The Perks Of A Wallflower Response Essay

The Perks of a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a captivating novel that follows the transformation of a boy referred to as Charlie throughout his freshman year of high school. During the course of the book Charlie, his sister, and friends fall in and out of relationships. Each one of them is seeking the love and attention of another person, even without directly expressing their emotions. Love is a recurring theme in this book, even though it is shown in different ways.

Charlie’s sister didn’t appreciate Charlie in the beginning of the book, 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.” 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 shortage of trust between them. Then when his sister got pregnant the only person she could completely confide in was Charlie. Charlie had drove 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” and they expressed their love for each other. This was significant because it showed 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 relationship with Patrick. Brad made it perceptible to everyone that he had a girlfriend and avoided Patrick in the hallways. Patrick was quite fascinated with Brad, “And Bob started to make fun of him having a crush on the quarterback. And Patrick smiled more. I don’t think I ever saw Patrick smile so much.” Later in the story however Brad’s father caught them together and forced Brad to terminate the relationship brutally. Brad felt pressure to shun Patrick, so he singled out Patrick by calling him a “faggot” during lunch. “God, he was mad. I’d never seen Patrick like that before” describes the intense emotion Patrick experienced as a result of Brad’s betrayal due to them being caught. 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. ” This quote was important because it describes 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, but 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.” 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 Mary Elizabeth and he would engage in, and knew that their relationship wasn’t genuine. 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.” Charlie’s innocence and unintentional harm is portrayed by this quote. Charlie never recognized nor returned the love Mary Elizabeth wanted from him.

People are built on the connections and will to love and be loved. All of the character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower strive to find and show this love each in their own unique way. The relationship the character longed for was not what it seemed, and the love they gave was never returned because

no one was truly able to be loved by the person whose attention they searched for.