Friday, August 10, 2012

Module 10: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie writes letters to someone he feels that he can be honest with, though the reader never knows who the recipient of the letters is, nor Charlie's real name since he uses different names for everyone in his letters. The letters begin as Charlie, after learning his friend Michael committed suicide, ponders the complexities of his current teenage life and his internal feelings. Charlie begins high school very lonely, but soon makes friends who Sam, a girl whom Charlie likes, and Patrick, two seniors who happen to be step-siblings. The two encourage Charlie to be himself and to not feel self-conscious and awkward all the time. Another way that Charlie grows is through a school teacher that gives him plenty of books to read that Charlie reflects on throughout the novel. Charlie's letters show random occurences in high school including dating his first girlfriend (who he wishes was Sam, but is not), experimenting with drugs, losing the trust and friendship of Sam and Patrick, as well as later falling into a weird panic/depression after having sex with Sam. As a result, he goes to a mental hospital where he realizes that his favorite person in the world, Aunt Helen, molested him. Charlie learns a lot from his first year of high school and believes the next year will be better for him.

Impact on me
I really enjoyed hearing the tales of Charlie's accounts of high school because he is so intelligent and emotional. As a freshman high school teacher, however, I did not quite view Charlie as a realistic, public school, run-of-the-mill freshman. I could barely see him as a freshman in college. Though, it is obvious that Charlie is more gifted than those of his age based on the books he reads in the novel and his observations and analysis of them. I sort of understand why this book was banned. Obviously, the book refers to drugs, sex, homosexuality, suicide, and has vulgar language, but many young adult novels do these days. Also, these are topics that are discussed in high school and also seen in most teenage television shows. I enjoyed the book, but I did not find it absolutely unique to other books with similar themes and similar narrators. I believe most teenagers would agree with Charlie's quote on the very first page of the novel: "I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I am still trying to figure out how that could be."

Reviews
Charlie begins high school and is welcomed into a close circle of friends who see him through his first kiss, his first cigarette, and his first relationship.
Squicciarini, S. A., & Person, S. (2008). The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Voice Of Youth Advocates, 31(2), 107.

Charlie develops from an observant wallflower into his own man of action, and, with the help of a therapist, he begins to face the sexual abuse he had experienced as a child. This report on his life will engage teen readers for years to come.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Goldsmith, F. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower (Book Review) (Undetermined). School Library Journal, 45(6), 126.

Teen books may not be able to compete with the visuals of The Matrix, but they do provide a few hours of what teens may need most: time to think. And there's nothing bleak about that.
Spitz, D. (1999). The perks of being a wallflower (Book Review) (Undetermined). Time, 154(3), 79.

In the Library
This is a book that I absolutely would want to have a book discussion about. I want to know how student readers view the issues in the novel, how they relate it to their own life and school, what they have had to deal with in their life and how they cope with it all. I believe this book creates a unique opportunity to discuss their feelings so that they do not feel alone and do not commit suicide like Michael does at the beginning of the novel and like so many other teenagers. Another idea is to create a book mosaic for this book. I have written of this idea from The First Part Last, but I will repeat the idea and instructions. Book Masiacs are big posters that have any number of squares on them, could be 8, could be 20. These squares contain diverse snapshots from The Perks of Being a Wallflower: imagined images, a thought-provoking quote, the book's theme, a character sketch, anything the creator wants to add! The end result will create a type of art work that will garner positive attention and rightfully shows the various scenes in the book. The Perks of Being a Wallflower seems to draw an artsy crowd-I would love to see what magnificent Book Mosaics are created using this book!

Chbosky, S. (1999). The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York:Pocket Books.

No comments:

Post a Comment