Perks of Being a Wallflower

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Literary Analysis the perks of being a wallflower By Stephen Chbosky People are as much of a part of you as you are to them. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky begins as the protagonist Charlie, starting his first year of high school, deals with the suicide of his single close friend named Michael and the lingering feeling of guilt over the death of his aunt Helen. Charlie is a wallflower who, with the help of his English teacher and two friends Patrick and Sam, comes to terms with life and learns to interact. In the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Chbosky uses a student with the pseudonym 'Charlie' to represent how friendship can help someone to communicate and provide a lens through which one can experience life. Charlie finds himself battling dark moments of depression, and he might not have found his way out without his friends. “Sam and Patrick looked at me. And I looked at them. And I think they knew. Not anything specific really. They just knew. And I think that's all you can ever ask from a friend.” (p. 66) On the other hand, you could argue that Charlie wouldn't have found himself there in the first place without that same help from his friends. If he remained isolated and alone, he wouldn't have had all those fights, break-ups, and other depression-inducing incidents. “I don't know how much longer I can keep going without a friend. I used to be able to do it very easily, but that was before I knew what having a friend was like.” (p. 144) Charlie uses thought to not participate in life. Instead of being an active participant in life, Charlie creates a protective wall of timidity and despair, which prevents him from interacting with peers. “I look at people holding hands in the hallways, and I try to think about how it all works. At the school dances, I sit in the background, and I tap my toe, and I wonder how many
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