The Perks of Being a Wallflower
TW// mention of sexual assault
When I think of a coming-of-age novel, "The Perks of being a wallflower" immediately comes to mind. Similar to other coming-of-age narratives, Charlie struggles immensely with fitting in, along with his mental health and social life. He is a "wallflower", and stays on the sidelines in life, rather than participating. Charlie is also struggling with beginning high school, while coping with past traumatic events such as the suicide of his best friend, Michael, along with the death of his aunt who was killed in a car crash when he was seven. He discusses his feelings and experiences throughout his Freshman year of high school with his friends, along with parties, drugs, alcohol, sex, and many other experiences that a teenager would have, specifically in a coming of age novel.
During the climax of the book, Charlie has a disturbing realization that his aunt molested him as a child, which sends him into a dark depression. He says, “I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That’s why I’m trying not to think. I just want it all to stop spinning." For Charlie, depression is apart of his coming-of-age story. In order to move on from what happened to him, he has to face this harsh reality of his trauma. This is Charlie’s lowest point in the novel, which happens right before he seems to resolve some of his trauma and develop a greater understanding of his life.
Charlie would not have gotten to this point without his newfound supports and friends, Sam and Patrick who are siblings and seniors at his school. From the moment he met them, they never judged him, and Charlie was almost surprised by their kindness. They helped him make friends and their kindness helped him adjust to high school. They saw his "wallflower" personality as something they like about him, rather than something that holds him back in life. Their positive view of him changed the way he views himself, for the better.
At the end of the book, Sam and Patrick go off to college. He says, “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody” (Chbosky). This short quote sums up one of the themes of the book and how Charlie’s character has developed. Sometimes bad things happen, but that we have to face it and then keep going because that’s life. He realizes that participating in life is necessary, but also often means confronting deep and depressing emotions. By the end of the book, he has accepted the instability, constant change, and necessary pain that comes with participating in life being human.
During the climax of the book, Charlie has a disturbing realization that his aunt molested him as a child, which sends him into a dark depression. He says, “I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this. That’s why I’m trying not to think. I just want it all to stop spinning." For Charlie, depression is apart of his coming-of-age story. In order to move on from what happened to him, he has to face this harsh reality of his trauma. This is Charlie’s lowest point in the novel, which happens right before he seems to resolve some of his trauma and develop a greater understanding of his life.
Charlie would not have gotten to this point without his newfound supports and friends, Sam and Patrick who are siblings and seniors at his school. From the moment he met them, they never judged him, and Charlie was almost surprised by their kindness. They helped him make friends and their kindness helped him adjust to high school. They saw his "wallflower" personality as something they like about him, rather than something that holds him back in life. Their positive view of him changed the way he views himself, for the better.
At the end of the book, Sam and Patrick go off to college. He says, “Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody” (Chbosky). This short quote sums up one of the themes of the book and how Charlie’s character has developed. Sometimes bad things happen, but that we have to face it and then keep going because that’s life. He realizes that participating in life is necessary, but also often means confronting deep and depressing emotions. By the end of the book, he has accepted the instability, constant change, and necessary pain that comes with participating in life being human.
I wrote my essay on the movie version! I think you raise a really interesting point in the last paragraph about Charlie coming to terms with the stability of life's instabilities. I also agree with you saying that Charlie confronting his past was necessary for him to grow. He's never actually dealt with the past in a healthy way, and when he talks about being done with high school even though he's barely started it, or wanting sleep for 1000 years, it's clear he aims to keep sweeping his struggles under the rug. When Charlie finally faces his unaddressed pain, his problems don't magically disappear. However, Charlie learns to embrace life and whatever it may eventually throw at him.
ReplyDeleteI read this book for my banned book project in subbie year, and I think your post describes the story perfectly! When I read the book, it introduced me to an entirely new perspective of trauma and change that I agree is a core message of this coming of age novel.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right Lexy, learning to cope through life's hardships is definitely important to coming of age. Charlie's story definitely highlights how people can overcome terrible circumstances
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