The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Author's Craft

In “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, the protagonist, teenage Charlie, finds himself alone after a traumatising childhood, including the death of his aunt, and the suicide of his best friend, the two only people he trusted. This loneliness causes him to constantly worry about relating to others and forming connections, connections which would be a way out of his isolation. Stephen Chbosky uses flashbacks, first person narrative, and symbolism to show Charlie’s longing for ways to relate.

Chbosky’s use of letters to narrate the story is the first thing that hints at Charlie’s loneliness. Chbosky uses the letters in order to demonstrate his urgent need for companionship. Charlie begins his first letter “I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn’t try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have,” immediately revealing to the audience that he needs someone to be there for him. Someone to listen, and someone to understand. Chbosky uses the letters to confirm Charlie’s lack of proper attention in his immediate life and therefore his need to write letters to someone he has never met, simply in order to have someone he can talk to. As the book progresses, and Charlie finds real people that know and appreciate him, the letters became a place for him to understand himself. He even states in one of his last letters “how [letters] were better than a diary because there is communion and a diary can be found,” further developing the idea that Charlie simply needed to figure out his feelings in a way where he felt understood, and a part of something. He needed to feel as if someone cared.

Charlie’s need to know that people understood, and cared, seems to have developed at a young age, as expressed by Chbosky’s use of flashbacks. “When I was very little, I remember going to sleep while my brother and sister and Aunt Helen watched [TV Shows]. I could never stay awake when I was that little and I wish I could, because my brother and sister talk about those moments sometimes.” Charlie yearns to be able to relate with his siblings over anything, even something as small as staying up to watch television. This can be linked to both Charlie’s loneliness and the insecurities he has based around his importance in other people’s lives. Charlie’s requirement to feel needed leads to his tendency to “be there” for people, even if they really need honesty. Numerous time throughout the book, Charlie remains in situations most people would not be in, simply because he enjoys the attention. Charlie remained an accomplice in his friend Patrick’s drunken ways to cope with pain, because he enjoyed being the one Patrick wanted around. This has been a trend since his childhood, where people’s trust in him makes him feel like they trust him to understand. “I walked to the kitchen, and I saw my dad making a sandwich... and crying. [...] Then, he walked up, patted my shoulder, and said, “This is our little secret, okay, champ?” When Charlie has meaningful one-on-one interactions with people, he feels as though he is important enough for the other person to share that with him, giving him a sense of importance.

Charlie’s severe, and long term, loneliness is heightened and made more impactful due to Chbosky’s use of first person narrative. This, along with the narrative style, with the use of letters, creates a deep connection with Charlie, and makes the audience feel his emotions almost as intensely. The first person narrative also gives the reader insight into Charlie’s thoughts and motivations, helping to build the connection between his insecurity and his loneliness. He was so unsure of himself, that he was unable to go out of his way to interact with others, leaving him trapped in this inescapable pit of friendlessness. As he learns from his english teacher to “participate” and encounters two friends to help him escape his shell, he is able to easily interact with others, without getting overwhelmed around people he knew cared. “It was especially fun to think that people all over the world were having similar conversations in their versions of the Big Boy.” As his isolation lessened, he was able to not only feel unity with his friends, but feel unity with those his age everywhere, giving him a sense of normalcy. Charlie also gained a sense of communion from this, needing to rely less and less on his “escape”, or his letters, and eventually not needing to write them at all. He enjoyed knowing that he was having similar experiences to teenagers everywhere, without needing to send his thoughts to someone he at one point thought could relate. He could finally relate to those around him.

“The Perks of Being A Wallflower” perfectly captures the need for unity during adolescence, and the need to understand others who feel the same way. Charlie’s long journey to find those who provided him a sense of communion allowed him to understand himself, before leaning on those who cared to build his adult identity. All of this leaves us to wonder - what about togetherness is so appealing as a teenager? Is it the idea that people understand you, or is it more of a way to know you are safe?

By Akanksha

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Self Identity

In “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Stephen Chbosky manipulates a coming of age account of a traumatised teenage boy. This is in order to explore how exposure to new people and situations expands a person's understanding of themselves, but can leave them unsure about their identity when these people or situations are removed.

Before the narrative’s meaning comes across, the title, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, itself provides commentary on social outcasts. Charlie, the protagonist, is a character who prefers to observe and understand rather than participate. “‘He [Charlie] is a wallflower [...] You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.” Chbosky’s metaphor is implicitly evident throughout the story, drawing parallels to actual wallflowers and what they require in order to flourish. Wallflowers grow slowly, but with access to pollination from “social butterflies” and exposure to things like sunlight they develop just like the others. Charlie represents this wallflower, slowly drawn out by the new people he meets. At times Charlie, struggles with remaining open when these people are removed, but eventually learns to strive all on his own.

To begin with, Chbosky hauntingly portrays Charlie’s ache for companionship through his desperate letters sent out to a stranger. “I just need to know that someone out there listens and understand [...]” starts Charlie, before he goes on to explain why these letters are being mailed out. From this sentence, and the first few letters that Charlie writes to this person, the reader is able to infer that Charlie doesn’t have much social support and is looking for someone to simply be there for him.

If self-identity is defined as being sure of yourself, your likes, dislikes and your relationships with others, Charlie doesn’t truly develop one until near the end of the novel. He isn’t quite sure of his ability to cope with pain, especially without his friends as a distraction, and is constantly fearful of returning to the bad mental place he was in before the book began. In his very last letter he states “believe it or not, I’m really not afraid of going,” in context of the first day of his sophomore year, even though all of his friends have departed. In comparison to his first letter where he states his fear for his first day of freshman year due to his lack of friends and support system. This shows how as the book progressed his positive experience when approaching someone in an uncomfortable situation taught him to open up to new people and go out of his way to create relationships.

Charlie’s journey and development throughout the book also explores the pressures that society places on the youth to only partake in activities they are well versed in. “‘Well are you dancing at these dances?’ ‘I’m not very good dancer’”. Charlie’s fear of judgment leads to lack of participation which results in a lack of experience and exposure. This lack of experience and exposure lessens his idea of what he likes and dislikes, a great part of any person’s identity. With help from his friends, and his english teacher, Charlie slowly learns to disregard this pressure and steps out of his comfort zone to learn more about his peers and himself. “In terms of participation in things, I am trying to go to school events they set up in my school [...] Things like the homecoming football game and the dance even if I don’t have a date.” Once he starts doing this, he gains confidence in himself individually, even without the support of having someone by his side through unfamiliar circumstances.

As his confidence grows, Charlie begins to value his self discovery and constantly tries new things in order to further discover who he is as a person. One example of this is showcased through his love of certain music. “Before we left the party, Sam played me a few of her favourite songs.” Charlie’s exposure to different kinds of music starts with his sister’s boyfriend and slowly extends to his new friends Sam and Patrick. Soon after being introduced to the power of music, he realises the importance of “belong[ing] to something when [you’re] sad” and how music can unite a large group of people. This exposure is relevant in his journey, as it gives him a coping mechanism, which later allows his to build his independence and teaches him to survive without help from his friends. Charlie’s growth is evident in many different scenarios, but the authentication of Chbosky’s manipulation of Charlie’s growth is showed in the last letter he ever writes. He ends the letter by stating “I’m not sure if I will have the time to write any more letters because I might be too busy trying to ‘participate’”. This not only shows he has grown out of his fear of participation, but also reveals his want for self identity and a diverse knowledge in his likes and dislikes.

In conclusion, Charlie battles through his struggle with codependency to prove that learning about yourself from others helps you build your confidence, but true self identity is knowing that you can flourish without them.

By Akanksha