The Perks of Being a Wallflower By Stephen Chbosky Leaving Certificate English Revision Notes irevise.com 2017 1 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Leaving Certificate Revision Notes English
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Table of Contents Context... 5 Summary... 7 Characters... 9 Charlie... 9 Patrick... 9 Sam... 10 Craig... 10 Bill Anderson... 10 Mary Elizabeth... 10 Brad... 11 Bob... 11 Charlie s brother... 11 Charlie s sister... 11 Charlie s mom... 11 Charlie s dad... 11 Aunt Helen... 11 Charlie s grandfather... 11 Michael Dobson... 11 Susan... 11 Peter... 12 Themes, Motifs, and Symbols... 13 Themes... 13 The Perks of Being Inclusive... 13 The Importance of Participating in Life... 13 Motifs... 14 Driving... 14 The Rocky Horror Picture Show... 14 Symbols... 15 Smoking, Drinking, and Drugs... 15 Mix Tapes... 15 Important Quotations Explained... 17 1.... 17 2.... 17 3.... 18 3 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Leaving Certificate Revision Notes English
4.... 18 5.... 19 Sample Answers... 20 Discuss the form of the book. Why does Charlie address his letters to an unnamed friend?... 20 Analyze the scene in which Charlie s sister gets an abortion. How does Charlie react to this event?... 21 Discuss the significance of mix tapes in the novel.... 22 Short Sample Answers... 23 What does Bill mean by "We accept the love we think we deserve," and how does Charlie apply this quotation to his own life?... 23 Who is the friend to whom Charlie is writing, and what is the overall effect of the phrase Dear friend, as used in Charlie's letters?... 23 How is Charlie a wallflower, and how does this idea relate to the title of the novel?... 23 What is the role of sexuality in the novel, and what forms does sexuality take for the characters?... 23 How does Charlie develop through the novel and become more comfortable with his identity?... 23 What is the significance of Charlie's decision not to provide the names of his family members?... 24 In light of the specifics of Charlie's life, how can readers relate to his high school experiences?24 What is the role of secrecy in Charlie's life?... 24 How does Charlie's writing style change depending on his mental state?... 24 4 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Leaving Certificate Revision Notes English
Context Stephen Chbosky was born on January 25, 1970 in Pittsburgh, PA, and grew up in Upper St. Clair, a suburb of Pittsburgh that is much like the setting of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Chbosky studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California, and in 1995, he wrote, directed, and starred in the independent film The Four Corners of Nothing. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Chbosky s first novel, was published in 1999 by Pocket Books, an imprint of MTV. Critical response to the novel was mixed, as many reviewers criticized the book as a pale imitation of The Catcher in the Rye. However, readers loved it. The book became the publisher s biggest hit. By 2000, over 100,000 copies were already in print. Teenagers and adults alike embraced the novel, and it quickly inspired a cult following. In 2012, Chbosky wrote and directed a film version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which starred Logan Lerman as Charlie, Ezra Miller as Patrick, and Emma Watson, most famous for her portrayal of Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, as Sam. Initially, the film was given an R rating, but Chbosky and the producers thought that saddling the film with an R rating would alienate its core audience of teenagers, and the Motion Picture Association of America agreed to drop the rating to PG-13. The film was a commercial and critical success. The novel s fans flocked to the movie, but the movie version also introduced a new wave of readers to the novel. In 2012, The Perks of Being a Wallflower hit the New York Times bestseller list for Children s Paperback Books, and it stayed on the list for over two years. Part of what draws both teenagers and adults to The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the way it draws on many iconic cultural figures. Many twentieth and twenty-first century comingof-age novels and films are set in middle-class American suburbia, where characters complex backstories and rebellious natures are revealed in contrast with the banal backdrop. Many critics of the novel and the film adaptation have observed that The Perks of Being a Wallflower appeals not only to teenagers but also to adults who connect to the characters nostalgically. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a modern-day cult novel that contains many references to other cult classics in popular culture. Growing up, Chbosky was greatly influenced by The Catcher in the Rye, the book that has a major impact on Charlie as well. Indeed, Charlie himself is in many ways a modern-day Holden Caulfield, since he is a smart but troubled kid who is trying to come to terms with the trauma of having loved ones suddenly die. When Chbosky was a senior in high school, he wrote an anonymous letter to Stewart Stern, the screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause. Stern soon found Chbosky and became a mentor figure to him. Rebel Without a Cause, like The Catcher in the Rye, also features an iconic, rebellious, young hero. Charlie s friends in The Perks of Being a Wallflower love The Rocky Horror Picture Show, one of the most legendary cult films of all time. Chbosky has said in interviews that the image of a kid standing in a car while driving through a tunnel was what first prompted him to write The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The novel does indeed contain this image, as well as many other vivid and lyric passages, but the book also deals with much more serious subject topics, such as homosexuality, drug use, abortion, suicide, and sexual abuse. Because of its controversial content, the book has appeared six times on the American Library Association s list of ten most frequently challenged books. Many schools have taken the book off their shelves throughout the years. In 2014, for example, a school district in Glen Ellyn, IL, voted to remove The Perks of Being a 5 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Leaving Certificate Revision Notes English
Wallflower from its classrooms because of the mature content. Despite the controversy, or perhaps because of it, The Perks of Being a Wallflower continues to survive in many more classrooms, libraries, and homes. 6 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Leaving Certificate Revision Notes English
Summary Charlie, the fifteen-year-old narrator of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, has just entered his freshman year of high school when the book begins. Charlie is the eponymous wallflower. He is quiet and withdrawn, but he is also extremely observant and thoughtful, always paying close attention to everything going on around him, even if he is only a silent witness. Charlie writes the entire book as a series of letters to an anonymous friend. The reader never learns who this friend is, and the friend never writes back. Each letter begins with the greeting Dear friend and ends Love always, Charlie. Because the recipient of the letters never writes back, the novel reads like a series of diary entries. When the novel opens, Charlie is grappling with two major traumatic deaths of loved ones in his past. The most recent death occurred last spring, when his only friend from middle school committed suicide. When Charlie was seven, his beloved Aunt Helen was killed in a car crash on Christmas Eve, which is also Charlie s birthday. Although Charlie is nervous about entering high school, he soon finds acceptance from two main sources. First, his English teacher, Bill Anderson, recognizes Charlie s talent for literature, and he takes him under his wing, assigning him extra books to read and essays to write over the course of the year. Also, Charlie begins to participate more in events, and he becomes friends with Patrick and his stepsister, Sam, who integrate him into their friend group. Charlie develops an enormous crush on Sam, which he tells her about, but Sam treats him affectionately. Patrick, who is gay, is having a closeted relationship with Brad, the quarterback of the football team. Sam kisses Charlie so that his first kiss can be from someone who loves him. As the school year progresses, Charlie begins to come out of his shell somewhat, but Charlie s life, his family life, and his friends lives become more and more complicated. The holidays are always a difficult time for Charlie s family, because they bring up memories of Aunt Helen s death. This year is no exception. Even though Charlie finds some solace in reading and re-reading The Catcher in the Rye, he still struggles to cope with his depression and with flashbacks of his time with Aunt Helen. However, Charlie s acceptance by his friend group helps him become more at peace with himself. As Charlie becomes more mature, his relationship with his sister also deepens. Charlie s sister has an abusive boyfriend. Charlie tells Bill about the boyfriend, and Bill reports it to their parents, which makes his sister mad at Charlie. But when Charlie s sister becomes pregnant, she decides to have an abortion, she trusts Charlie to drive her to the clinic. After Charlie performs as Rocky in one of his friend group s regular viewings of the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Mary Elizabeth, a smart, pretty senior in their friend group, starts dating Charlie. However, Mary Elizabeth is far more interested in Mary Elizabeth than in having a relationship. During a game of Truth or Dare, Charlie is dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, and he kisses Sam. Mary Elizabeth stalks out of the room in a rage. In solidarity, the rest of the group sides with Mary Elizabeth, and Patrick advises Charlie to stay away from everyone for a while until tempers cool down. Brad s abusive father discovers Patrick and Brad s relationship, and Brad is sent to rehab. When Brad returns, he refuses to speak to Patrick. Patrick confronts Brad in the cafeteria, Brad makes a derogatory comment about Patrick s homosexuality, and Brad s football teammates beat up Patrick. Charlie jumps in and, in a whirlwind, breaks up the fight. His 7 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Leaving Certificate Revision Notes English