Stephen Chbosky's The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

“It’s amazing how one person can change your life without your knowledge. Love is an amazing feeling” (Mustafa). In Stephen Chbosky’s novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, freshman Charlie is taken under the wing of step-siblings Sam and Patrick. His new friends teach him the ins and outs of high school throughout their dramatic senior year, and Charlie falls in love with Sam even though she is clear that they will never be together. She becomes Charlie’s best friend and biggest influence, changing his life without him realizing it. Her very essence allows Charlie to grow outside of the comfort zone he created for himself. Sam is round and static because she is a compound character with emotions and motives that does not change throughout
Charlie’s sister states that “Sam has low self-esteem” and that “she used to have a reputation” at the school because of her relations with so many boys (Chbosky 49). Contrarily, Charlie sees her in a different way, “I love Sam. It’s not a movie kind of love either. I just look at her sometimes, and I think she is the prettiest and nicest person in the world” (Chbosky 47). These two contrasting views about Sam shows that she is a round character because the difference in views represents the different layers to Sam’s individuality. If two characters can have completely opposing views of the same person, then that person must have multiple motives or emotions, making them a round character. To demonstrate this, I created a playlist of songs that represent Sam to further prove that Sam is a round character by revealing her complex thoughts and motivations. One song on my playlist is Sia’s “Chandelier” which took the world by storm with its catchy melody. However, few people know what the song is truly about. Sia sings, “sun is up, I’m a mess. Gotta get out now, gotta run from this. Here comes the shame” (Sia). According to one source, Sia suffered from drug and alcohol abuse, and her song is
By comparing Sam’s thoughts and motives from the beginning of the novel to the end, it is seen that Sam never changed, making her a static character. Toward the beginning of the novel, during a Secret Santa party, Sam says to Charlie, “I want to make sure the first person who kisses you loves you” (Chbosky 70). Sam obviously has a love for Charlie, even if it is simply platonic. She demonstrates this by the way she both talks to and acts towards him in this scene; she hopes to be able to protect Charlie from the harsh world she had grown up in. This same love is seen at the end of the novel when Sam makes a deal with Charlie, “When things get to be too much at college, I’ll call you, and when things get to be too much here, you call me” (Chbosky 149). Sam’s love has not changed for Charlie at all throughout the novel; she clearly still loves him and wants to protect him. Her words are always full of truth, love, and unwavering support. Sam is a static character because her emotions and motives never fluctuate throughout the course of her dramatic senior year. One song that connects to this static friendship is “Graduation.” The band, Vitamin C, sings, “come whatever, we will still be friends forever” (Vitamin C). I imagine this song being played during the graduation scene in The Perks of Being a Wallflower; I think it accurately displays