one character trait displayed in Charlie is regretful, when, on page 144 Charlie states “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like.” Readers can assume that he may regret in some sort of a way making friends when he says it is much easier to not know things some time. If Charlie had not known what having friends was like then he might be in this troubled state he is or rather feel the let down that occurred when he lost all of his friends. He may realize that you can’t always rely on others to make you happy because once they leave, then you return to the state you originally were in, which in Charlie’s case is depressed. Although Charlie is regretful of losing all of his friends and wishes that he did not have these feelings, he also knows that this lonely state he is in is his own fault. Charlie states on page 139, “I just wish that God or my parents or Sam or my sister would just tell me what’s wrong with me. Just tell me how to be different in a way that makes sense. To make this all go away. And disappear. I know that’s wrong because it’s my responsibility, and I know that things get worse before they get better because that’s what my psychiatrist says, but this is a worse that feels too big.” From this statement, readers can gather that another character trait which he displays is guilt. Charlie knows that it is his own fault that he is in this lonely state because he made a mistake that he cannot fix. He thinks that what he did was wrong but he is also sick of making choices that have bad outcomes. Charlie believes that he is the one that needs to be fixed more than the problem itself, but that the chances of things getting better are very slim. Charlie greatly relates to Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye when Holden states on page 214 “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” This relates to both characters because they both realize that having relationships with other people will make you feel good. Once you realize that those relationships are not there, then you will not feel the way you did when they were, and may find yourself in a state that you do not like.
S: Integrity
ReplyDeleteT: Many times during a teenagers life, they are faced with a situation where their integrity is challenged. They have to make a choice; do what they believe is right or do what others want you to do. The choice a person makes has everything to do with the integrity of that person.
A: Confused, put-out, and degraded
A: adolesences
R: Irony
S: "Well I thought a lot of things. But mostly, I thought that your being sad was much more important to me than Craig not being your boyfriend anymore. And if it meant that I would never get to think of you that way, as long as you were happy, it was okay. That's when I realized that I really love you." (200).
"Charlie, I also told you not to tell Mary Elizabeth she was pretty.And to ask her a lot of questions and not interrupt her. Now she's with a guy who does the exact opposite. And it works because that's who Peter really is. He's being himself. And he does things. (200).
S: Memories
ReplyDeleteT: Memories can often hold fond nostalgia at times and good events remembered, but sometimes they are terrible memories that hurt so much people make themselves forget.
A: Adolescents
A: Confused, realization, fondness
R: Characterization
S: “After I said that, we all got quiet and sad. In the silence, I remembered this one time that I never told anybody about. The time we were walking. Just the three of us. And I was in the middle. I don’t remember where we were walking to or where we were walking from. I don’t even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere.” (198)
The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a coming-of-age novel. The story itself is told in letter form from the view of a boy who may or may not be really named Charlie, as he said he did not use their real names. The story in essence are Charlie’s own memories of what unfolded in his life in the span he wrote the letters. He recounts many times of his past memories of Aunt Helen and how they haunt him. But he also tells of times he spent with his friends that he will never let go. Chbosky uses imagery many times during these letter entries to describe Charlie and his feelings toward the events that happen to him. One of his most memorable was the time Patrick, Sam and him went through the tunnel and turned the radio music up very loud while Sam stood in the back of the truck. “When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” (39) This was a very special moment for all three of them, as it showed how tight they were and how amazing the event must have been to Charlie. But, while many memories can be happy and make people smile when they recall them, Charlie has many memories as well that make him feel awful and even start to cry. One memory that he recalls was so bad that he must have buried it into his subconscious to deal with the pain and uncomfortable feelings it brought. Before his Aunt Helen died, he loved her dearly and still does. But while she had started to clean up her life before the accident, Charlie never told us what she did because he didn’t want to remember, and may have forced himself to forget. The memory itself surfaced the night before Sam had to leave. Her actions caused him to recall that his own Aunt touched him that way. “I don’t really want to talk about the questions and the answers. But I kind of figured out that everything I dreamt about my aunt Helen was true. And after a while, I realized that it happened every Saturday when we would watch television.” (209) The doctor had managed to get this information from Charlie when he was put into the hospital after he relapsed again. He never told anyone that as a child, his aunt had molested him. It may have been due to her drinking, or due to the similar abuse she suffered as a child. Whenever he thought of his aunt, Charlie felt like crying and felt many negative emotions. But many readers only assumed it was because they had been very close and how his death had traumatized him. This may also be why he had to go to the hospital and to a psychiatrist after she had died, but he did not tell the readers until the end of the story that there may have been a different reason these memories were so painful. A memory can have a powerful effect on a person, and just as some can make people shed tears of joy, others can make people cry in fear, sadness, or pain.
Question: Even though Helen did these horrible things to Charlie when he was a child, he still loved her very much. Why do you think this is true?
ReplyDeleteIn the novel The Perks of Being A Wallflower, a bildungsroman by Stephen Chbosky, Charlie's integrity is constantly being tested. He listens to Sam and Patrick when they tell him stuff, and Charlie does what they do. He smokes weed with them, drinks, and does LSD. That's when he doesn't really think through his actions to clearly. But when Charlie and Sam are up in her room, he chooses not to have sex with her. Charlie reminds me of Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger because they both do things they realize they shouldn't but they also make up for it by thinking thrugh their actions afterwards and they do the right thing. Just because someone else wants someone to do something doesn't mean that person should.
ReplyDeleteYou can't count on other people to know what the right thing to do is for you. You need to figure this out on your own. You may make a fwe mistakes, but in the long-run it's worth it because you are taking control of your own life, and not letting someone live it for you. Charlie in the beginning of the book just goes along with what Sam and Patrick are doing and they aren't the greatest examples. But towards the end of the book, Charlie realizes that Sam and Patrick aren't always right and aren't always going to be around to make his decisions for me. He finally realizes this whne he is upstairs with Sam in her room. He finally makes his own decisons and suffers the consequences for his actions, not the actions of what someone else told him to do.
Question: What do you think happened during Charlie and Holden's lives that made them so similar?
ReplyDeletePersonal Response:
ReplyDeleteThe novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower teaches us that we need to learn how to be happy on our own and not always rely on others to make us happy. Until Charlie met Sam and Patrick, he was never happy with himself or his life because he was very lonely and troubled. When he loses all of his friends in one instance, he returns back to the lonely state that we first met him in. Charlie soon begins to be torn between the feelings of guilt and regret on top of this loneliness. Readers can assume that he regrets making friends in a way because if he had not, then he would never know what the let down would feel like of losing all of his friends. If he had not made friends, he may also still be in the state that we met him in which he was able to cope with much better than he is now. I believe this is due to the fact that he did not know that there was any hope for him to get “better” and happier before Sam and Patrick came into his life. Although he is regretful, he also misses his friends deeply and feels guilty. He knows that he hurt his friends and they were right to leave him. He also blames himself for this loneliness that he is feeling, and wants to fix himself in order to be a better person so that he will not hurt himself or his friends again. I think this shows that Charlie is a good friend himself and that if he can be a friend to others and make them happy then why can’t he do the same for himself. Charlie wants to get better, but he feels that the chances of it are not very good. Although he has lost his friends, he should still be optimistic because he was once happy and should know that he has potential to be that happy again. He should realize that he can make himself as happy as his friends made him, and learn how to cope with and overcome the loneliness incase he should ever lose someone again.
Question:
ReplyDeleteWhen Charlie is under the influence of LSD he ends up writing and sending a letter to someone. Who do you believe that Charlie sent the letter to? Who would you send the letter to if you were Charlie? and what would you write in the letter?
Yelena Odeychuk
ReplyDeleteMrs. Siragusa
4AC
STAARS
Subject- Friendship
Theme- A friend’s influence can cause a person to change his behaviors or attitudes to conform to what others are doing.
Attitude- Empathetic, sincere, thoughtful
Audience- Teenagers
Rhetorical Strategy- Characterization
Textual Evidence- “Regardless, I decided to never take LSD again” (100).
“’Can I have a cigarette?” I said. I couldn’t bring myself to say “bum a smoke.” Not for my first one. I just couldn’t” (101).
“We didn’t do anything other than kiss” (160).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a bildungsroman by Stephen Chbosky, is an exploration of how a friend’s influence can cause a person to change his behaviors or attitudes to conform to what others are doing. The author’s tone is empathetic, sincere, and thoughtful. Throughout this novel, the author uses the rhetorical strategy of characterization, which is the author’s means of conveying to the reader a character’s personality, life history, values, and physical attributes, to show us how Charlie is changing. The first example of characterization is when Charlie writes, “Regardless, I decided to never take LSD again” (100). Charlie is saying this because he has done some things while on LSD and can’t remember them, such as cutting his hair. His friends Sam and Patrick do it too because they tell Charlie he just had a “bad trip” when he thinks he is schizophrenic. In the beginning of the book when Charlie didn’t have many friends, he didn’t do these things. When he started going to parties, Charlie started doing LSD probably because he was forced to or nobody would listen when he refused. Another example of characterization is when Charlie says, “’Can I have a cigarette?” I said. I couldn’t bring myself to say “bum a smoke.” Not for my first one. I just couldn’t” (101). This is when Charlie finally decides to smoke with Patrick and Sam. He feels that he will be accepted better and his friends will listen to him. He wants to say “bum a smoke” so he can sound cool so he decides he should start after his first cigarette. He also says, “We didn’t do anything other than kiss” (160). Charlie kisses Patrick because he kisses him first and he doesn’t know any better. He thinks this is what you have to do if you are friends. He doesn’t want to mess up his friendship with Patrick and is willing to do anything he has to do, even if it makes him feel uncomfortable. In the beginning of the novel, Charlie didn’t do any of these things because he didn’t have friends. Once he became Patrick and Sam’s friend, he was exposed to these things and was pressured to do certain things. Charlie wanted to fit in because he was an outcast in school earlier in his freshmen year of high school. The author uses characterization to show us how Charlie is weak and unable to stand his ground. He doesn’t have many values and is willing to risk his health in order to do what his friends do. This novel reminds me of Holden from The Catcher in the Rye, because both characters are rebellious and lonely at times. For example, Holden and Charlie both smoke cigarettes even though it’s not the best thing to do.
The novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky shows us that a teacher can affect a student’s life in a positive way. Charlie’s English teacher, Bill, gives him extra books to read. He also makes Charlie write essays about the books and this is not a bad thing for Charlie because he likes writing. If Bill wouldn’t assign this extra work, then Charlie’s writing skills would not have improved. Bill says in the novel, “So, when the school year ends, and I’m not your teacher anymore, I want you to know that if you ever need anything, or want to know about more books, or want to show me anything you write, or anything, you can always come to me as a friend. I do consider you a friend, Charlie,” (181). Most teachers don’t care about their students’ personal life and only teach you what they have to. Bill is not like most teachers and does everything he can to help Charlie in high school and with grades. Teachers don’t usually invite students to their house to talk and don’t assign extra work for fun because this is extra work for the teacher, too. If it wasn’t for Bill, Charlie probably wouldn’t be friends with Patrick and Sam. Charlie’s life has been positively affected by his teacher, Bill, in many ways.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think it means when Charlie says he feels infinite?
ReplyDeleteTEAR Paragraph:
ReplyDeleteThe Perks of Being a Wallflower, a bildungsroman novel by Stephen Chbosky, shows us how physical, verbal and sexual abuse can change how a person sees the world especially for an adolescent who has to deal with the difficulties of growing up on top of being abused. It can hurt relationships and cause teenagers to not feel part of the high school life that they are living in. Without talking about it, it can scar a child for the rest of their adulthood. Chbosky shows teenagers this scarring, defiling, and degrading theme through Charlie’s developing character. Charlie always cares for other people before he cares about himself which makes him seem like such a good friend. Sam proves this by asking, ‘”Did you want him to kiss you?” I shook my head no.”’ (201) Charlie feels like he has to please all of his friends even if it does not please himself. He kissed Patrick back to make Patrick happy, but it did not make Charlie happy. This behavior most likely came from his interactions with Aunt Helen. To make her happy he would give in to the abuse and not say anything because it meant that she loved him and she was happy. To him this degrading relationship was healthy. He didn’t realize that she was using him for power and enjoyment even though it was hurting him. The sexual abuse caused Charlie’s character to also feel like an outcast from the rest of the world. Charlie admits this when he writes, “To tell you the truth, I knew she wanted to be alone with Erik, but I really wanted to have some company.” (148) Like Holden dealing with his brother’s death, Charlie also had to deal with Aunt Helen’s death and the unresolved abuse that he faced when he was younger. These tragic events made Holden and Charlie both feel alone in the world because not many people could really understand what they were going through, so they just did not talk about it. It made Charlie become a wallflower and not participate in society because he felt as though he did not fit in at school or with the rest of his family. Charlie’s personality changed because of the abuse that he dealt with by making him feel like he had to please everyone and by making him feel different from people in society. He only was able to truly change when he was able to talk about it and get the support he needed from the hospital, his friends, and his family.
Personal Response:
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the novel, Charlie is made to seem like an innocent kid, so when he befriends Sam and Patrick it seems quite strange because they are involved with drugs, alcohol, sex, and parties. They teach Charlie their way of life where he eventually goes to the parties, drinks, smokes, and even takes acid. Even though Sam and Patrick partake in these various adult situations it is necessary for Charlie to befriend them to learn about how these situations are not as bad as the adults make them out to be. It is not a bad thing that the three of them become best friends. Sam teaches Charlie that it is okay to experiment with sex and to date because it is okay for sex to feel good especially since Charlie loved Sam so much. Adults make sex sound like a dirty and awful deed, but Sam believes otherwise. Because of this scene Charlie later learns that he does not have to make people happy by doing everything they want to do. He is allowed to let himself be happy too and if he does not want to do something he is allowed to say no and not feel bad about it. If Sam and Charlie did not start kissing and experimenting then he might not have learned this lesson and he would not have grown as a person. Charlie also learns how to participate from Sam, Patrick, and their group. At the dance club not only does Charlie talk to Mary Elizabeth and her date, but he also joins in dancing on the dance floor with Sam. When he is alone it is harder for him to break away from being a wallflower and to join in, but because Sam and Patrick are his friends he is able to join in and actually be part of society, which is what Bill wanted him to do. If Sam and Patrick were not friends with Charlie then it would have been a lot harder for him to actually participate in society. He would continue to feel like an outcast in school, with his own family, and even in his own mind. He needed to meet Sam and Patrick so he could learn and grow as a human being because the adults were not telling him anything like with Michael. Their friendship eventually helped him to get through his past with support.
Question:
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Charlie misses Aunt Helen so much when she was sexually abusing him?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePersonal Response:
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky is a great example of the common friendship throughout all ages and in this case shows Charlie becoming a great friend to many people. He becomes very close to his English teacher Bill, who he addresses by his first name, Patrick, Sam and more importantly his family who he will love and care for hopefully the rest of his life. Because of these friendships he meets new people, goes to various social functions and more importantly has the time of his life.
He even describes his time with Sam and Patrick as “feeling infinite.” Within his family the closer bonds remove tensions and Charlie develops a greater love for those who he close to. Friendships are there for each and one of us as we have troubles, look for assistance or possibly offer our advice or support as comfort. Just as Charlie has done, he has become a young adult by maturing in this bildungsroman novel by Stephen Chobsky.
In these sections, we notice Charlie as a seemingly more considerate and thoughtful person. What do you think brought this change upon himself?
ReplyDeleteTrevor Brudz
ReplyDelete3/22/11
STAARS Analysis
4A/C
Subject – Friendship
Theme – Friendship is always there for us and exists through family, or as one’s best friend. Through thick and thin, friendship is a constant reminder that people love and care for us. During our lives and especially the life of Charlie, we notice that he becomes very close and develops good friends that he cares about as they care for him.
Attitude – earnest, critical, and sentimental
Audience – young adult or adolescent
Rhetorical Strategy – Imagery
Textual Evidence – “When things started turning dusk outside, he showed me all the places he and Brad would meet. He didn’t say much about them. He just stared. We ended up at the golf course. We sat on the eighteenth green, which was pretty much just a high hill and we watched the sun disappear.” (157)
“I looked over at my brother, and he looked over at me. And we both smiled. Then, we looked at my mother, and she was crying real soft and messy, so my brother and I each took one of her hands. She looked at us and smiled and cried harder. Then, we both rested our heads on her shoulders, like a sideways hug, which made her cry even harder…I love my mom so much.” (189)
“I even wrapped them up special. I used the Sunday funny papers because they are in color. Patrick tore through his. Sam didn’t rip any of the paper. She just plucked off the tape. And they looked at what was inside each box… The cards said that these were the copies of all my favorite books, and I wanted Sam and Patrick to have them because they were my two favorite people in the whole world.” (193-194)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky is a bildungsroman novel, which deals with friendship within Charlie’s life. Friendship is always there for us and exists through family, or as one’s best friend. Through thick and thin, friendship is a constant reminder that people love and care for us. During our lives and especially the life of Charlie, we notice that he becomes very close and develops good friends that he cares about as they care for him. Chobsky uses the rhetorical strategy of imagery to further convey his point on the topic of friendship. Imagery is the use of context to simply paint a picture per say, or illustrate an image. “When things started turning dusk outside, he showed me all the places he and Brad would meet. He didn’t say much about them. He just stared. We ended up at the golf course. We sat on the eighteenth green, which was pretty much just a high hill and we watched the sun disappear.” (157). This quote was written during the time Charlie and Patrick began to become really close. Charlie had only wanted to see his friends happy, even if it meant he would suffer. Chobsky uses imagery to tell the reader about the setting and its sentimental feeling from Patrick’s point of view. There are also many other examples throughout this novel.
continued...
ReplyDelete“I looked over at my brother, and he looked over at me. And we both smiled. Then, we looked at my mother, and she was crying real soft and messy, so my brother and I each took one of her hands. She looked at us and smiled and cried harder. Then, we both rested our heads on her shoulders, like a sideways hug, which made her cry even harder…I love my mom so much.” (189). The quote is enhanced by imagery because it shows the love and care that Charlie has for his family and especially his brother by going into detail and explaining it to the reader. Because Charlie and his brother did this, the reader gains respect for him and realizes how Charlie can really act. Not only with Patrick or his family, but Chobsky used imagery to show Charlie’s relationship with Sam as well. “I even wrapped them up special. I used the Sunday funny papers because they are in color. Patrick tore through his. Sam didn’t rip any of the paper. She just plucked off the tape. And they looked at what was inside each box… The cards said that these were the copies of all my favorite books, and I wanted Sam and Patrick to have them because they were my two favorite people in the whole world.” (193-194). Chobsky describes the wrapping paper and their actions and emotions. This quote posses a sentimental feeling because the gifts mean a lot to Charlie and since they were his favorite books, it is nice that Charlie is passing on his favorite memories to his favorite people. Because of Chobsky’s detail, the reader learns of Charlie’s care and his feeling for his friends. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky explores the friendships of Charlie as the novel progresses. They show the care and feeling of the friendship as he tries to make the best of his remaining days with his best friends. This novel (or parts 3-5 in this case) could also be applied to Holden Caulfield and his friendship with his sister Phoebe, as they became closer as the novel came to an end in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Charlie ultimately has an unforgettable experience and true friends for a lifetime.
Answering Hanna’s question:
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, a common idea in both the books was loneliness, which both characters had. Holden missed his sister Phoebe, and Jane Gallagher. On the other hand, Charlie missed Michael to some degree, and his Aunt Helen for some reason. Also, they were both abused in a way. Holden told the reader “That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid,” although exaggerated, it’s still more than normal. Charlie told the reader in the epilogue when he said “…I realized that it happened every Saturday when we would watch television.” I believe that these are plausible as to why these two characters are so similar.
...yep just lost my blog...
ReplyDeleteSteven Lewis Perks Blog...Take 2!
S: Experiences/Actions
T: Any experience or actions you make in the past will certainly affect the future events.
A: Philosophical,Serious,Wise
A: Teenagers/Adolesants/Young Adults
RS: Structure (Circular structure)
TE: "We were just dancing, and that was enough."(193)
"But she's gone. And even if she were here, i dont think i could talk to her either. Because im starting to feel like what i dreamt last night was true." (205)
The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a Bildungsroman novel written by Stephen Chbosky. This novel displays how past actions and experiences will affect future events, with a circular structure. A circular structure is a structure of a novel in which a cycle of past to present connections occur. One example of this is on page 205,"But she's gone. And even if she were here, I dont think I could talk to her either. Because i'm starting to feel like what I dreamt last night was true." Charlie has come to realize that he has been sexually touched by Aunt Helen at a young age. This affects charlie in that he from there on had a negative outlook on sex and sexual activities. For instance when Charlie and sam almost have sex Charlie says no. This is because he is scared because of what happened with him and Aunt Helen. This is not the only time charlie shows his views on sex for instance on page 21 when he tells, "I feel ashamed, though, because that night, I had a weird dream. I was with sam. And we were both naked." this shows that charlie has little knowledge on sex related actions. At Charlie's age it is perfectly normal to think about naked girls yet he feels it's wrong because of what Aunt Helen did to him in the past. Charlie has nothing to base his knowledge on of sex besides his own experience because his parents nor friends telling him otherwise. Thus leading to Charlie having a negative outlook on sex. Not to say that Charlie should be a sex maniac but he shouldn't think what he does about sexual activities.
An example of Charlie's actions rather than experiences affecting his future would be when he constantly says, "...and that was enough". For instance on page 193 when charlie explains,"We were just dancing, and that was enough." I know it is "cute" that charlie enjoys the little things about him and Sam but at the same time Charlie is not participating or really embracing his love for Sam. This negatively affects his relationship with Sam because he never participates-so to speak- in displaying his affection for Sam. Because of this Sam does not return the love charlie is looking for because of that reason. We learn this on page 200 when Sam tells charlie, "You can't just sit there nad put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think thats love.You just can't.You have to do things." This shows that charlies lack of "participation" really does hinder his display of affection towards sam and the chances of obtaining sam as a girlfriend.
The author displays this theme well in using a circular structure of the novel. For instance when Charlie recollects him getting molested the author relates it back to the future which was now the present in the novel. Also in the not so far past when Charlie keeps saying "...and that was enough" about all the little things with him and Sam is also justifies why him and Sam are not a success as a couple in the future which was the present.
Question: What do you think would be different if Charlie had not been molested by Aunt Helen?
In the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chobosky expresses through the narrator, Charlie, As children grow into their adolescent they begin to go through many life experiences that change their way of thinking. These experiences can result in how a person thinks or acts, and what they believe in. In the beginning of the book Charlie is a very naive and innocent young boy. He goes through several life changing experiences that alter the person he is. “I feel like a big faker because I’ve been putting my life back together, and nobody knows”. (100) After possibly experiencing a bad trip Charlie realizes he needs to turn his life around. This is an enormous realization for a sixteen year old to come to and Charlie seeks help after this puts him the hospital. “That’s when I got involved. I just couldn’t watch them hurt Patrick even if things weren’t clear just yet”. (151) Charlie went from not having many close friends to making a close relationship with Patrick who he is willing to risk his safety for. Charlie didn’t seem to hesitate to stand up for is friend unlike when he carelessly and purposelessly got into a fight during the beginning of the story. Stephen Chobosky uses Charlie’s adolescent experiences to show how behaviors can negatively and positively affect a person.
ReplyDeleteIf Charlie hadn't gotten into the fight between Patrick and Brad, where do you think Charlie and Patrick's relationship would stand?
ReplyDeleteSubject – Abuse
ReplyDeleteTheme – When a family is exposed to abuse for a prolonged period of time, it can be refreshing to stop the cycle and turn a new page in life.
Audience – Mature young adults
Attitude – Dour, Straightforward, Cold
Rhetorical Device – Mood
Strategies/Textual Evidence –
“Maybe if my grandfather didn’t hit her, my mom wouldn’t be so quiet. And maybe she wouldn’t have married my dad because he doesn’t hit. And maybe I would never have been born” (210).
“I’m not the way I am because of what I dreamt and remembered about my Aunt Helen. That’s what I figured out… I think that’s very important to know… Don’t get me wrong. I know what happened was important. And I needed to remember it… But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there” (211).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a coming of age novel by Stephen Chbosky, which upholds the reoccurring theme of how breaking the chain of abuse can become an insightful and refreshing change. Every year as Christmas dawns, Charlie’s family gathers for an annual gathering. As the festivities come into full swing, Charlie writes how his father, his grandmother (on his father’s side), and his aunt Rebecca were mentally and physically abused by their stepfather throughout Charlie’s father’s childhood. As a result of Aunt Rebecca’s abuse in her childhood, she carries on the cycle of abuse by marrying into the same manner of man who had destroyed her youth; therefore, she ruins the youth of her children. Charlie’s mother and her sister Helen were also victims of the chain of abuse. Charlie’s grandfather had beaten both of them. Throughout the novel, Charlie’s mother stays extremely quiet and Charlie connects this in these words, “Maybe if my grandfather didn’t hit her, my mom wouldn’t be so quiet. And maybe she wouldn’t have married my dad because he doesn’t hit. And maybe I would never have been born” (210). Charlie understands that his mother married his father because his father strongly opposed his abuse, which he connects with the fact that neither Charlie nor his siblings were abused by their parents Chbosky wants his readers to see that had Charlie’s father not ended the cycle, Charlie would most likely not have been able to tolerate it. As the novel progresses, Charlie’s mood tends to change from drastic highs to drastic lows. When the sexual abuse is mentioned in the book to many of the different characters which it had drastically affected, the mood changes straight to somber, but as Charlie makes extreme revelations the mood up lifts. One such moment is when Charlie writes, “I’m not the way I am because of what I dreamt and remembered about my Aunt Helen. That’s what I figured out… I think that’s very important to know… Don’t get me wrong. I know what happened was important. And I needed to remember it… But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there” (211). By Chbosky varying the mood so often, it takes us into a deeper level of Charlie's mind.
Tim Latina
ReplyDeleteSubject: Friendship
Theme: Friendship is one of the greatest bonds that any person can make in life. With it we can feel better about ourselves. Friends can help us feel that we having meaning in our life.
Attitude: Nostalgic
Audience: Young-Adult
Rhetorical Strategy: Characterization
Textual Evidence: "I looked up at him. And then I felt strange. I felt like I wanted to cry. He was being so nice to me, and the way his girlfriend looked. I knew it meant a lot to him. (page 181)
"The time we were walking. Just the three of us. And I was in the middle. I don't remember where we were walking to or where we were walking from. I don't even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere." (page 198)
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a bildungsroman by Stephen Chbosky. It deals with a sixteen year old boy only known as Charlie who is relating his first year in high school to an unknown person. In his letters to this unknown person he talks about his newfound friendship with his English teacher Bill and his high school friends Patrick and Sam. Chbosky uses the rhetorical strategy of characterization to get use to better know how Charlie feels about these new friends that he has. Charlie grows very close to these three people over the course of the novel. During the last week of school he wants to remember all the good times he had. Charlie feels very sad about how Bill has treated him and how he was so nice to him form the quote "I looked up at him. And then I felt strange. I felt like I wanted to cry. He was being so nice to me.." (181)He knows that Bill is really happy for him and Charlie knows this as well.We see that Charlie is really happy that Bill was he teacher for this year only and that he won't have him again next year. Charlie also feels nostalgic for Sam and Patrick. on page 198 he says "I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere." From this we learn that Sam and Patrick are closer to him than his actual family. We can also see that maybe this is where Charlie always wants to be in life. Right between Sam and Patrick, walking. Just walking somewhere where he feels he belongs. Charlie feels really nostalgic for many characters and probably doesn't want them to change or go anywhere. This is really relatable to Holden in the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" where Holden wants to keep certain things locked in a glass case so they can't change.
In the novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" it shows us how one person can set us on a whole new path on life. In the novel that person is Bill. Bill becomes a mentor like figure for being there when he can't go straight to his parents. He helps Charlie to develop into a normal person. Through his use of books to help teach Charlie lessons to helping him cope with his sister being hit, Bill is important in Carlie's life and also inversely as Charlie helps Bill in his life. They both help each other to find their full potential in life.
Question: Know that you know the truth about Aunt Helen and what she did to Charlie, does that change how you view her?
Personal Response:
ReplyDeleteIn Stephen Chbosky’s novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, we learn that growth helped Charlie go from a young boy to a mature teenager. Through all of the difficulties that Charlie had to face, he changed a lot and seemed to even grow into a wiser person. I think that his experiences have molded him into a better person. Although he may be curious about the way that life works, he is still wise enough to make good choices. In the start of the novel, Charlie has problems with standing up for what he wants. He ends up overcoming this shyness and blends into society in a positive way. Charlie’s mind can’t seem to wrap it’s self around the fact that he was abused as a child, but when he kisses Sam, little flashbacks come into play. With this new revelation, Charlie can organize his mind and not have to deal with all of the pain. Plus the fact that Charlie still loves his aunt after he realizes that she molested him shows that Charlie has a large amount to love and maturity in his heart. In conclusion, I think that many people can learn from Charlie and grow into a more mature person.
Question:
In the novel, Sam holds the position of Charlie’s love interest. How does Sam contrast with Charlie’s sister and his mother?
S - Friendship
ReplyDeleteT - Throughout traumatic events in ones life, different things provide different comfort. An example would be friendship. Knowing there is a friend there, it can make coping with a traumatic event easier or more comforting.
A - Sympathetic, understanding
A - Teenagers
R - Characterization
S - "And I just let him. Because that's what friends are for." (160)
"Well I thought a lot of things. But mostly, I thought that your being said was much more important to me than Craig not being your boyfriend anymore. And if it meant that I would never get to think of you that way, as long as you were happy, it was okay." (200)
"I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere." (198)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a bildungsroman novel by Stephen Chboski explores the life of a young teenage boy, Charlie. The author uses the idea of friendship to show the teenage audience that throughout the traumatic events and abuses in ones life, different things such as friendship can provide comfort and shape the way the person becomes. If the feelings caused by abuse are held in, it can eat away at a child all the way into their adulthood. Chbosky shows this constant theme throughout the deveolopment of Charlies character. Charlie is constantly putting people before himself and caring for others more than his own self. The first event where it is shown Charlie is desperate for friendship but also being a good friend is on page 160. He says "And I just let him. Because that's what friends are for." Charlie is so lonely and longing for friendship so badly that he is willing to be Patricks "second resort" just for his friendship. Although Charlie does not like the fact that Patrick is kissing him and it doesn't make him happy, he lets it happen anyway because he wants Patrick to feel happy. On page 200, Charlie says "Well I thought a lot of things. But mostly, I thought that your being said was much more important to me than Craig not being your boyfriend anymore. And if it meant that I would never get to think of you that way, as long as you were happy, it was okay." Again, this is an instance where Charlie is putting someone before himself. Even though it is killing Charlie not to be with Sam, he just wants to see her happy even if that means they will never be together like he wanted. Charlie always felt like he was an outcast from society, and like said on page 198, he finally felt like he belonged somewhere. He could never relate to anyone because everyone always judged him. When he finally made friends with Sam and Patrick, although they were bad influences in some aspects, they were also good for Charlie because they broke him out of his shell and made him realize the truth behind the reason he is the way he is. And that is because of his Aunt Helen. It took him ending up in a hospital for his family to realize the problems he was struggling with, but in the end he ultimately made a change.
Personal Response:
ReplyDeleteThe Perks of Being A Wallflower , a coming of age novel by Stephen Chbosky shows the struggles teenagers face while growing up and becoming an adolecent. Chbosky develops Charlie throughout the novel and portrays him as a young teen who has great difficulty with finding ways of coping with the death of his Aunt Helen. Because of what his Aunt did to him, Charlie struggled with his identity and who he was, but he felt what she did was okay because he felt responsible for her death. As Charlies life went on, he had trouble with fitting in with everyone else because he was constantly seen as a outcast but once he was accepted by Sam and Patrick, coping with his Aunts death became much easier to him. Their friendship improved Charlies relationship with his family, other friends but most importantly himself. Sam and Patricks friendship helped Charlie to accept who he is and just "feel infinite".
S- growing up
ReplyDeleteT- Part of growing up is learning how to cope with stress and everyday things life throws at you.
A- sympathetic, compassion, friendship
A- young adults
RS- imagery
Textual Evidence- "The policemen found me pale blue and asleep." (p.99)
"There was no clean punching or things you see in movies. They just wrestled and hit. And whoever was the most aggressive or the most angry got in the most hits." (p.151)
In the novel, "Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, part of growing up is learning to deal with the stress of things life throws at you. This is shown throughout the novel using imagery. "The policemen found me pale blue and asleep."(p.99) is an example of imagery used in this novel. Previously, Charlie was saying that if he did not put the letter in a mailbox that he could get back from he would never mail the letter. His mind starts racing and he thinks about his Aunt Helen and his brother so he lays down and makes a snow angel and passes out. When he gets to the emergency room he says that this used to happen to him all the time when he was going to the doctors. The imagery gives us a connection to his pain and further explains why he does this and what is happening to him. "There was no clean punching or things you see in movies. They just wrestled and hit. And whoever was the most aggressive or the most angry got in the most hits." (p.151) is another example of imagery. Before this fight breaks out, Brad calls Patrick a faggot and Patrick hits Brad which leads Brad's friends in the fight and Charlie runs to help Patrick. This imagery shows how brutal the fight was and gives the reader a picture in their mind of all the guys fighting. This is relatable to the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. When Holden walks in the park alone and drops Phoebe's record and it shatters, Salinger really describes it in a way where you can picture it in your head. It is great imagery.
Personal Response:
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, Charlie usually just goes along with what everyone is doing and never does anything for himself. "After we had done everything we could do from the stomach up, I lay down on the floor, and Mary Elizabeth put her head on my chest."(p.127) is an example of how Charlie lets people do what ever they want. Mary Elizabeth practically forces him into this when he isn't ready. He feels relieved that her parents came home when they did because he was not comfortable but didn't want to tell her no because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "And moved in to kiss me again. And I just let him. I don't know why." (p.160) is another example. Charlie lets Patrick kiss him when he isn't comfortable with it but he thinks that's what friends are supposed to do so he lets him. In the end, Sam confronts him about how he lets everyone do what they want to and that's when Charlie finally realizes he's not being a good friend by doing this and he finally starts to change by kissing Sam. When she starts to put her hand down his pants he tells her to stop because he isn't comfortable. Charlie really starts to take control of his life towards the end of the novel.
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" makes some pretty bold statements in the areas of homosexuality and abuse. Do you find them essential to the plot, or are they just a commentary on Charlie's life?
ReplyDeleteSTAARS
ReplyDeleteSubject: Honesty
Theme: As children grow up their innocence and purity keep them honest, but as adolescence and adulthood comes upon them it can be difficult and confusing when and how honest one should be.
Attitude: Troubling, difficult, confusing
Audience: Adolescents
Rhetorical Strategy: Paradox
Textual Evidence:
‘“But I didn’t like Mary Elizabeth.”
“Charlie, you’re missing the point. The point is that I don’t think you would have acted different even if you did like Mary Elizabeth. It’s like you can come to Patrick’s rescue and hurt two guys that are trying to hurt him, but what about when Patrick’s hurting himself? Like when you guys went to that park? Or when he was kissing you? Did you want him to kiss you?”
I shook my head no.
“So, why did you let him?”
“I was just trying to be a friend,” I said.
“But you weren’t, Charlie. At those times, you weren’t being his friend at all. Because you weren’t honest with him.”’ (201)
The novel, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", by Stephan Chbosky, is a bildungsroman, young adult, fictional story written in an epistolary format. A major subject Chbosky touches upon is honesty. As children grow up their innocence and purity keep them honest, but as adolescence and adulthood comes upon them it can be difficult and confusing when and how honest one should be. By the end of the letters a paradox is shown, revealing a truth about the main character, Charlie, which at first seems contradictory to his character. Charlie is a very compassionate character and just wants to please everyone. This is evident when he goes to gay bars and parks with his friend Patrick. After each time they hang out Charlie and Patrick kiss because it makes Patrick feel happier and Charlie is just trying to be a good friend and make him feel better. Even though Charlie is trying to help, he is being fake and not true to himself or Patrick. Charlie also does this when he starts dating a girl named Mary Elizabeth. He does not like Mary Elizabeth at all but does not want to disappoint her so he keeps going out and hanging around with her even though he ends up hurting her and their friendship more in the end. Charlie does not realize he is being untrue to himself and other until his friend Sam discusses the situation with him. ‘“But I didn’t like Mary Elizabeth.” “Charlie, you’re missing the point. The point is that I don’t think you would have acted different even if you did like Mary Elizabeth. It’s like you can come to Patrick’s rescue and hurt two guys that are trying to hurt him, but what about when Patrick’s hurting himself? Like when you guys went to that park? Or when he was kissing you? Did you want him to kiss you?” I shook my head no. “So, why did you let him?” “I was just trying to be a friend,” I said. “But you weren’t, Charlie. At those times, you weren’t being his friend at all. Because you weren’t honest with him.”’ (201) Chbosky builds this paradox throughout the letters, and it gives an insightful look into the confusing mind of a teenager.
In response to Mya and Abby’s questions…
ReplyDeleteI believe Charlie loves and misses his aunt Helen because she made him feel special and seemed to pay him more attention than everyone else. It also appears that Charlie suppressed the memories of being molested because he doesn’t understand why the psychiatrist asks him questions he finds bizarre and unrelated. Also Aunt Helen was the last person that told him he was special and also bought him two gifts around his birthday/ Christmas so that was a unique bond he had with her. I also feel that since Charlie knows his aunt Helen’s past and how hard she had it growing up, I feel that he doesn’t want to blame her for anything or make her life harder again. Charlie also feels some responsibility for the death of Aunt Helen so that might cause some feelings of guilt and missing her.
Personal Response
ReplyDelete“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” wonderfully depicts the turmoils of adolescences. Throughout the novel Charlie experiments with drugs and alcohol. In the early letters it appears that peer pressure is the main source of reasoning behind experimenting with these substances, but then as Charlie starts to go through harder times he begins to drink and smoke, on his own, more. At one point he begins to buy pot off his friend Bob and has “been smoking it all the time since” (139) and also drinks all the time with Patrick. Charlie furthermore tells us that he is “up to about ten cigarettes a day” (103). Holden, in “The Catcher in the Rye” also smokes heavily and drinks excessively throughout his story. Both of these characters are trying to grieve over a loss while still trying to find themselves as adults and both turn to drugs and alcohol to cope. Another aspect that Charlie looks at is his sexuality. It seems that he is straight, yet he has no problem kissing Patrick. Even though he is just trying to be a friend and help Patrick, Charlie never resists or questions the kissing. He also fools around with girls and has many new experiences. This again can be compared to Holden. Holden mentions several times throughout the story about having sex and fooling around with girls which is very common for teenage boys. Both “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “The Catcher in the Rye” give amazing insight into the minds of teenage boys and the concepts and ideas that they are dealing with, especially when they are grieving a loss.
Julie Ryan
ReplyDeleteSiragusa
English Honors 4AC
23 February 2011
S-subject- Growing up
T-theme- Growing up involves many new experiences and eventually everyone will mature on their own time even if some people need help from other people along the way.
A-audience- Adolescents
A-attitude-hopeful, wise, patient
R-rhetorical device-symbolism
S-strategies- “Then, you’re in the middle of the tunnel, and everything becomes a calm dream. As you see the opening get closer, you just can’t get there fast enough. And finally, just when you think you’ll never get there, you see the opening right in front of you”(192).
“Patrick played the music really loud so I could hear it, and as we were approaching the tunnel, I listened to the music and thought about all the things people have said to me over the past year. I thought about Bill telling me I was special. And my sister saying she loved me”(212-213).
"The Perks of Being a Wall Flower" by Stephen Chbosky is a bildungsroman
novel that shows how growing up involves many new experiences and eventually everyone will mature on there own time, even if some people need help from others along the way. Throughout the novel, Chbosky applies symbolism, a representation of a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects, to show the stages of growing up and the experiences of maturing. In "The Perks of Being a Wall Flower" the tunnel symbolizes the stages and experiences of growing up. “Then, you’re in the middle of the tunnel, and everything becomes a calm dream. As you see the opening get closer, you just can’t get there fast enough. And finally, just when you think you’ll never get there, you see the opening right in front of you”(192). Even though the quote describes going through a tunnel, it’s a symbol of going from a child to an adult. It explains how while growing up people can be eager to become an adult, and when it seems that it wont happen because it has taken so long, they finally become one. In the novel, Charlie takes longer to mature then others. The tunnel describes where he is as a calm dream, and growing up as something that would take a long time, but will come when the time is right. The symbolism of the tunnel helps the reader understand how Charlie is feeling and what he is experiencing while maturing form child to adult. While maturing, Charlie experiences new things and new relationships that help him grow up. “Patrick played the music really loud so I could hear it, and as we were approaching the tunnel, I listened to the music and thought about all the things people have said to me over the past year. I thought about Bill telling me I was special. And my sister saying she loved me”(212-213). While Charlie is passing through the tunnel, he is thinking about all the events that are important. This symbolizes the experiences Charlie had while growing up, and how people effected him while he was maturing. Charlie’s sister telling him she loves him is associated with all the problems they went through while Charlie was growing up. Because Charlie and his sister helped each other trough problems, they began to have a closer relationship. With the help of Charlie’s friends he also experienced new things that allowed him to mature. Charlie’s friends Patrick and Sam took him to parties where he experienced things such as drugs and different lifestyles. This helps the reader understand the role of Charlie’s friends and family in his life, and how it effected his growth. Overall, Charlie’s friends and family introduced him to new things in life that helped him mature. Without his friends, Charlie may have stayed as a wallflower who didn’t participate and as a result, may not have confronted the problems of his past.
"The Perks of Being a Wall Flower" explains experiences that a lot of adolescents experience and how the main character, Charlie, reacts to these experiences. Charlie faces many different things, such as mental instability and exposure to drugs and alcohol. From reading this, the reader can relate to similar experiences they had and think about the difference of how they reacted and how Charlie reacted. This novel offers a different perspective of going through life as a wallflower.
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
If it wasn’t for Sam, do you think Charlie would have ever remembered about his past about and Aunt Helen?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteS- Maturing
ReplyDeleteT-When maturing through life, you are put through situations that you may or may not be comfortable with
A-Assuring, hopeful
A-Young Adults or maturing teenagers
RS-Imagery
"I wish I could report that it's getting better, but unfortunately it isn't.It's hard, too, because we've started school again, and I can't go to the places where I used to go. And it can't be like it was. And I wasn't ready to say good-bye just yet. To tell you the truth, I've just been avoiding everything." (pg 142)
"That's when I got involved. I just couldn't watch them hurt Patrick even if things weren't clear just yet." (pg 151)
As we all know, "The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a coming-of-age novel written by Stephen Chbosky. The story, through letter form, depicts Charlie's view on his high school career. Throughout his career in high school, Charlie is thrown around emotionally as well as physically, "That's when I got involved. I just couldn't watch them hurt Patrick even if things weren't clear just yet." As he protects Patrick, his homosexual friend from Brad's friends. Charlie is also put through a lot of peer pressure as throughout the novel he drinks and smokes marijuana with Sam and Patrick. As he connects with them, he realizes that they are truly his friends and will miss them,"I wish I could report that it's getting better, but unfortunately it isn't.It's hard, too, because we've started school again, and I can't go to the places where I used to go. And it can't be like it was. And I wasn't ready to say good-bye just yet. To tell you the truth, I've just been avoiding everything." (pg 142)
Throughout the novel, we see Charlie follow, usually never leading in his own decisions, "And moved in to kiss me again. And I just let him. I don't know why." (p.160) is a perfect example of this, Charlie is uncomfortable with Patrick even though he kissed him. By, the end of the novel, we begin to see Charlie start to take control of his life and making his own decisions, " 'You're not ready?' she asked. I nodded. But that wasn't it. I didn't know what it was." (pg 202) we see here that he isn't ready to have sex with Sam.
With the novel ending, do you think Charlie will stay connected with Sam and Patrick and continue to make his own decisions? Or will he lose that confidence?
S: Acceptance
ReplyDeleteT: Being accepted by others for who an individual is can affect the human mind. Without acceptance, people may avoid you and deem you an outcast to society. This may cause the person to change their social tactics and adapt to the cruel face of society.
A: Confusion, Paranoid, Superficial, Restrained, Hurt.
A: Young adults and adolescences
R: Characterization
S: “And it didn’t help that this was the day after I noticed that all the kids were wearing their new Christmas clothes, so I decided to wear my new suit from Patrick to school, and was teased mercilessly for nine straight hours” (101).
“”God, that kid is such a f*cking freak,’ I heard one of the boys whisper when I was halfway down the hall” (145).
“Brad sat quiet for a second, but his buddies kept egging him on by pushing his shoulders. Brad looked up at Patrick and said softer and meaner than last time, ‘I called you a faggot’” (151).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky tells us a story through the writing of a 16 year old going by the alias Charlie. Told in the forms of letters written to an anonymous address, we read of Charlie’s deep thoughts as he pours his experiences onto pages. Charlie has a tough time being accepted by society for who he is, as does everyone. Being accepted can have different affects on different people. Those uncomfortable with their persona may wish to adjust their tactics and behavior towards others. On the flip side, those who are able to recognize how their past shapes who they are or are able to come to terms with their past actions may live a more comfortable life style, ignoring outside criticism. Chobsky’s attitude towards this topic, as written through his characters, can be seen as confused, paranoid, restrained and hurt. The confusion towards your identity, the paranoia you face when thinking about what others thinks of you, restraining yourself from showing your true colors, and the pain you face for being looked down upon are all ways Chbosky shows acceptance. The novel is aimed towards young adult readers, providing a rather unique lens of human life though the words of Charlie. Chbosky’s use of characterization helps ties in with the concept of acceptance. For example, after asking Susan if she missed Michael and then walking away, one of the kids with Susan said, “God, that kid is such a f*cking freak” (145). Obviously, Charlie’s classmates view him as an outcast and abnormal. It seems that although Charlie realizes this, he does not know why. Another key example is Brad dealing with his homosexuality. After being beaten by his dad, Charlie recalls that “Brad sat quiet for a second, but his buddies kept egging him on by pushing his shoulders. Brad looked up at Patrick and said softer and meaner than last time, ‘I called you a faggot.’” (151) Although Brad still probably cares about Patrick, he cannot afford to lose the respect of others as his dad lost respect for him due to his sexuality. I personally believe that Brad is restrained from showing his true persona due to his role as a star football player, who can be stereotyped as masculine and popular. With his true sexual intentions exposed, it could sadly ruin the way people perceive him. At the end of the novel, Charlie learns a devastating secret about his past, in the form of his Aunt Helen molesting him. Despite this hardship, Charlie comes out stronger, more clear of who he is, and more accepting of himself. He says that “it’s okay to feel things. And be who you are about them.” (212) Charlie’s attitude towards his past shows great strength and knowledge in dealing with this discovery. He is able to accept what has been done to him, and realizes that it has made him stronger and that he is the individual who he is from it.
Question:
ReplyDeleteAs you were reading parts 3-5, why did you believe that when Charlie first realizes that Sam and Craig have broken up, he does not believe that he can swoop in and get in a relationship with Sam?
S- Acceptance
ReplyDeleteT-Sometimes people go through life never feeling accepted, and then finally they meet a certain person or people who make them feel accepted.
A- Hopeful, emotional
A-Teenagers
R-Characterization
S- “I cleared my throat and said, ‘Hey. My name is Charlie.’ All he said was, ‘I know.’ Then, he just closed his locker door and walked away” (196).
“And then I started crying because it suddenly hit me that they were all leaving” (194).
“My sister actually kissed my cheek for that” (190).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is about a boy named Charlie who writes letters about his life, allowing the reader to know what Charlie is going through during his life as a teenager. Sometimes people go through life never feeling accepted, and then finally, they meet a certain person or people who make them feel accepted. Chbosky writes, “I cleared my throat and said, ‘Hey. My name is Charlie.’ All he said was, ‘I know.’ Then, he just closed his locker door and walked away” (196). Charlie did not have any friends in his own grade, so when the seniors had graduated a few days early, he was once again alone. All Charlie really wanted was to have friends that always accepted him. He tried to get to know the person at the locker next to him, but it did not work out for him. The author says, “And then I started crying because it suddenly hit me that they were all leaving” (194). Charlie was enjoying having friends finally and people that he could turn to, and soon, they will all be leaving. He does not have a group that he is accepted with and fits well with once the others graduate. In the letter Charlie says, “My sister actually kissed my cheek for that” (190). Throughout the novel, Charlie’s sister seemed like she did not always care or accept him, and finally, she begins to show the compassion and love that he had wanted. Many times Charlie looks for acceptance, and when he finds it, he realizes that’s what he needed most. When people live without feeling accepted, they eventually meet somebody who makes them finally feel accepted.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, shows how even when two people have not been very close in the past, one event cant bring those two individuals together. Charlie writes, “That’s when my sister started hugging me. She didn’t say anything. She just hugged me tight and wouldn’t let go. So, I hugged her back. It was weird, too, because I’ve never hugged my sister. Not when she wasn’t forced to anyway. After a while, she calmed down a bit and let go. She took a deep breath and brushed off the hair that was sticking to her face. That’s when she told me she was pregnant” (116). By Charlie and his sister sharing this secret, and him being the only one to help her by taking her to the clinic, they began to become closer to each other. It only took this single event to help their relationship become stronger and have a bond together.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Charlie says how finally feels like he belongs and is accepted, do you think he will become depressed and go back to feeling like he does not belong anywhere or with anyone? Use evidence from the book to support your answer.
ReplyDelete“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky is a fiction, novel told through the words of Charlie, a shy, coming of age freshman in high school. Throughout the novel, Charlie is introduced to the hard partying scene of drugs, alcohol and sex by his friends. He recalls that after an experience with LSD, Charlie was “pale blue and asleep” (99) when found by the police. The peer pressure Charlie is facing could be his desire to be accepted by his only group of friends, as they are all doing it. Perhaps he hopes that being accepted by a group of people will give him a purpose in life, which he seems to think that he isn’t contributing anything. Despite warnings from people such as his sister and teacher, Bill, Charlie continues to smoke many cigarettes a day. He uses them not only as an addiction, but also to relieve him of the grief he is facing. For example, when taking his sister to the abortion clinic he recalls that he “was chain-smoking cigarettes and crying” (119) in the car. After losing Brad, Patrick also turns to substance abuse to deal with his grief, in the form of alcohol. What both fail to realize is that using these drugs will not help them. Although they may make them feel good, they can devastate your health. These examples, whether genuinely representing the majority of adolescences, show a very negative and dark side to teenage life.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Abby's question: I believe that alothough what Charlies aunt did to him, he is able to look past that and remember the good times he had with her. I do believe that Helen loved Charlie, and that her actions towards Charlie, although morally wrong, were a result of a severe mental illness. She herself may not have realized that what she was doing to her nephew was not only morally wrong, but devastating to those around her.
ReplyDeleteS-peer pressure
ReplyDeleteT-Often while one matures, they may face difficult pressures from their peers. Generally falling to peer pressure may be harmful, however helps you become accepted.
A-nostalgic, informative, wise
A-young adults
RS-Characterization
"Regardless, I decided to never take LSD again" (100).
"It was such a bad day. I skipped my first class ever and went to see Sam and Patrick outside. 'Looking sharp, Charlie,' Patrick said grinning. 'Can I have a cigarette?' I said. I couldn't bring myself to say 'bum a smoke.' Not for my first one. I just couldn't" (101).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a realistic fiction novel about the difficulties of peer pressure. Chbosky expresses this through the voice of a 16 year old boy, writing letters to an unknown person, with an alias himself. Throughout writing he sounds nostalgic, informative, and wise. In the beginning of part 3, Charlie is coming off of a rough New Year's Eve night, as he heard his sweetheart have sex with her boyfriend. He says, "Regardless, I decided to never take LSD again" (100). This comes at the end of a letter where he is describing the last letter written on New Year's morning. He was at a friend's house in order to celebrate, however everyone seems to be having more fun than him. As he rights he is incredibly sparatic jumping from thinking of a random day, to lawn mowing, to shovelling his driveway, to randomly shovelling his friend's driveway in the middle of the night. He talks about how walked at 4:00 a.m. to deliver that letter. He was later found, blue in the face and asleep by the police. He then remembers being in the hospital and all of the special attention that he was receiving from his family. In reality, Charlie gets away with it, as he sometimes did this as a child, which is peculiar. This shows the dangers of peer pressure as Charlie would not have willingly taking LSD, without the encouragement of his peers. LSD his also very dangerous as you can have these sort of flashes throughout your life, were it seems as if you have recently taken it. When Charlie returns to school from break, he continues to receive peer pressure. "It was such a bad day. I skipped my first class ever and went to see Sam and Patrick outside. 'Looking sharp Charlie,' Patrick said grinning. 'Can I have a cigarette?' I said. I couldn't bring myself to say 'bum a smoke.' Not for my first one. I just couldn't" (101). Charlie has returned to school, and decides to wear a suit. He is ridiculed throughout the day and decides to skip his first class ever, greatly influenced by his frequently skipping best friends. He also asks them for cigarette, even though this is not the most dangerous drug Charlie has ever dealt with, it is still due to peer pressure. Although Sam and Patrick never ask him to smoke or force it to for that matter, simply smoking in front of Charlie forces him to want to fit in. With this in mind, Charlie is similar to Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden feels the peer pressure to fit in as well, as half of the book is spent to him "testing" out friends, such as Ackley, Stradlater, and Sally Hayes. Stradlater forces him to write a compostition for Stradlater's english class, which Holden does so willingly in order to fit in. Also Holden feels the pressure to have a sexual experience. He goes to the extent of buying a prostitute in order to get experience, and hopes to look at it as more of a business transaction than an enormously emotional moment. Chbosky wants the readers to realize that falling to peer pressure is not the answer, and you may become more embarrassed from trying to fit in rather than saying no.
David Steves
ReplyDeleteMrs. Siragusa
English 3 Honors 2 AC
STAARS for The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Subject: Friendship
Theme: During the teenaged years it helps to have the support from friends to help you get through some of life’s challenges.
Attitude: Uplifting, changing, realization
Audience: Teenagers
Rhetorical Strategy: Symbolism
Textual Evidence: “Things have stopped moving for the most part since. I haven’t skipped another class” (102).
“He said I was “developing” at a rapid pace and gave me a different kind of book as “a reward.” It’s On the Road by Jack Kerouac” (103).
The novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a bildungsroman styled novel that shows the life of a teenaged boy as he transforms from a young child into a young adult and is trying to figure out who he is. In the story Chbosky uses symbolism to represent things in Charlie’s, the protagonist, life or to represent his journey into being a teenager. An example of this technique is used on page 102: “Things have stopped moving for the most part since. I haven’t skipped another class.” This shows Chbosky’s use of symbolism because when things were moving around Charlie, like when he was on acid, he didn’t know what was going on. He was not sure which way to go let alone what he should do. But in this quote when Charlie says that “things have stopped moving” this symbolizes he has a new start or a changing for the better. Another example of symbolism is shown on page 103: “He said I was “developing” at a rapid pace and gave me a different kind of book as “a reward.” It’s On the Road by Jack Kerouac.” This quote represents two things about Charlie. This first is when it states that he is “developing” at a rapid pace” it symbolizes his growth from being a kid into becoming a teenager. The second aspect that is represented is Charlie’s “journey” into the life of a teenager. This is symbolized through the mention of the novel On the Road by Jack Kerouac. The book depicts a man’s adventures over the United States. Even though Charlie is not traveling all of America with his friends he is still traveling with them on his journey into the life of a teenager. The novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is similar to the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger are both similar. These two novels both share the journeys of two young kids as they become teenagers.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a bildungsroman novel that depicts the journey of a boy as he makes the transition between from a child into a teenager. As we went through that same transition there were challenges along the way that shaped, and configured us into the people we are now. In the first two chapters of the novel the protagonist is introduced into the world of a teenager at a very fast rate. This fast pace brought him into contact with drugs, sex and alcohol at a rate that for someone in his psychological state would confuse him as well as distort how a “normal” teenager should go about those subjects. The last three chapters of the book show him molding and changing into a “normal” teenager. There is a positive experience that carried over from the first half to the second half of the book that was a factor in who Charlie is turning into. This experience is depicted on page 33: “Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves. And I just sat between them. After the song finished, I said something. “I feel infinite.” At this point in time Charlie feels like he’s really part of something, like this moment is one of the best moments he has ever felt. Later in the book Sam, Patrick, and Charlie go and have a similar experience on page 212: “Patrick played the radio really loud so I could hear it, and as we were approaching the tunnel, I listened and thought about all the things that people have said to me over the past year.” Although neither of these events were challenges for the protagonist they help shape his character. Like Holden from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Charlie was finding out who he is and experiencing the different things that life puts people through. The events that both Charlie and Holden went through shaped them into the people they became.
ReplyDeleteHas Charlie changed drastically or moderately from chapters 1 and 2 into chapters 3, 4 and 5? Give examples.
ReplyDeleteIn The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, the readers are shown the difficluties of peer pressure. "She took my hand and slid it up her sweater, and I couldn't believe what was happening to me. Or what breasts felt like. Or later, what they looked like. Or how difficult bras were" (126-127). Charlie never talks about whether or not he feels the pressure to have a sexual experience, however it is all around him. This is coming directly after his sister got a abortion, he has heard his sweetheart have sex, and visually saw rape. He also may be slightly rushed into it with Mary Elizabeth as she never finds out how he feels about the subject, and he may just be going along for the ride. This is similar to Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye as he feels the peer pressure to have sex. While in New York, he decides to buy a prostitute. He has thought about his "first time" to the point that he does not want the awkward feeling of having it with someone more experienced or someone with none as well. Therefore he believes that the perfect solution is to have it with a prostitute and be more of a business transaction. "Mary Elizabeth turned to me. 'Charlie, how many times have you seen the show?' 'Ten.' 'Do you think you can play Rocky?' 'I'm not cut and hunky.' 'It doesn't matter. Can you play him?' 'I guess.' 'Do you guess or do you know?' 'I guess.' 'Good enough'" (110). Throughout the dialogue you can tell that Charlie does not really want to play the part of Rocky and would much rather enjoy watching the show. However, Mary Elizabeth pushes him to play the role. In the end, Charlies actually enjoys playing the role. This is similar to when Holden is forced by Stradlater to write a composition for him. Obviously, no one would find that experience as enjoyable, however Holden uses it constructively in order to have a sort of rememberance of his brother Allie. Both of these situations how peer pressure can affect a confused teenager's judgement.
ReplyDeleteS- Relationships
ReplyDeleteT- Everyone needs positive and negative relationships in their life. Both kinds help us figure out what kind of person we want to be and how we feel when interacting with different people.
A- Teens
A- Hopeful but confusing
R- Symbolism
"About half a mile from the tunnel, Sam stopped the car, and I climbed in the back. Patrick played the radio really loud so I could hear it, and as we were approaching the tunnel, I listened to the music and thought about all the things that people have said to me over the past year. I thought about Bill telling me I was special. And my sister saying she loved me. And my mom, too. And even my dad and brother when I was in the hospital. I thought about Patrick... And I just thought how great it was to have friends and a family."
The epistolary novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky follows a freshman Charlie through his first year in high school. There are not many circumstances in which we see Charlie happy, but Sam and Patrick's truck is usually involved when we see Charlie genuinely elated. Charlie finally has good relationships and the truck seems to be a repeating symbol of his happiness with his friends. Earlier in the novel Charlie said, "I feel infinite." (page 33) This is in the beginning of his relationship with Sam and Patrick. This is also the first time we see him happy with friends. Another time in the truck Charlie thought, "And I just thought how great it was to have friends and a family." (page 213) Being on the crazy ride in the tunnel makes Charlie think about how far he has come with connecting with others. "I thought about Bill telling me I was special. And my sister telling me she loved me. And my mom, too." (page 213) When we first meet Charlie he is basically alone in the world and the truck is something that in the end reminds him of the positive relationships he has and all of the special people he has in his life. We see that the truck not only reminds Charlie of Sam and Patrick but it reminds him of all of the important people in his life. The truck symbolizes Charlie's "rock" in a way. When he thinks about those "infinite" moments in the truck he can remember the loved ones he has for support.
We see that Charlie is happy when he is with his friends. But when he goes to his extended family's house for Christmas he seems to digress and become lonely again. Why do you think this is and will the same thing happen when he doesn't have close relationships next year?
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
ReplyDeleteWhen Craig tells Sam he cheated on her, Charlie says “…hoped he gave her the soft version of the truth… maybe it’s better to know the whole truth. I honestly don’t know.” I ask:
Would you prefer to know the full truth, which may cause you to be upset, or would you rather not know the full truth and be ignorantly less upset? Explain.
Stephan Ouelette
ReplyDelete3/22/11
4A/C
Blog #2
S-Friendship
T- Everyday we continue our lives down the road of success. We come across accomplishments and failures. Without friends and loved ones we cannot celebrate our wins and cope with our losses.
A-Impressionable,Sentimental,Sympathetic,Sincere
A-Charlie writes to anyone who is more mature while Chbosky is writing to the next group of adolescents to come of age.
R-Characterization
Evidence-
"I was so relieved. And Sam and Patrick smiled. I was glad they started smiling, too, because I couldn't stand their looking so worried".Pg. 102
"I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere."pg.198
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky", is a bildungsroman novel dealing with the mental and physical progression of an adolescent. Friendship is a major part of growing up for Charlie because without it he would be nothing.Everyday we continue our lives down the road of success. We come across accomplishments and failures. Without friends and loved ones we cannot celebrate our wins and cope with our losses.Charlie can attribute most of his growth to his friends Sam and Patrick. The rhetorical strategy of characterization is used by Chbosky to enhance this piece.Characterization is the showing of a characters personality or appearance to help develop a judgment of them."I was so relieved. And Sam and Patrick smiled. I was glad they started smiling, too, because I couldn't stand their looking so worried".Pg. 102. At this point Charlie looks as if he is only worried for his friends and not even for himself.By using characterization Chbosky can make us, the reader, see Charlie as a great friend that only cares for the thoughts and emotions that Sam and Patrick feel."I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere."pg.198. This is a critical point where Charlie's characterization turns from a follower to a mature young adult. He no longer feels as if he is alone and for the first time quite the opposite. In delivering his characterization from start to finish of Charlie,Chbosky gave a lead up to the final moments where Charlie has matured and is no longer part of a bildungsroman but the product of one. Along with Holden in "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Salinger, Charlie has gone through his own growing up process and has dealt with problems. Holden at the end of "The Catcher in The Rye" realizes that he cannot infinitely be the sole savior of all innocence and it was never his destiny to be that. Charlie realizes that he won't always be a young immature young adult.In the end he feels "infinite" due to his friendships with Sam and Patrick.
Question-
As Charlie's Aunt Helen would sexually abuse him, do you think that it's partially the fault of Charlie's immediate family for not observing signs and not being close enough to him to see what was really going on?
Tommy Jenkins
ReplyDeleteMrs. Siragusa
2AC
STAARS
Subject- Friendship
Theme- Friendship is the greatest form of companionship, and everyone must have one friend to succeed in life. Without a friend, a person might become depressed, but once that friend comes along, a person might change the ways of someone’s life.
Audience- Young Adults
Attitude- Sentimental, Wise, Thoughtful
Rhetorical Strategy- Characterization
Structural Evidence-
“Regardless, I decided to never take LSD again” (100).
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like. It’s much easier not to know things sometimes. And to have French fries with your mom be enough.” (P.144).
In the novel, Perks of Being a Wallflower, a bildungsroman by Stephen Chbosky, is all about the life of the main character, known at Charlie. The story is based on his memories of his life, and the letters he wrote. The stories show how friendship can change a person and can make things better, and how friendship is the greatest form of companionship. The author does this in a Sentimental, wise and thoughtful way, and aims his writing toward the young adults. Throughout the novel, characterization is shown is several different ways and forms. The first way is in the quote, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like. It’s much easier not to know things sometimes. And to have French fries with your mom be enough.” (Pg.144). When he said this, was the first time he realized that he is very lonely and needs someone to care for and someone to care for him in his life. He may regret not making friends before, and now that he has been through the terrible loss, he realizes someone is needed to help fill the void, and just to talk to. This shows that Charlie may not be such a troubled individual but maybe just lonely from not having a friend. Another example of characterization would be, “Regardless, I decided to never take LSD again” (Pg. 100). This shows that Charlie Would do anything to keep a friend in his life, even if it involves taking drugs. Sam and Patrick are Charlie’s friends and Charlie does everything possible to keep them around so he can have someone to make him happy and be there for him whenever he needs it.Everybody needs somebody there to care for and somebody to care for them, to succeed in life, and Charlie is a good example of this.
Personal Response-
ReplyDeleteIn the bildungsroman Novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by, Stephen Chbosky, Charlie teaches the reader that happiness if found by themselves and not by others. What makes one person, may not make another person happy, so he realizes that he must do what he thinks will make him happy. In the quote, “Regardless, I decided to never take LSD again” (100), he did Marijuana with Sam and Patrick, and took LSD, but after that he realizes that those drugs just are not for him and that it doesn’t make him happy. This is a lot like how Holden, from The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger has to decide what makes him happy, and he smokes, and says that is what makes him happy. Another thing that makes Holden happy and he feels like nothing can hurt him is his red hunting hat. Without that he wouldn’t be the same character, and the same person. Charlie realizes that drugs don’t make him happy, but a friend to care for does make him happy. In both novels, the main character feels alone, and without someone to talk to and share what happened to them with. Charlie wants to meet a friend that will help him and care for him, and someone to care for. When Charlie meets this person, He gives complete and full devotion toward him, and does everything possible to keep them. Charlie’s Happiness is having someone there for him, and nobody could help him realize that except himself.
Do you think Charlie will continue to do things that will only make him happy, and not start following his friends just to keep them around, right or wrong?
S-Growing Up
ReplyDeleteT-No matter what you are given, you control your own destiny.
A-Realization, Cleansing, Maturing
A-Teens
RS-Characterization
“But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.”(pg. 211)
“I was standing in the tunnel. And I was really there. And that was enough to make me feel infinite.”
Stephen Chbosky uses characterization in his novel, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” to enhance the meaning he is trying to get across to the reader. The novel is based on a teenager named Charlie, and as Chbosky develops Charlie’s character, the meaning of the novel is enhanced for the reader. In “The Catcher and the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, he develops Holden’s character to also enhance the meaning of his novel for the reader.
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a bildungsroman novel with the message that no matter what you are given, you control your own destiny. The rhetorical strategy used is Characterization.
“But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.”(pg. 211), this quote shows the realization Charlie had in the hospital about life. He realizes that even though his friend was taken from him by suicide and his Aunt Helen died, he doesn’t have to live his life with those things defining him as a person. This shows the reader the theme of the novel by having Charlie have a realization. This is where Charlie begins his final stage of growing up.
His second stage is at the end of the novel. “I was standing in the tunnel. And I was really there. And that was enough to make me feel infinite.” A few days after Charlie gets out of the hospital, he goes for a ride with Sam and Patrick, in Sam’s pick up truck. They come to a tunnel, and Charlie gets in the back of the truck and they drive through it. As he enters the tunnel, he is leaving his life behind and he gets the closure he needs. While he is in the tunnel he is cleansed of the problems of his old life, as he begins his new life. He says he isn’t afraid of seeing downtown anymore and that is because he has started his new life as he exits the tunnel. This is the point where Charlie finishes growing up, and his new character is shown. This relates to “The Catcher in the Rye” because when Holden is in central park with Phoebe, it is raining, which symbolizes a new beginning as Holden has a realization about childhood innocence and some closure on his old life as he begins his new one.
Do you think Charlie will be a new person as school starts or will he go right back to his old self?
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Norman
ReplyDeleteMrs.Siragusa
3/22/11
S – Acceptance
T – Most people go through life wanting to be accepted because they want t know that people care or people like them but sometimes no matter how much effort you put in and how much you try, it’s not good enough.
A – Rejection, loneliness, depression
A – Teenagers
R – Characterization
S – “I’m sorry I bothered you, Susan. I’m just having a tough time. That’s all. Have a good one.” (Page 145)
“To tell you the truth I knew she wanted to be alone with Erik, but I really wanted to have some company.” (148)
“I cleared my throat and said, “Hey. My name is Charlie.” All he said was “I Know” (Page 196)
The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a novel about a teenage boy, Charlie who goes through adolescence and difficult life experiences. Throughout the story Charlie is the narrator which helps the reader understand the character of Charlie and it helps make the reader emotionally tied in with the story and with Charlie. Charlie goes through difficult life experiences and sometimes Charlie becomes depressed and lonely and needs someone to lean on or wants to be accepted. Most of the time Charlie just wants someone to pay attention to him for once. At one point in the story Charlie was going through a difficult time because he couldn’t talk to any of his friends because of what happened with Sam and Mary Elizabeth so Charlie felt very lonely. “I’m sorry I bothered you, Susan. I’m just having a tough time. That’s all. Have a good one.” Charlie was just trying to reach out to someone he somewhat knew because of his brother. He was just trying to start up a conversation to be accepted by Susan and her friends for once and he got shut down. That was even a big step for Charlie to reach out and try to make new friends and once again he got rejected. Another event that showed that Charlie wanted to be accepted and wanted someone to talk to was when he still couldn’t talk to his friends and he was lonely and depressed again. “To tell you the truth I knew she wanted to be alone with Erik, but I really wanted to have some company.” Charlie thought he could at least count on his sister to be there for him because he was there for him when she was going through the pregnancy but he was wrong. Charlie desperately need that attention right then that his sister had been giving him recently. Towards the end of the novel Charlie realizes all his friends are going to college and he will have no friends next year in high school. Charlie has grown to be more confident and more sociable with people now compared to before he met all his friends. There was a boy that had a locker right next to Charlie all ear and they never spoke one word to each other before so Charlie thought on the last day of school he would say something to him. “I cleared my throat and said, “Hey. My name is Charlie.” All he said was “I Know” You could tell Charlie was a little nervous but he put effort into trying to be nice and friendly and talk to the boy and this kid rejected him. That will probably scare Charlie next time he wants to try and talk to some he probably won’t because he will think he will get denied because of all of his other experiences. All Charlie wanted was to feel accepted. Throughout the whole story Charlie was accepted by a few people, Sam, Patrick and his sister. But that is not a lot at all compared to how we are accepted in everyday life by a lot of people. If we put ourselves in Charlie’s shoes, we would feel that desperate feeling that he went through of wanting friends and wanting to be accepted for once.
PERSONAL RESPONSE
ReplyDeleteThroughout this story Charlie went through a lot of difficult times. I think the main reason Charlie was the way he was, was from what his Aunt Helen did to him when he was younger. I think that made Charlie not trust anyone and that experience probably traumatized him and he became very quiet. When Charlie met Patrick and Sam he finally felt like he trusted them and he felt accepted by them. Patrick and Sam changed Charlie into a better person even though he ended up having to go into a mental hospital towards the end of the story. I feel like some kids could be going through the same things or felt the same way Charlie did when he was all alone and had no one to turn to. I think people should try and help others out and not reject others when they are making an effort to talk to you and want some attention because maybe they don’t get that at home just like Charlie didn’t.
QUESTION
Do you think the 2 months of being in the hospital changed Charlie or do you think he is going to get back to how he was after Sam and Patrick leave again?
Subject:friendship
ReplyDeleteTheme:Throughout your life you will have at least one friend that you will be able to depend on. Having a friend allows you be able to tell them anything. You will feel safe telling them whatever you want because you know they won't tell anyone else. Friendship is not something you should take for granted because one day that friend could be gone.
Attitude:informational,hurt,comfort
Audience:young adults growing up
RS:characterization
TE:"The inside jokes weren't jokes anymore,they had become stories"(198).
"At those times, you weren't being his friend at all"(201).
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky is a Bildungsroman. Throughout the novel Chbosky uses the rhetorical strategy of characterization. Charlie states,"The inside jokes weren't jokes anymore. They had become stories"(198). This is after he lost all of them as friends and then they became friends again. In life you will always have the stories that you'll always remember and Charlie starts to realize that he has friends and that he feels like he is part of the group again. It help him make him feel as if he is apart of something. Sometimes you'll do something special for your friend because you are very close with them and you want to see them happy and they mean a lot to you. But in reality you may be hurting your friend in some kind of way. When Charlie and Sam are talking Sam states,"All those times,you weren't being his friend at all"(201). Sam is talking about when they were in the park and Patrick would kiss Charlie, and Charlie would kiss back even though he didn't like him. Charlie thought he was being a friend but in reality he was just hurting himself and Patrick. The book relates to "Cather in the Rye" because both Charlie and Holden have similar qualities.
Brittney Champagne
ReplyDelete4AC
STAARS
Question:
Do you think Sam and Charlie will ever become something more than friends?
S - peer pressure
T - Stephen Chbosky presents to teenagers the familiarity of confronting and subduing to peer pressure. Throughout the novel Charlie is faced with trying to fit in with society, and what events he will have to go through to do so.
A - revealing, nostalgic, enlightened
A - young adults
RS - Characterization
T-
“Regardless I decided to never take LSD again” (100).
“The next thing I know, I was wearing nothing but slippers and a bathing suit which somebody painted gold. I don’t know how these things happen to me sometimes” (110).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a becoming of age novel by Stephen Chbosky, is an exploration of how young adolescents conform to society due to their surrounding peer pressures and how they subdue to the different situations.Throughout the novel Charlie is faced with trying to fit in with his peers, having some positive and negative consequences. Chbosky uses the literary technique of characterization, which is the use of symbols to represent qualities and building blocks of a character, to show reader’s the understanding of what Charlie is going through during these experiences, that many teens can also relate to. In the beginning of Part 3, Charlie makes the accusation stating, “Regardless I decided to never take LSD again” (100). At a New Year's Eve party with his closest friends, including Sam who he is head over heels for, Charlie believes that the only way to have as much fun as everyone else is to drink and try this drug for the first time. However, for Charlie he has extreme side effects, which is expected, and is later found blue in the face and asleep by the police officer nowhere near where he originally was. Also days after he continues to have reoccurrence or side effects like he had just taken the drug again. This shows the dangerous side of peer pressure as Charlie would have never taken LSD, including other drugs and alcohol, without the encouragement of his fellow peers. Peer pressure is mostly looked down on as a negative part of adolescent life, however, for Charlie the pressure of his peers allowed him to get out of his shell at one of their Rocky Honor Picture Show performances. When Sam’s boyfriend was unable to go, Sam was able to pressure Charlie into playing the intimate part of Rocky when he states, “The next thing I know, I was wearing nothing but slippers and a bathing suit which somebody painted gold. I don’t know how these things happen to me sometimes” (110). Even though Charlie is not one to perform in front of an audience or be open to many people, this gave him the chance to touch Sam, who was playing Janet, and to express himself in front of an audience even if he was just acting. If Charlie had not folded into Sam’s pressure to do something different, he never would have been able get the confidence boost he got from the sound of the audience and be able to admit at the end of the night that he had the best time ever in his whole life. Also in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden continually through the novel was faced with pressure to fit in. Holden repeatedly tries to fit in at school like when he writes an English essay for his popular roommate Stradlater, but only to get denied any appreciation or recognition. Throughout adolescence, teens will always face times of peer pressure, no matter how sheltered they are, yet these are the times when teens will learn the most about themselves and grow from the consequences. Without these experiences, teenagers like Charlie and Holden would not have learned the difference of their choices for themselves to prevent reoccurring mistakes and tragedies.
Throughout the novel we see a lot of teen pressure that Charlie encounters. Many teenagers have these obstacles that they have to overcome. For Charlie he experienced some of the "cool" thing that teenagers do. Throughout high school most teenagers will have to face the many challenges that Charlie has faced. We see Charlie smoking cigarettes, smoking weed, and doing LSD. While he does the LSD he does stupid things. He says he wants to quit smoking but he continues to do it. When he loses them as friends he resorts to smoking as a comfort. He is lonely and depressed and uses smoking to help him. While he is in the car going to the funeral his cousins ask him if he wants to smoke weed and he says no. Later on he does it though. But when he says no at first his cousins call him a pussy. Many teenagers will hear that from other kids and they'll have the pressure on them to do it so they do it too seem cool. With all these things it helps Charlie grow as a person and become a better person through experience.
ReplyDeleteTo answer audrey's question, I would rather know the truth then someone keeping it from me. I would feel stupid if everyone else knew what was going on and I didn't. Usually later in life you are going to find out so it would be better to just find out then. You could also learn from your mistakes you made and catch on earlier if someone is cheating on you.
ReplyDeleteAustin Raleigh
ReplyDelete3/22/11
4AC
S – Friendship
T – Friendship is a bond between family or one’s best friend. Through tough times and hardships, friendship shows that even though we may seem lonely sometimes, there are people out there who still love and care for us. During the book we see the life of Charlie as he develops these friendships with other people around him.
A – Sentimental
A – Young people
R – Imagery
Textual Evidence – “I even wrapped them up special. I used the Sunday funny papers because they are in color. Patrick tore through his. Sam didn’t rip any of the paper. She just plucked off the tape. And they looked at what was inside each box… The cards said that these were the copies of all my favorite books, and I wanted Sam and Patrick to have them because they were my two favorite people in the whole world.” pg. 193-194
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky is a epistolary novel, which deals with friendship within Charlie’s life. Friendship is always there for us through family and friends. Throughout the book Charlie develops these friendships with people. Chobsky uses imagery a lot throughout the book to show us these friendships and how they improve life for Charlie. The quote above shows a real form of friendship for Charlie. It holds a real sentimental feel for Charlie because they were his favorite books. Now he will hold that memory of friendship in his mind forever and he will feel good about it too.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAustin Raleigh - Do you think Charlie will ever change in the future or will he just stay the same for the rest of his life?
ReplyDeleteWho is the person Charlie is writing to? He gives a few hints throughout the novel but never a name. Why does he pick such an anonymous person? What does this do for the reader?
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ReplyDeleteBrittney Champagne
ReplyDelete4AC
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a becoming of age novel by Stephen Chbosky, shows us the many negative results of sexual abuse that an adolescent male teen might face during his transformation into adulthood. Throughout the novel, Chbosky explores many unfortunate events a young adult might have to face and how adapting to these issues makes the person who they grow up to be. Charlie is faced with the death of his close Aunt Helen, which he says throughout the whole novel who he loves and adores. However, on the last night he has with a girl of his dreams named Sam, he stops abruptly when Sam puts her hand down his pants and is unable to let Sam make any sexual advances on him. We find out as a reader that Charlie had somewhat of a flashback about his aunt Helen. He later realizes that the dreams and flashbacks he had been having about his aunt were true and that when Charlie was younger, every Saturday while watching TV his aunt would inappropriately touch him. Even though Charlie thought to repress the event, deep down Charlie knew that something wrong had happened to him. He still even found excuses for his aunt Helen including that the same thing had happened to her when she was younger and how its not her fault, however, the traumatizing effects on Charlie shouldn’t be put on anyone. For the rest of his life Charlie will have to face the difficulties of ever having an intimate relationship with anyone without the horrible memories resurfacing. Also in the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden who is a male teen goes through many inappropriate and uncomfortable experiences with people he meets. Holden on the other hand though instead of sympathizing with the other person, tends to back away and stay clear of the past events. In the novel Holden admits that many strange experiences have happened to him however he refuses to bring them up to the reader in much detail. For both characters, dealing with these events will form how their future personal life could be altered. The question continues of how they will cope with this tragedy, and that will be the real measure of their growth into young adulthood.
S- Gaining maturity
ReplyDeleteT- When growing up, personal experiences, whether they are good or bad, shape the transition to adulthood.
A- Adolescents
A- Hopeful, reassuring
R- Symbolism
S-
" As you enter the tunnel, the wind gets sucked away, and you squint from the lights overhead. When you adjust to the lights, you can see the other side in the distance just as the sound of the radio fades because the waves just can’t reach. Then, you’re in the middle of the tunnel, and everything becomes a calm dream. As you see the opening get closer, you just can’t get there fast enough. And finally, just when you think you’ll never get there, you see the opening right in front of you." (pg. 191)
"So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even when they’re not, they will be soon enough." (pg. 213)
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower", written by Stephen Chbosky, is a bildungsroman novel built on the basis of personal discovery and the perception of one's surroundings. These are used to convey the idea that personal experiences, whether they be good or bad, mold your transition into adulthood. Being a young adult, personal experiences can alter your road to maturity. Chbosky uses symbolism to explain the path to adulthood. " As you enter the tunnel, the wind gets sucked away, and you squint from the lights overhead. When you adjust to the lights, you can see the other side in the distance just as the sound of the radio fades because the waves just can’t reach. Then, you’re in the middle of the tunnel, and everything becomes a calm dream. As you see the opening get closer, you just can’t get there fast enough. And finally, just when you think you’ll never get there, you see the opening right in front of you." The tunnel symbolizes the change from childhood to adulthood. The beginning of the tunnel shows how childhood is far away from gaining the maturity one receives when transforming into an adult. The middle of the tunnel shows the adolescent stage where there is that rush to achieve the status of an adult as soon as possible. Just when you start to think you won't make it, you realize that adulthood is immediately in front of you. "So, if this does end up being my last letter, please believe that things are good with me, and even when they’re not, they will be soon enough." The final letter Charlie sends to his anonymous friend seems as though it completes his change to an adult. He is starting to see that light at the end of the tunnel and shows that he understands the concept that even when things are rough, the light is right there and he will reach it sooner rather than later. Charlie is similar to Holden Caulfield in the novel "The Catcher in the Rye". By the end of each novel, they both seem to reach the end of their tunnels. They both realize the changes they will encounter but accept that reality. Holden sees his effect on his sister Phoebe and knows he can not save her from personal growth. Charlie sees how change and acceptance of personal differences aren't exactly a hindrance as they lead to maturity.
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" shows experiences adolescents go through during a time where things can be overly confusing. Whether it be sexual experiences, dealings with drugs and alcohol, or the average every day teenage issues, Charlie explains his viewpoint and allows readers to feel what he feels and understand his beliefs. This novel acts as a reassurance for its readers as it shows that no matter how bad things get, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer and closer.
Question: How will Charlie deal with school now that his two closest friends have moved on to college? Will he make new friends?
Personal Response:
ReplyDeleteThe novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, gives a great example of a teacher helping a student discover himself as a individual. At the beginning of the year, Charlie was given extra, more advanced books, by his English teacher, Bill. Most kids would loath their teacher for assigning extra work, but these books and analysis essays actually were beneficial and enjoyable to Charlie. Bill also became Charlie's friend, "After I got through telling Bill about me life, I asked him about his. It was nice, too, because he didn't try to be cool and relate to me or anything. He was just himself about it."(107). Bill is someone, an adult, Charlie trusts and likes to talk to, which is very important for such a disturbed teenager. He even offers to still be friends when Bill leaves, ""So, when the school year ends, and I'm not your teacher anymore, I want you to know that if you ever need anything, or want to know anything more about books, or want to show me anything you write, or anything, you can always come to me as a friend. I do consider you a friend, Charlie.""(181). Bill teaches Charlie how to read a book and to understand the author's point/idea. Bill tells him, "that it's "very easy to read, but very hard to 'read well'.""(149) and ""to be a filter, not a sponge.""(165). And lastly, Bill helps Charlie realize his potential and talents, ""Charlie, you're one of the most gifted people I've ever known. And I don't mean in terms of my other students. I mean in terms of anyone I've ever met. That's why I gave you the extra work. I was wondering if you were aware of that?""(181). It's a really special moment in the novel, Charlie realizes that he is actually good at something and enjoys it at the same time, it helps him with his identity, which is extremely important in this phase of his life. Thanks to Bill, Charlie grew some confidence and a sense of identity.
S- deceiving
ReplyDeleteT- the people you love aren’t always what they seem
A-anyone in relationship
A-careful; guarded; vulnerable
R-symbolism
S-“I do know that her boyfriend said it wasn’t his baby, but my sister knew that it was. And I do know that he broke up with her right there at the dance” (116).
“Basically, Craig had been cheating on Sam ever since they started going out. And when I say cheat, I don’t mean he got drunk once and fooled around with one girl and felt bad about it. There were several girls. Several times. Drunk and sober. And I guess he never felt bad” (177).
In the novel the Perks of Being a Wallflower multiple characters learn the hard way that the people they love aren’t always what they seem. For example, Charlie’s sister dated a boy who she was madly in love with. She even snuck around behind her parents back in order to see him. Everything was perfect in their eyes until she found out she was pregnant. Charlie writes, “I do know that her boyfriend said it wasn’t his baby, but my sister knew that it was. And I do know that he broke up with her right there at the dance”(116). This proves the point that people aren’t always what they seem to be, and when people are put into difficult situations their morals and personalities seem to shift. This happens in high school a great deal because the students are inexperienced and immature, and trust or open up to people much more easily. Another instance where this is illustrated in the novel is when Craig had been unfaithful to Sam. Charlie writes, “Basically, Craig had been cheating on Sam ever since they started going out. And when I say cheat, I don’t mean he got drunk once and fooled around with one girl and felt bad about it. There were several girls. Several times. Drunk and sober. And I guess he never felt bad” (177). This symbolizes people being inconsistent with their actions. Sam earlier said that she though Craig might have even been ‘the one’. People, in this case girls, can get caught up in the moment and think they know everything about their lover when they truly don’t. This can ultimately damage a person’s ability to trust others and can lead to the victims feeling vulnerable and guarded. Overall, love itself can be deceiving, and the people you love aren’t always what they seem.
Carson Reber
ReplyDeleteMrs. Siragusa
4AC
Perks blog post
S- Friendship
T- Charlie is introduced to many types of people and develops different kinds of friendships. Stephen Chbosky surrounds him these people to better portray how friends influence a person’s life.
A- Happiness, friendship, influence
A- Young adults, pre-teens
RS- Symbolism
Evidence- "In middle school, Susan was very fun to be around. She liked movies, and her brother Frank made her tapes of this great music that she shared with us. But over the summer she had her braces taken off, and she got a little taller and prettier and grew breasts. Now, she acts a lot dumber in the hallways especially when boys are around. And I think it's sad because Susan doesn't look as happy"
“The first present is going to be a mix tape. I just know that it should. I already have the songs picked and a theme. It’s called ‘One Winter.’”
The Perks of being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, is about the time in a child’s life when he/she starts to realize the harsh realities of the world. Chbosky uses symbolism to show his subject of friendship in the novel. In the book Charlie, the main character, talks about his Secret Santa present to Patrick saying, “The first present is going to be a mix tape. I just know that it should. I already have the songs picked and a theme. It’s called “One Winter.”” Charlie shows that his friendship with Patrick means a lot to him by making a mix tape that has great depth. The mix tape became a symbol throughout the book to express love. Each song had a secret meaning that took the understanding of friendship to justify. The next example when Charlie goes Christmas shopping for his dad, “’Well why don’t you chip in with your sister and buy him that sweater?” Charlie replied, “I don’t want to I want to buy him something.” … “My sister decided to buy the sweater on her own.’” Charlie’s sister doesn’t care as much about how meaningful the gift is, but just wants to get it over with even if it means she has to pay more. She did buy a gift though, so however little it seems she cares the love is still true. Charlie goes on to four different stores to find the right gift (the last episode of MASH), which brings back many memories and is very emotional for him. Chbosky uses gifts as symbols of strength and of deep love. The gifts Charlie gives are deep and full of meaning. His friendship is well based with those he knows. People like Charlie’s sister give gifts just for the sake of giving which symbolizes bitter, almost fake friendships.
In this book, Charlie is faced with the many traumatizing experiences that greatly affected his childhood. He loses his best friend, his loving Aunt Helen, he walks in on his sister having sex, and he witnesses a girl being raped. The book is shows how these kinds of experiences can change the course of a child’s life. This is further defined with the fact that Charlie is just now being exposed to regular social activities and adolescence. This makes the “experiment” pure because all the traumatic incidences happened as a kid, mostly. Then, the book will have some parenting lesson at the end of it to raise your kids good or they will be depressed teenagers who make bad decisions.
Henry Davignon
ReplyDelete2AC
S- Friendship
T-Charlie uses his friends in the same way that Holden uses his hunting hat in Cather in the Rye. He surrounds himself with loving friends to make himself feel better while unknowingly coping with a repressed memory. When times get tough he can count on them to help him out and get him reacquainted with his peers.
A- Young adults
A- Wise, Supportive, Caring, Social
RS- Symbolism “Then, we went walking, waiting for it be time to go to Rocky Horror”Page 170
“After I handed in the final, I asked Bill if he wanted me to write an essay about The Fountainhead, since I told him I had finished.” Page 174
In Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, he uses his bildungsroman style to emphasize the importance of friendship. Chbosky uses many different symbols to represent the relationships that Charlie has to these people and how it affects him. On page 170 Charlie states, “Then, we went walking, waiting for it to be time to go to Rocky Horror.” The Rocky Horror picture show has all of his current friends there. He goes there every day it’s on which show dedication that Charlie would receive enjoyment out of watching the same show multiple times because some people he knows are in it. The is much like Holden Caulfield’s many grabs for friendship in Catcher in the Rye with Sally Hayes and Carl Luce. Charlie needs his friends to guide and support him through his rapidly altering adolescent life, so he partakes in this regular activity with his friends symbolizing to amount of love and compassion he shows for these people. Therefore the Rocky Horror show was a symbol of social well-being and through that the continued support he would get out of his friends. On Page 174 Charlie explains that, “After I handed in the final, I asked Bill if he wanted me to write an essay about The Fountainhead, since I told him I had finished.” Bill to Charlie is much like Mr. Antolinni to Holden. They both meet personally and a desperate time in both people lives. Charlie is beginning to uncover the truth about his past, and he is losing all his friends to college on top of that. Bill expresses his friend-like love for Charlie during this time and this is backed with a school year worth of tutoring and training Charlie up to his full potential. His mentoring makes him exactly what Charlie needed. Bill gave him books chosen so they would intertwine and give philosophical insight on his life. Bill stood by Charlie’s side the entire school year and provided Charlie with a little something extra. He gave him these books that he could absorb and relate to. Bill and the books are symbols. Bill represents a spirit guide to Charlie while the books are the tools for Charlie to rebuild his life with. Those two combined are a symbol of Charlie being trained or guided into a better person. Charlie had a great and beneficial relationship with Bill and those at the Rocky Horror picture show that allowed for Charlie to recover this mental well-being at the end of the book.
The novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky illustrates the effects of a troubled childhood on adolescence. He drives across the detrimental effect as well as the reversibility of such through help. She does so by setting Charlie up as a troubled boy who on the spot tells us that his friend Michael dies when he was younger. He then bears witness to his sister having sex, his sister being beaten, a girl being raped, and general social rejection from high school. He pushes through this and begins to become a part of Sam and Patrick’s clique. Through his friendship he is able to express some of his feelings openly, get a girlfriend, and get school in check. He still faces great depression, anxiety, and lack of assertiveness that still drop him behind the social curve. This leads him to alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana when his friends aren’t constantly around. This is very much like Holden Caulfield and his constant want for friends around is nothing short of the same either. When he finally is getting to the point where he is losing his friends to college and is about to have sex with the girl of his dreams, he faces down his main issue. He had been repressing memories of being molested by his Aunt Helen that were most likely the reason why he never wanted sex in the first place. He reaches a final low in his life where he is fully regressed and mentally unhinged. However, through his constant love of friends and family, he gets the psychological help he needs and gets better. This sequence of events illustrates my point. The terrible stuff put him in a terrible place where he may not have ever permanently come back from. However the author makes a point to mention that there is hope for people like him in social support as long as the subject is willing to try as well.
ReplyDeleteIn what ways could you contrast Holden’s situation to Charlie’s? Do these differences make an impact on the lesson learned or message of their respective novels? Cite details from the text to support your answer.
Subject- Relationships
ReplyDeleteTheme- The relationship you have with a person can affect how you act around them.
Attitude- modest, mutual, compromise
Audience- teenagers to young adults
Rhetorical Strategies- Symbolism
“The truth is that when Patrick dared me, I knew that if I kissed Mary Elizabeth, I would be lying to everyone. And I just couldn’t do it anymore. Even if it was part of a game” (135). Charlie actually thinking this was still part of a game symbolized his lack of knowledge and understanding of when something becomes reality or not.
“We hugged good night, and when I was about to let go, he held me a little tighter. And he moved his face to mine. And he kissed me. A real kiss. Then, he pulled away real slow” (60). This kiss symbolized the step from being friends to being more than friends but its significance was unknown to Charlie.
Stephen Chbosky’s bildungsroman novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, shows how certain relationships with people can affect ones behavior. Stephen Chbosky used symbolism, or the use of characters, words, objects or specific events to represent multiple levels of meaning, to show how relationships can affect the behaviors of others. “The truth is that when Patrick dared me, I knew that if I kissed Mary Elizabeth, I would be lying to everyone. And I just couldn’t do it anymore. Even if it was part of a game” (135). Charlie actually thinking this was still part of a game symbolized his lack of knowledge and understanding of when something becomes reality or not. Charlie could have just kissed Mary Elizabeth and not have caused a scene but instead he went out of his way to kiss Sam. If Charlie had understood that it was much more than just a game he could have thought things through a little better. “We hugged good night, and when I was about to let go, he held me a little tighter. And he moved his face to mine. And he kissed me. A real kiss. Then, he pulled away real slow” (60). This kiss symbolized the step from being friends to being more than friends but its significance was unknown to Charlie. To Charlie the kiss was just a friendly thanks, but to Patrick it meant much more. The fact that Patrick keeps kissing Charlie after the first time shows the kiss wasn’t just a friendly kiss. The way relationships affect some of the characters in The Perks of Being a Wallflower is somewhat similar to that of Holden in The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Holden misinterprets certain events just like Charlie because both of them lack the knowledge aspect of friendship due too not having many friends. However, the way each reacts to the event is almost exact opposite, like how Holden lies when caught in an unknown situation, while Charlie often over speaks his mind and over tells what is true.
Personal Paragraph
ReplyDelete“And I saw Patrick get really upset, but Brad still ignored him. Then, I saw Patrick say something, and he looked pretty angry as he turned to walk away. Brad sat still for a second, then he turned around. And then I heard it” (150). After Brad’s father had caught him with Patrick why did Brad change? If Brad had truly felt something for Patrick, which to me it seemed like he did, Brad wouldn’t have let his father’s beating have as big of an impact as it had. Brad even goes as far as to get his friends to gang up on Patrick. Ganging up one person to me is one of the lowest things you can do but in a way I believe Brad did it so he wouldn’t have to inflict as much pain onto Patrick himself. In the end, Brad still ends up seeing men but instead of having Patrick he goes to the park where men go to meet other men and fools around. Although parents and society do have a big impact on what we do, this just goes to show that in the end our decisions are the ones that truly matter.
Answering Eric’s Question
I believe Charlie will end up being a new person because he has finally figured out the truth with his aunt Helen. Charlie will wind up being more optimistic and outgoing because he now knows how having friends feels and since all his friends graduated he will need to make new ones. With this I feel Charlie can only improve from here and his new school year will be just the beginning of his long life ahead.
Question
Do you think Charlie will move on from liking Sam, or will Charlie and Sam end up having something greater after she returns from college?
S-Friendship
ReplyDeleteT-Friendship is a very delicate thing that you cannot take for granted. Friends can sometimes be bad influences and not do the right thing but in the end they are always there for you.
A-lost, vulnerable, searching for help
A-Teenagers
RS-Characterization
Textual Evidence- "Charlie, you're one of the most gifted people I've ever known." (181)
"You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love." (200)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a bildungsroman novel by Stephen Chbosky, is a creative and life-relating novel based around teenagers. It shows the importance of friendship and how you adapt to struggles you face as a high school kid. Being a teenager is sometimes a difficult thing to deal with and Chbosky attempts to create an accurate image of that. He uses the rhetorical strategy of characterization to do this. One example is when Sam talks to Charlie in her room, "You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love." This characterizes Charlie and Sam at the same time. It shows that Charlie is so considerate and thoughtful to the point where he doesnt pay attention to his own life. He worries about pleasing other people and he needs to worry about his own problems and go after what he wants. It also shows how even though Sam told Charlie not to think about her that way, she still has feelings for him and she obviously wants him to take control of his own life instead of his life controlling him. She just wants whats best for him. The other example is when Charlie visits Bill. Bill says, "Charlie, you're one of the most gifted people I've ever known." This is definitely something that completely changes Charlie. It definitely adds confidence to his step and it is a huge example of characterization on Bill's part. It Shows that Bill can see Charlie from the inside out and he knows how special Charlie is and what a gifted young man he is. Bill and Charlie has a special connection and because of that, Charlie definitely seemed like he had someone he could turn to in need of help at any time. Charlie defnitely is similar to Holden Caulfield, from The Catcher in the Rye, in the fact that they both have serious internal issues. Holden considers himself to be a social outcast and so does Charlie, but the difference between the two is that Holden thinks everyone is a phoney but Charlie respects everyone for who they are and does not really have a problem with anyone. The reason why Charlie is different from Holden is that Charlie looks to his friends to help him with his problems, while Holden tries to help himself and sometimes he does that the wrong way. That is mostly what Chbosky is trying to show, that teenagers need friends in order to make it through their lives.
Personal Response:
ReplyDeleteIn The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, Charlie demonstrates the fact that he uses his friends as a safety net whenever he becomes scared or confused with whats going on in his life. An example is when Charlie is still "tripping" from the acid he took and Sam tries to help him out. She says, "Okay...now focus on the piece of paper that's just sitting there on the ground." Sam is trying to help Charlie back to normal. It shows how much Charlies friends are there for him and how he definitely uses his friends to help him out whenever he ahs a problem. Holden, from The Catcher in the Rye, is similar to this. He tends to go to teachers for help though. When Holden is at his house with no where to go, he resorts to calling one of his old teachers, Mr. Antolini. He says, "He was about the best teacher I ever had, Mr. Antolini. He was a pretty young guy, not much older than my brother D.B., and you could kid around with him without losing your respect for him." Holden obviously looks up to this guy and he trust him enough to call him up when he has a problem. This is like Charlie except for the fact that Charlie's friends don't let him down, like Mr. Antolini does for Holden when he pets his head. Both of these characters need help from other human beings when they have problems, but they definitely handle them differently.
Question- When Sam told Charlie that it was wrong of him to let Patrick kiss him because Charlie was "lying" to him, do you think she is right or is Charlie right for being a good friend?