Charlie is a freshman, and while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie cant stand on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
A real coming of age story, charting the highs and lows of growing pains - teenage growing pains to be exact. Ive heard this phrase many times, in fact I read Billie Piper's autobiography in which she said that all the experiences bad and good were all just growing pains. I think that as you grow you look back and you realise that certain things had to happen just to bring you to where you are now, at this very moment who you are and what you are is all down to the growing pains you have experienced.
Charlie is an easily relateable character, if you were like him in high/secondary school. High school in particulary has a funny way of establishing who you are without you even realising it, these cliques that you find yourself in; look back, or if you're still there think for a second. Are you popular? Inbetween? Or a wallflower? Spending your life on the sidelines.
I think its easy for us to recall how it was, if you were a popular kid you wouldnt have been seen with a geek, that was just a cardinal sin - it didnt look right, when in fact maybe if you had you would find what you'd been looking for. You have the inbetweeners, the ones who arent cool but arent geeks either and are just perfectly happy to try and fit in with the popular crowd but they know they'll never be able to reach that peak. And then the kids noone notices, the wallflowers, the ones who do well at school because they have to..the observe but never intervene.
Through a series of letters Charlie tells us, the reader, about his life. His school experiences, he wants someone to talk to. It doesnt seem like he's ever really dealt with things properly in his life, his family dramas, his sister's abuse from her boyfriend, the fact that he blames himself for the death of his beloved Aunt Helen - the only person who ever believed in him; as a sixteen year old he's battling with all these things, as well trying desperately to find a friend.
Its clear that Charlie isnt close to his sister, but there is one moment, one which I think I will always hold as one of my favourites. Their relationship is fractured, but its not beyond repair, she turns to him when she has noone else - she cant talk to her parents, but she needs her little brother, her little brother who really does love her and just wants her happy.
"Because, I really do love you, Charlie."
"I love you, too."
"I mean it."
"So do I." - page 130
I think this is an important turning point for them, we all fight with our siblings but I also think we would fight for them because at the end of the day, blood is thicker than water.
Charlie manages to find himself friends, Sam and Patrick; theyre in their senior year and are both leaving for college in the summer but Charlie finds real, true friends in them. People who actually care and who want him around. They went on the perfect drive, the time for just the three of them.
"Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called 'Landslide'. When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really fun scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing.
And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.
Charlie watches his friends lives unravel too, he watches them change and either make or break them. Patrick is gay and he's been hiding it for so long, he dates the guy on the football team in secret and is sure he loves him but then things change, people change and as hard as it is, Charlie has to just help Patrick get through it..because that's what friends do.
He watches Sam date Craig, a guy who is older, and who she's in love with; Charlie doesnt like him, but he accepts that theyre together because he just wants her to be happy. And no matter how he feels, he cant do anything about her because having her in his life as a friend is better than not having her at all.
He dates someone who he doesnt really like because he cant have the girl he wants, I think every teenager does this at some point; perhaps as a remedy, an attempt to get over them, but 9 times out of 10, it doesnt tend to work.
What I did love about his friendships was a poignant moment, one where he realised what love was,
"All I cared about was the fact that Sam got really hurt and I guess I realised at that moment that I really did love her. Because there was nothing to gain, and it didnt matter." (page 193)
He knew that her happiness was worth more than being with her, and he watched her get hurt and more than anything just wanted her to be okay, I guess in the grand scheme of things that's all we want for the people we love.
"We accept the love we think we deserve." (page 37)
I think this line, above the rest is going to stay with me forever.
Its a fantastic novel, and Id recommend it to anyone. Chobsky manages to narrate teenage trials and tribulations without alienating the audience; he shows us the things we wouldnt notice, not if we'd never been a wallflower.. and Charlie is such an interesting character. There's no soppy 'happily ever after' ending because Charlie still has the rest of school to get through, and without his friends he wonders how he can do it. I think he does, we may never get the answer, but I think that because he learnt so much in one year then he could easily finish school and go to college.I feel rather attached to Charlie now, and I think Im going to miss him.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming of age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant rollar - coaster days known as growing up.
No comments:
Post a Comment