The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Identity Essay Words | 2 Pages. In the Novel, The perks of being a wallflower, the theme of Identity plays a major role in Charlie’s coming of age. This period of a person’s life brings many challenges and is very significant to a child’s passing from childhood to adulthood and this is the point in life Jun 04, · writers online. Life is about overcoming obstacles and fears to become truly happy, a message that The Perks of Being a Wallflower teaches its readers as Charlie matures through the coming-of-age process. The story follows Charlie as he encounters drugs, sexuality, and friendship while struggling through his freshman year of high school Mar 31, · Download: Order Original Essay. How it works. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a film directed by the author of the book in which the film is based on, Stephen Chbosky, and produced by John Malkovich, Lianne Halfon, and Russell Smith. The movie is a coming-of-age tale of year-old Charlie who is just beginning high school
Adolescence in the Media - Perks of Being a Wallflower - Free Essay Example | blogger.com
Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Perks of Being a Wallflower — The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Review. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a modern classic, written by Stephen Chbosky, an American writer. The book was first published in and was later adapted into a film, which was released in It is a coming-of-age story, which touches on first love, loss, mental illness, and self-discovery. Plot The story is told from the perspective of year-old Charlie, in a series of letters, which he writes to an anonymous recipient, about his life as the perks of being a wallflower essay enters his freshman year of high school. It is not known as to whom exactly he writes to, nor is there a single reply that he gets back from the person. This makes the book more or else a collection of diary entries in which we get to know about the protagonist and his thoughts,views, and life.
He begins by relating a recent tragedy which occurred in his life; his best friend, Michael, had committed suicide the previous year. He describes the desolation he felt when he received the news, and the confusion he felt as to why Michael did not even leave a note. He then goes on to talk about his late aunt named Helen, the perks of being a wallflower essay, who died in a car crash when he was 7 years old. He the perks of being a wallflower essay trying to cope with these two deaths as he writes his first letter, and he then ends it off with the admission that the perks of being a wallflower essay is starting high school the following day and that he is afraid of going.
The three of them soon form a close-knit trio. The entire school year passes in a whirlwind of events. In terms of relationships and first loves, Charlie realises he has a crush on Sam, and tells her. She merely treats him fondly, saying he is too young for her. Charlie eventually gets together with Mary Elizabeth, a girl who is in their friendship circle. However, things do not work out, and they break up. As for Patrick, he is gay and in a secret relationship with closeted quarterback of the football team. This causes Brad to withdraw from Patrick and verbally abuse him. They break up after a physical fight which breaks out between them. Patrick is initially depressed, but eventually finds a way to move on. Sam gets together with a boy named Craig, but eventually finds out that he has been cheating on her the whole time.
She undergoes an abortion without the knowledge of her parents. While it may appear as though he has a distant relationship with his parents and siblings, he does, in fact, have an established bond with them which becomes increasingly clear as the story progresses. For instance, the perks of being a wallflower essay the on-the-surface cold relationship between Charlie and his sister, she trusts him enough to ask him to accompany her to the clinic for her abortion to be carried out. As for the aspect on mental illness, Charlie battles with his depression and anxiety throughout the book. He would often get flashbacks of the time he had with Aunt Helen, which would resurface every now and then.
The climax of the book, oddly enough, would have to be towards the end, to the point to which all these flashbacks have been leading to right from the start. It is the point at which the memories of him being molested by his Aunt Helen are triggered, and this fact comes as a harsh surprise, to not only the reader, but to himself as well. We come to realise that Charlie has repressed this series of memories- immediately filed them away to a not-easily-accessible part of his brain, after every occurence. He eventually gets admitted to the hospital for two months and undergoes therapy sessions to help him come to terms with his long-felt grief, along with recovery. He comes out of therapy with a much more positive outlook on life, without any desire to blame anyone for his mental disorders, and chooses to look forward.
In his last letter, we see that Charlie has finally managed to put things into clear perspective; his thoughts are no longer clouded by fear or anxiety. He finally feels liberated, for he has faced his demons head on, the perks of being a wallflower essay. As the narrator of the story, he is a silent onlooker, always a witness to everything and everyone around him, quietly observing, but never participating in things himself. As his teacher and confidant, Bill, puts it, he uses thought to not participate in life. He watches people and forms opinions and thoughts about them, but he himself never goes to dances, or on dates, to put himself in the situations of the people whom he surveys, the perks of being a wallflower essay.
He is always in the background, and is not often noticed by many. He has had a rough childhood, with certain traumatic experiences which have led him to have post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD and depression as well, which have inadvertently shaped him to be the person he is throughout the course of the story, which is mostly reserved and complaisant. He feels things deeply and in their entirety, which makes his accounts so captivating. For instance, about the girl he used to know in middle school and the way her looks and personality changed over the summer, he observes that she does not look as happy or lively as she used to be. He looks at her and feels sad because they were friends by association with Michael, his late best friend, the perks of being a wallflower essay, and he knows how smart and fun she is but is clearly living a lie by concealing the perks of being a wallflower essay intelligence and true nature.
Such a thing likely would not matter so much to someone else, but to Charlie, it does, because he feels things on behalf of others. He looks at people and sympathises and hopes they are happy although he knows deep down that many are not because that is just how high school is; the trials of adolescence spare no teenager. However, the perks of being a wallflower essay, the way Charlie perceives the relationships between people and events that he witnesses suggests that he senses a lot of unhappiness around him, and this makes the reader wonder what has made him this way. It comes to light soon enough that Charlie has beared witness to or experienced certain incidents in his past which has, in a way, the perks of being a wallflower essay, damaged him.
There was this time when he was about 12 years old, during a party which thrown by his elder brother at their house when his parents were away, he ended up witnessing an incident of rape. Charlie himself, caught in the same room as them, did not have the courage to speak up or protest. This, being a traumatic experience for him, would also serve as an example of his passivity. Nearing the end of the story, we eventually come to find out that Charlie the perks of being a wallflower essay been molested by his aunt Helen when he was younger and nobody knew. Meanwhile, Charlie had put the memory of it ever happening to the back of his head but it has, evidently, subconsciously affected him, which has led to the eternal conversations he holds in his head, his indescribable feelings of sadness, and the way he has to keep himself occupied at times when he feels like anxiety is about to hit.
It is his experiences which slowly push him to mature emotionally, and not rely on the coping mechanism he has cooked up for himself- to passively let things bypass him. He is loyal and a steady pillar of support for Charlie. However, he is unable to extend the same support to himself. He is unable to be kind to himself when it comes to needing to deal with issues himself. As a result, he goes down an unhealthy path of self-destructive behaviour when he breaks up with Brad, and tortures himself by making out he is alright, yet doing absurd things like kissing Charlie. He does not face his sadness head on, and instead does all in his power to evade it. When he eventually pulls himself together, that is when he grows emotionally as well, because he finally truly realises his worth.
She is described by Charlie to be somewhat perfect. This is not surprising, considering how he adores her, and eventually realises that he loves her as well. However, Sam has her fair share of trials and tribulations as well. When she was younger, she was abused, sexually, just like Charlie was. It is the reason why she kisses him at at one point because she wants his first kiss to be from a person who genuinely loves him. Despite this fact, she fails to see how they could be together in a relationship if Charlie is one who does not know how to openly demonstrate his love for her like she wants him to. Perhaps it is the moment during which she tells him this that serves as wake-up call for him to no longer sit back and let others take centre-stage, the perks of being a wallflower essay, but instead, grab at opportunities as they come by.
It is through Sam that Charlie slowly understands the concept of being able to give and receive love equally, and this helps him tremendously as he journeys toward self-growth. Setting The story is set in the early s, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the heart of suburbia. This was the time period in which the story was written, and the area in which the writer was born. Figurative language Metaphors A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action, to which it is not literally applicable.
He put it so simply, yet the three words hold much meaning within them. He meant that in that moment, anything seemed possible, he was not being held back by a thing, not his depression, not his past, not even his fears, the perks of being a wallflower essay. It was such an important moment when he said that because for the first time, there is truly hope that he will turn out to be fine in the end, despite all the trouble he faces. The metaphor of infinity is used, in both cases, to symbolise the vastness of what is out there, and how small Charlie, as a person, is in comparison to everything else.
It serves a reminder of hope for him as a character, because ultimately, he can do anything he wishes to if he sets his mind to it, including overriding the shortcomings in his nature and breaking free from his depressive state. As an avid reader and aspiring writer, Charlie gains some valuable advice from this metaphor, which he ought to apply to basically every book he reads, not to mention certain parts of his life as well. For instance, friends he makes. He ought to learn from the best parts of their characters, and not automatically emulate their every move, because every person has his flaws. You keep quiet about them. And you understand. PersonificationPersonification is the attribution of human traits or qualities to an inanimate object, or something which is not human in nature.
It is significant at this juncture, as he states it to describe the emotional turmoil which surfaces as he recalls the stressful events which had taken place prior. It effectively describes what occurs in his mind when he loses control of his thoughts. He is hit by various memories and feelings, which may not necessarily be in sequence, the perks of being a wallflower essay related to be considered as connecting events. This is similar to if one were to play hopscotch. The mind is likened to the person who would jump from one square to another, which are not side by side, and he may even have to skip a space. This sudden thought process causes him to pass out, and it signifies the gravity of his condition- that it is not to be regarded lightly and that it could cause potential harm to him.
Symbolism Symbolism is the use of symbolic imagery to convey a specific idea; a symbol is used to represent something more than just its original meaning. The most obvious form of symbolism in the book would be the fact that the entire story Charlie narrates is in the form of letters. This is crucial to understanding Charlie in depth. The letters serve as an outlet of expression for him. It is a means for him to figure out himself and translate his thought-spiral into words. He is the perks of being a wallflower essay simply telling a story in vain.
The letters are not hastily written pieces of scrap, but well-thought-out representations of his constant introspection; writing them is a way for him sort his thoughts out. The anonymity of him to the recipient of the letters allows him to be open about what he writes. This allows us to gain a first-hand view into his life, and as such, comprehend his character. Hyperbole Hyperboles are exaggerated statements or claims, which are not meant to be taken literally. He started writing the book when he was in college, and it ended up being a compilation of his personal memories from when he used to live in Pittsburgh, alternate versions of people he used to know, and his own struggles as he pulled himself through a breakup.
The character Sam was based on girls who opened their heart to him, and Patrick was based on every gay teenager he knew of who was grappling with his or her self-identity. World-view The story is one which allows us to relive our teenage years and relate to it on a personal level.
Perks - Deleted - The Poem
, time: 3:25Coming of Age in The Perks of Being a Wallflower: [Essay Example], words GradesFixer
Charlie – Charlie was the 15 year old protagonist and main character of the story. He’s a timid and introverted guy who’s had way too many bad things happen in his life. His best friend comitting suicide, his aunt getting hit by a car, and being the outcast of the school are only a fraction of the things he’s been through This essay has been submitted by a student. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age fiction novel, written by Stephen Chbosky. It follows the life of protagonist Charlie Kelmeckis, starting his freshman year. Charlie has to learn to navigate high school, after dealing with the suicide of his friend, crippling loneliness, trauma and Mar 31, · Download: Order Original Essay. How it works. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a film directed by the author of the book in which the film is based on, Stephen Chbosky, and produced by John Malkovich, Lianne Halfon, and Russell Smith. The movie is a coming-of-age tale of year-old Charlie who is just beginning high school
No comments:
Post a Comment