The Perks of being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a compelling novel following the transformation of a boy, referred to as Charlie, throughout his freshman year in high school. During the course of the book Charlie, his sister, and his friends fall in and out of relationships. Each of them is seeking the love and attention of another person, whether they directly express their emotions or not. Love is a reoccurring theme in the book, yet it is never constant in any character’s life.
Charlie’s sister claims to be in love with her boyfriend, but she later ends the relationship when he could not support her after a pregnancy scare. Once, her boyfriend smacked her during a fit of rage, and Charlie witnessed his actions. Eventually, Charlie’s parents discovered the truth and penalized their daughter from any interaction with the boy she was infatuated with. As she was being reprimanded, she cried out, “But I love him! (25)” Despite her parents’ wishes, she dated her boyfriend in secret. She accidentally became pregnant, and her boyfriend terminated the relationship. Consequently, she went to the clinic with Charlie to resolve the situation and regain her carefree lifestyle. “…She told her boyfriend that the pregnancy was a false alarm, and he wanted to get back together, and she said no, (130)” depicts the transformation Charlie’s sister went through when she realized that there was no mutual love in their relationship. The news about the baby scared off her boyfriend, so one could come to the conclusion that he never loved her enough to make their relationship serious and take responsibility for his actions. The initial feeling of love was lost when her boyfriend could not support her, thus the boyfriend never cared about her with the same depth that she cared about him.
Charlie’s sister didn’t appreciate Charlie, but came to love him and trust him as she did when she was younger. During the time Charlie’s sister was involved in an abusive relationship, Charlie unwittingly informed his parents of the situation. After a discussion with her parents, Charlie’s sister scowled, “‘I hate you.’ She said it different than she said it to my dad. She meant it with me. She really did. (26)” All Charlie could do was respond that he loved her in attempt to apologize. There was clearly a disconnect between Charlie and his sister due to the scarcity of trust between them. Then, when his sister got pregnant, the only person she could completely confide in was Charlie. Charlie had taken her to the clinic to have her baby aborted, and Charlie thought about all the fond memories they had and how much he cared for his sister. After the day ended, “She thanked me for the whole day. She said that I didn’t let her down, (121)” and they expressed their love for each other. This scene is significant because it shows the transition Charlie and his sister had, turning hatred into love and remembering the good memories they made when they were younger. Despite the fact that they had grown apart and expressed annoyance toward each other, by deciding to trust one another they converted hate into love.
Charlie’s friend, Patrick, seeks the love of Brad, a school football star, but the connection they once had was easily destroyed. Brad was not comfortable coming out and worked hard to conceal his connection with Patrick; for example, Brad made it apparent to everyone that he had a girlfriend and avoided Patrick in the hallway. Patrick was quite infatuated with Brad, “And Bob started to make fun of him having a crush on the quarter back. And Patrick smiled more. I don’t think I ever saw Patrick smile so much. (37)” Later in the story, Brad’s father caught them having sex and brutally forced Brad terminate the relationship. After Patrick and Brad were caught together, Brad felt pressure to shun Patrick and thus singled out Patrick by calling him a “faggot” during lunch. “God, he was mad. I’d never seen Patrick like that before, (150)” describes the intense emotions Patrick experiences as a result of Brad’s betrayal. Additionally, Patrick began going to the park to “pick people up” and saw Brad there with someone else, “ On the way, he threw the bottle of wine out the window. And it landed with a crash. And this time he didn’t try to kiss me like he had every night. He just thanked me for being his friend. (163)” This quote is significant because it depicts Patrick’s devastation at the thought of lost love. Brad moved on extremely quickly, clearly depicting the fact that he considered his reputation more important than his relationship. Although Patrick previously accepted Brad’s unwillingness to admit the truth, it was painful for Patrick to see the future he dreamed of with Brad become the impossible.
Mary Elizabeth has strong feelings for Charlie; yet, Charlie is blind sighted by his love for Sam to treat Mary Elizabeth with the attention she desired. “I think Mary Elizabeth is a really smart and pretty person, and I’m glad that she is my first date ever. But after I said yes, and Mary Elizabeth announced it to the group, I wanted Sam to be jealous. (112)” We are able to observe that Charlie is involved in this relationship for all the wrong reasons, and cares more about its effect on him rather than him and Mary Elizabeth collectively. Charlie never was absorbed in the conversations Elizabeth and he would engage in, and knew that their relationship was only satisfactory at face value. When the time came and Charlie was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, Charlie kissed Sam instead of Mary Elizabeth. With that simple, powerful action Charlie temporarily spoiled his and Sam’s relationships with Mary Elizabeth. Later, Sam explained to Charlie, “Because I guess Mary Elizabeth really liked me a lot. That made me feel sad because I didn’t know that she liked me that much. (153)” Charlie’s innocence and unintentional harm is portrayed by this quote. Overall, Charlie never recognized nor reciprocated the love Mary Elizabeth wanted from him.
All of human life is built on connections and the will to love and be loved in return. All of the characters in The Perks Of Being a Wallflower strive to find this love, yet the relationship they long for is not what it seems. The love that the characters hoped would last forever ended in just a matter of time due to the deception of the people receiving their attention. The love they gave was never reciprocated, leaving no one to be truly loved by the person whose attention they were searching for.
Charlie’s sister claims to be in love with her boyfriend, but she later ends the relationship when he could not support her after a pregnancy scare. Once, her boyfriend smacked her during a fit of rage, and Charlie witnessed his actions. Eventually, Charlie’s parents discovered the truth and penalized their daughter from any interaction with the boy she was infatuated with. As she was being reprimanded, she cried out, “But I love him! (25)” Despite her parents’ wishes, she dated her boyfriend in secret. She accidentally became pregnant, and her boyfriend terminated the relationship. Consequently, she went to the clinic with Charlie to resolve the situation and regain her carefree lifestyle. “…She told her boyfriend that the pregnancy was a false alarm, and he wanted to get back together, and she said no, (130)” depicts the transformation Charlie’s sister went through when she realized that there was no mutual love in their relationship. The news about the baby scared off her boyfriend, so one could come to the conclusion that he never loved her enough to make their relationship serious and take responsibility for his actions. The initial feeling of love was lost when her boyfriend could not support her, thus the boyfriend never cared about her with the same depth that she cared about him.
Charlie’s sister didn’t appreciate Charlie, but came to love him and trust him as she did when she was younger. During the time Charlie’s sister was involved in an abusive relationship, Charlie unwittingly informed his parents of the situation. After a discussion with her parents, Charlie’s sister scowled, “‘I hate you.’ She said it different than she said it to my dad. She meant it with me. She really did. (26)” All Charlie could do was respond that he loved her in attempt to apologize. There was clearly a disconnect between Charlie and his sister due to the scarcity of trust between them. Then, when his sister got pregnant, the only person she could completely confide in was Charlie. Charlie had taken her to the clinic to have her baby aborted, and Charlie thought about all the fond memories they had and how much he cared for his sister. After the day ended, “She thanked me for the whole day. She said that I didn’t let her down, (121)” and they expressed their love for each other. This scene is significant because it shows the transition Charlie and his sister had, turning hatred into love and remembering the good memories they made when they were younger. Despite the fact that they had grown apart and expressed annoyance toward each other, by deciding to trust one another they converted hate into love.
Charlie’s friend, Patrick, seeks the love of Brad, a school football star, but the connection they once had was easily destroyed. Brad was not comfortable coming out and worked hard to conceal his connection with Patrick; for example, Brad made it apparent to everyone that he had a girlfriend and avoided Patrick in the hallway. Patrick was quite infatuated with Brad, “And Bob started to make fun of him having a crush on the quarter back. And Patrick smiled more. I don’t think I ever saw Patrick smile so much. (37)” Later in the story, Brad’s father caught them having sex and brutally forced Brad terminate the relationship. After Patrick and Brad were caught together, Brad felt pressure to shun Patrick and thus singled out Patrick by calling him a “faggot” during lunch. “God, he was mad. I’d never seen Patrick like that before, (150)” describes the intense emotions Patrick experiences as a result of Brad’s betrayal. Additionally, Patrick began going to the park to “pick people up” and saw Brad there with someone else, “ On the way, he threw the bottle of wine out the window. And it landed with a crash. And this time he didn’t try to kiss me like he had every night. He just thanked me for being his friend. (163)” This quote is significant because it depicts Patrick’s devastation at the thought of lost love. Brad moved on extremely quickly, clearly depicting the fact that he considered his reputation more important than his relationship. Although Patrick previously accepted Brad’s unwillingness to admit the truth, it was painful for Patrick to see the future he dreamed of with Brad become the impossible.
Mary Elizabeth has strong feelings for Charlie; yet, Charlie is blind sighted by his love for Sam to treat Mary Elizabeth with the attention she desired. “I think Mary Elizabeth is a really smart and pretty person, and I’m glad that she is my first date ever. But after I said yes, and Mary Elizabeth announced it to the group, I wanted Sam to be jealous. (112)” We are able to observe that Charlie is involved in this relationship for all the wrong reasons, and cares more about its effect on him rather than him and Mary Elizabeth collectively. Charlie never was absorbed in the conversations Elizabeth and he would engage in, and knew that their relationship was only satisfactory at face value. When the time came and Charlie was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, Charlie kissed Sam instead of Mary Elizabeth. With that simple, powerful action Charlie temporarily spoiled his and Sam’s relationships with Mary Elizabeth. Later, Sam explained to Charlie, “Because I guess Mary Elizabeth really liked me a lot. That made me feel sad because I didn’t know that she liked me that much. (153)” Charlie’s innocence and unintentional harm is portrayed by this quote. Overall, Charlie never recognized nor reciprocated the love Mary Elizabeth wanted from him.
All of human life is built on connections and the will to love and be loved in return. All of the characters in The Perks Of Being a Wallflower strive to find this love, yet the relationship they long for is not what it seems. The love that the characters hoped would last forever ended in just a matter of time due to the deception of the people receiving their attention. The love they gave was never reciprocated, leaving no one to be truly loved by the person whose attention they were searching for.