Selma Lagerlof once said “Nothing can make up for the loss of one who has loved you,” Growing up and discovering oneself is hard enough, without the added trauma of losing someone close to you. J.D Salinger’s “The Catcher In The Rye” and Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” both revolved around confused teenage boys who have lost a lot and are therefore unsure about who they are and what they feel. These two “coming-of-age” novels explore the individuality of pain, and the different ways people must deal with it.
Both books are narrated in first person, creating an intimacy between the characters and the reader. This intimacy creates a connection that makes the audience truly care about the outcome of the characters, no matter how hopeless it may seem. This is especially effective in the audience understanding the motivations of the characters based on their distressing pasts. Holden, from J.D Salinger’s “The Catcher In The Rye,” and Charlie, from Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” both go through very similar traumatic experiences, ranging from witnessing forms of date rape to the loss of a treasured love one. These experiences, though similar, result in two boys with completely different personalities, both going through the same sorrow. Taking their similar experiences in the death of a loved one for example, Holden losing his brother Allie caused him to become angrier and more cynical in his outlook on life. This is portrayed by Salinger’s use of Holden’s harsh commentary, that remained true to the characters, on those around him, constantly using words like “ugly” and “phony”. Meanwhile, Charlie losing his Aunt Helen and best friend resulted in a desperate need for companionship, making Charlie more trusting and forgiving of others. At one point in Salinger’s narrative, Holden states “Everytime you mention a guy that’s strictly a bastard [...] She’ll mention how he has an inferiority complex. Maybe he has, but that still doesn’t keep him from being a bastard,” revealing that he holds people accountable for their actions no matter the reasoning behind them doing so. Charlie, however, has to be taught this lesson by his father, and still continues to be more forgiving than most people would be.
The experiences of these two characters shaped their personalities, but also led to their isolation while they attempted to understand the pain these situations inflicted upon them. “‘Well are you dancing at these dances?”he asked. ‘I’m not a very good dancer.’” Charlie’s desperation for companionship, after the death of his Aunt and his friend, keeps him from participating in fear of looking stupid and repelling anyone who might previously have wished to interact with him. This lack of participation keeps Charlie from interacting with other people, and leaving him stranded on his island of isolation. Though Salinger explores the same idea of isolation, the main character in his book, Holden, is isolated for a very different reason. The audience of this narrative can assume that the loss of his brother changed him. “I know he’s dead! Don’t you think I know that? [...] Especially if [he] was about a thousand times nicer than the people [I] know that are alive and all!” After his brother’s death, Holden began to compare everyone to his brother, in order to fill that gap in his life. When someone doesn’t live up to Allie, his brother, Holden pushes them away, furthering his isolation.
As these books progress, the authors implicitly hint at a gateway out of isolation for the two characters. Salinger makes it obvious that Phoebe is the one person Holden trusts and wants to be around. Slowly the reader can also infer that Holden seeks stability and a constant in his life. From constantly changing boarding houses, he wants familiarity and comfort while he processes and moves on from Allie’s death, something he still hasn’t fully done. He wants “certain things [to] stay where they are.” He wants things to not change while he copes and moves past the tragedy he has faced. By the end of this narrative, Holden is able to recognise this and takes steps to cope and eventually, move on. Chbosky hints at Charlie having a way to cope as well, however it is vastly different from Holden’s. While Holden needed stability and comfort to understand his feelings, Charlie required change to stop mulling over his and seal that once raw pain for good. His “participation” is a distraction, and the friends he makes along the way assist him in learning to live outside his head, and giving his trust to only a selected few. All of this helps him to transition into a new portion of his life, as he has already processed his loss and now needs to move past it, as he begins to do.
Charlie and Holden both struggle with either understanding, or moving past their emotions, proving that grief is handled in many different ways and is not a step by step process. Trying to understand who you are while also dealing with the loss of someone you love is not easy, but as these characters have proven, is possible. The process is messy and long and the progress jumps back and forth, being great at a moment, and as if you just lost them in the next moment. All of this leaves a question to be asked - Is there a “most efficient” way to cope with death? And if there is, why aren’t more people aware of it?
By Akanksha
Showing posts with label Self Identity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self Identity. Show all posts
May 21, 2015
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.
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
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
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
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