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Outline five importance of young adult literature
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Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The complexities of growing up can be overwhelming, but one must overcome the realities of the wild and poignant roller coaster of youth in order to live a sensible and productive life. The Perks of Being a Wallflower 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. Prone to depression, introverted, and on the fringe of trouble in many aspects of life, Charlie is a wallflower who, with the help of his English teacher and two friends Sam and Patrick, comes to terms with life and learns to interact.
It is difficult to come out of one’s shell and accept the reality that one has recently lost two very important people. As an entering freshman, Charlie lives a remarkably passive existence primarily due to the loss of his favorite aunt and best friend Michael. This can be seen as Charlie expresses his thoughts and feelings toward people that revolve around him:
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 couples will dance to “their song.” In the hallways, I see the girls wearing the guys’ jackets, and I think about the idea of property. And I wonder if anyone is really happy. I hope they are. I really hope they are. (23).
As the quote indicates, Charlie “uses thought to not participate in life.” Instead of being an active participant in life, ...
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...ing the love we think we deserve. After everything Sam and Bill say, Charlie figures that he should just do what he wants to do. He starts kissing Sam where they lay down on the floor and later attacks the ocean bed. He officially becomes a “participant”.
In order for our lives to be content and effective, we must learn to open up and interact with others so that we can discover who we are and who we are to become. Today, there are many teens who have low self-esteem due to their appearance or timidity. They do not realize that there are chances of being accepted by others and judged by their inner body instead of the outward appearance once they start participating. Though Charlie had the same feeling as these teens at the beginning of his freshmen year, his active participation in life leads him to feeling infinite and grateful without any sensation of terror.
Charlie’s character transition is an evidence of the saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes. See what I see, hear what I hear, feel what I feel, then maybe you’ll understand why I do what I do. Until then don’t judge me.” His journey with Kanalaaq showed him how important it is for people not to judge other for superficial
He doesn’t lack of encourage anymore, he has overcome his fear and despair. “I have to go. I have to disobey every impulse and leave her for Jasper Jones, for Jack Lionel, for this horrible mess.” We see a different Charlie from his determination. From escape to face up, he shows us more responsible. From helpless to assertive, he comes to realize what he really wants. He knows the dark side of human nature and this unfair and cold world. His innocent, his perfect world has been destroyed by those horrible things; because of these, he knows the part of real world, he knows how the ‘dark’ actually changes this world, his friends, his family, included
Character- The main character Charlie is developed in many ways throughout the story. His whole demeanor changed from page one. He actually started smoking in the middle of the book. “When I light it, I didn’t cough. It actually felt soothing. I know that’s bad in a health class kind of way, but it was true.”-pg 102 His personality was different after that. He always tried to be friendly to anyone he met but if you weren’t nice to his friends he didn’t really respect them after that. His dialogue is very similar throughout the whole book. He is very friendly when he talks and tries to be polite. Charlie is trying to make friends and keep them. He succeeds with some coaching from his english teacher who Charlie calls Bill. Bill gave him books to read and graded Charlie’s reports. “He says that I have a great skill at reading and understanding language.”- pg 9-10. A’s showed on Charlie’s report card but Bill gave Charlie different grades. The books Bill gave Charlie changed his mind about a lot of things. Bill developed Charlie through the whole book.
We can all sympathize with Charlie on the surface, we have all made mistakes that we have to live with. Charlie is attempting to move forward with his life and erase the mistakes of his past. The ghosts of his past torment him repeatedly throughout the story, his child's guardians despise him and his old friends do not understand him.
He does not want to live anymore like before and is afraid of losing his daughter forever. In response to Honoria's words that she wants to live with him, "His heart began to beat, he dreamed that it would happen the same." Charlie would be very happy to live with his daughter, Honoria. This means that his daughter for him is one of the most important things in his life. He told his sister that he had changed, "I work, the hell, I lead an exemplary lifestyle with everything." He is ready to end his old way of life for his daughter. He does not attend parties as before and does not meet old friends who love to drink. His words once again prove the seriousness of Charlie's intentions to change his life for the
For Charlie, Ignorance is bliss. He realizes that his so called ? friends? were just using him to entertain their perverse humor. Also, he was also fired from the job that he loved so much because his new intelligence made those around him feel inferior and scared.
The movie, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, released in 2012, is based on the book written by Stephen Chbosky, which was originally published in 1999. The book is all about the main character, Charlie, as he deals with his first year in high school, after the tragic death of his Aunt Helen. The movie opens with Charlie writing in a journal, which is a part of his therapy for the mental illness he suffers from on account of his Aunt 's death. The past year or so before this, Charlie had been suffering from memories and flashbacks of the way his Aunt died in a car accident. He is hopeful that high school will bring new things for him, but after the first day, is disappointed after the bullying and neglect he finds from other students. Things
Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of a courageous group of high school seniors who adopt a scared freshman with mental health issues into their punk-based style of fashion and adventure. This motley crew of individuals are an accurate representation of the different social groups that make up the average high school halls and now they have included a loner outcast because he understood them and accepted them for who they were. This is an example any school student can understand because, while someone may be different, this does not mean that they are strange or bizarre. They do not need to be ignored by their peers. Perks of Being a Wallflower has been on a plethora of schools “What-To-Read” list for students because of the straight-forward but explosive dialogue that any student would be able to understand.
Although Charlie also suffers from suicidal thoughts, he also displays positive coping methods, like expressing himself in letters to his anonymous new friend. Furthermore, Charlie also acquires defense mechanisms like repression, as previously mentioned, and is expressed in his refusal to consciously remember the threatening or conflicting situation of being raped by his aunt. Another defense mechanism that we see Charlie expressing in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) is rationalization. Rationalization occurs when individuals being to make up excuses for unacceptable behavior, such as being raped. In various scenes of the movie we hear Charlie rationalizing his aunt’s behavior and her death, since she was, as he claims, his “favorite aunt” (Chbosky, 2012). It is clear that Charlie still cares for his aunt and even takes on some of the blame for her by saying things like “my Aunt Helen would still be alive today if she just bought me one present like everyone else”, or saying “she would be if I were born on a day that it didn’t snow”, in reference to his aunt’s death (Chbosky,
... mistakes. Charlie is not ready, to change himself, since he repeats his past misdeeds. It seems like he will never be able to change or be happy about what he has or had in his past. There is no money in the world, which can help him. The story "babylon revisited" has anticlimax end, and Charlie left empty handed. In life any person, who tries change has to put a lot of efforts and time, to do it. If a person wishes to change himself, the first step he has to take is to remember his past mistakes and stay away from them. A past of a person will be always a part of him. He can never escape or ignore it, but he can learn from it and change himself. Every person has to learn how to use his/her unpleasant experience of the past as an advantage, to stay away from his past misdeeds, to build a bright future.
The role of identity plays an important role in all adolescence which can help shape their future. In psychology, identity is the conception, qualities, beliefs, and expressions that make a person or group. The movie, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, illustrates how teens struggle with identity. Charlie is an anti-social freshman who is befriended by a group of high school seniors, who introduces him to the world of drugs, love, sexulatity, friendship, and lies. His friends play a huge role in his development. Throughout the movie, Charlie was able to build upon his character and develop friendships that gave him a new perspective that life needs, to live life rather than watching it.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age film that chronicles the life of a boy named Charlie. Charlie is 15 years old and has just begun his first year of high school. He will give a detailed account of the joys and pains of his freshman year in high school. He begins by writing letters to an unknown stranger, but then, you realize that stranger is you. Through these Charlie tells his story from his perspective. He will experience many highs and lows related to the adolescence phase. The highlights of the paper will focus on the biological/physical, psychological, social, spiritual, cultural issues, as well as his strengths and challenges.
“It would be very nice to have a friend again. I would like that even more than a date,” (21) Charlie remarks when he feels lonely. In the novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky, the author uses the theme of friendship to help Charlie overcome obstacles. The novel is about a friendless boy named Charlie who struggles with some demons from his past. Charlie finds a group of friends, sort of misfits like himself, who take him under their wings and introduce him to experiences that are common in teens, including parties, drugs, and sex. His new group of friends gives Charlie something precious that he has never had before, a sense of belonging. After Michael 's death, Charlie is eagerly craving any sort of social interaction.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower was brought to screen in 2012 by author and director Stephen Chbosky. The movie is about a 15 year old adolescent named Charlie who is beginning high school with a little more baggage than the normal freshman. The viewer quickly discovers that Charlie’s best friend, Michael, committed suicide during May of their 8th grade school year and the viewer later learns that Charlie’s aunt Helen molested him as a child. Charlie begins school determined to make some new friends and is befriended by step siblings Patrick and Sam during the first week of school. The movie spans for Charlie’s entire freshman year and shows the struggles he has with relationships, bullying, risky behaviors, as well remnants from his past trauma. He has a lot in common with Sam and falls in love with her, but accidentally ends up in a relationship with another one of the members of their clique, Mary Elizabeth. His relationship with her ends poorly and he is exiled from the clique for a few weeks. Upon the school year ending, Charlie is faced with the harsh reality that his group of friends, including his love Sam, are all seniors and are all going on to college. Charlie has a mental breakdown, but is able to reconcile many of his past struggles with the help of a doctor and the support from his parents and siblings. The movie ends with Sam and Patrick coming
Because of the parties he attends with his new friends he has tried using some drugs. These new friends help Charlie see things with a positive perspective, and to be confident in himself. When his friends move away, Charlie experience isolation and has a mental crisis that leads him to be internalized in a clinic.