The Perks of Being a Wallflower Essay Example

‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ is told in a series of letters that were addressed from the main character, Charlie, to an anonymous reader as an outlet for his fears. Charlie is a freshman in high school and is just starting to learn to accept and identify who he really is. After loosing his best friend to suicide, Charlie is left to experience high school on his own. Throughout this novel, Charlie begins to develop and mature as his character is faced with a handful of unfamiliar situations. Charlie, the main character, does not give much of a visual on the physical appearance of himself or many of the characters in the story. The reader is left to assume and imagine him on their own terms. From the start of the novel it seems that Charlie has a unique way of thinking and acting, and you may find yourself trying to work out what’s ‘wrong’ with him. His older sister is a preppy senior, who gets a lot of attention because of her looks. His older brother is a football star who plays football at Penn State. But Charlie, however, is just Charlie. He doesn't get much attention at school, and he isn't that popular. Despite the fact that he comes from a fairly normal family, he still feels displaced when everything outside is normal, which is a factor that draws the reader to him. Charlie begins his freshman year friendless, as a result to his friends’ suicide only a year before. He's reluctant and unsure of himself and enters the school year with an abundance of struggles and insecurities. Charlie’s thoughtful and emotional approach to his friends and environment grants him a far cry from your usual adolescent teenage boy. Following his meeting with Sam and Patrick, two seniors who become his best friends, try hard to teach Charlie that life should be lived and not watched. Charlie begins to experience more of life, but was always more of the shy understanding type, a ‘wallflower’, “It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life." he has