The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbovsky

Kaya Brading 

Ms. Nelson 

English 8A

25/9/2013

The Perks of Being a Wallflower 

Stephen Chbosky

Fiction 

50/213

Summary 

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" follows the everyday life of Charlie a quiet 15 year old boy. The story is told through his diary in which he writes everything that happened over a specific day. Charlie has just started his first year of high school, he is quite timid and wouldn't come across as the typical teenage boy. He doesn't have any friends until he meets Patrick and his step sister Sam from the senior year. Patrick and Sam are quite the opposite from Charlie, they're outgoing and pretty popular. Charlie also has an older sister who is also in high school and an older brother who is in college. His older sister is thought of as pretty by many of the guys in her school and doesn't always act kindly towards Charlie. She says that he is awkward. Even though Sam and Patrick are a bit older than Charlie they still get along well. Charlie doesn't participate in everything they do, like smoking but has started being more social and going to party's with them and football games at the school. Charlie is always mentioning how Sam is the prettiest girl he has ever seen and wants to go on a date with her but she has already has a boyfriend and only likes Charlie as a friend. He is jealous but also is happy for her and doesn't mind. Charlie does very well in school and has straight A's, he is always doing more than the other students in his class especially in English. His English teacher always assigns him extra books to read, since he enjoys reading very much. Near the end of the part of this book that I read Charlie ends up going to a party with Patrick and Sam. During the party one of Patrick's old friends, Bob, says "He's something, isn't he?" (Chbosky, pg. 37). Patrick replies with "He's a wallflower" (Chbosky, pg. 37). As you read Charlie's diary he says that he would never forget what was said about him that night, Patrick had told him that it was because he saw things, kept quiet about them, and understood them. This meant a lot to him. On the way back from the party Patrick and Sam drove under the tunnel they always go under. The thing that was special about that specific tunnel was that they had a sort of "ritual" they would do every time they went under the tunnel. Sam would make Patrick pull over and she would climb to the back of the car. Then Patrick would start driving through the tunnel and Sam would spread her arms out and let out a happy scream as the song "Landslide" played. 

Passage: "And in that moment, I swear we were infinite." (Chbvosky, pg. 39)

I chose this passage from the book because I thought that it was a great explanation for how Charlie felt in that moment. I think he means that in that moment he felt free and like he could do anything and everything that he wanted. He felt no stress, pain, only good feelings and that he didn't want that moment to end. He states this as he is going through the tunnel with Sam and Patrick. This passage also shows character development with Charlie. This is because at the beginning of the book he is very lonely and preferred his own company, but now that he made new friends (Patrick and Sam) he feels "infinite" and free and most importantly he was happy.