The perks of being a wallflower
Submitted By: OMAYA,MARIA LIZA D.
Submitted to ;Ma am Carmely Monteverde
Introduction
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer
Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books. Set in the
early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and observant child, through his freshman
year of high school in a Pittsburgh suburb.
Summary
Charlie, the fifteen-year-old narrator of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, has just entered
his freshman year of high school when the book begins. Charlie is the eponymous “wallflower.”
He is quiet and withdrawn, but he is also extremely observant and thoughtful, always paying
close attention to everything going on around him, even if he is only a silent witness. Charlie
writes the entire book as a series of letters to an anonymous “friend.” The reader never learns
who this “friend” is, and the “friend” never writes back. Each letter begins with the greeting
“Dear friend” and ends “Love always, Charlie.” Because the recipient of the letters never writes
back, the novel reads like a series of diary entries.
Analysis:
Charlie is "wallflower" of the perks of being a wallflower. He is the narrator of this novel,
and the book is entirely told through Charlie's perspective. The reader only knows exactly as
much as are charlie knows about any given situation. When charlie's repressed memories of his
childhood molestation are revealed at the end of the novel the reader is just as surprise as
charlie. In retrospect,Chbosky leaves several hints throughout the book that indicate something
is not quite right in the relationship between aunt Helen and Charlie the perks of being a
wallflower is a coming-of-age novel and charlie matures emotionally.
Conclusion
Charlie forgives the memory of his Aunt Helen, and the novel ends with Charlie writing that
he is planning to stop writing letters and to start participating fully in his life.