The word “Friend” in the Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

1. The word “Friend” in the Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

2. The Definition of “Friend” • “Friend”: (noun) One joined to another in mutual benevolence and intimacy

3. About the STory • Charlie is a freshman in high school that is undergoing a lot of emotional problems. He blames himself for the death of his Aunt Helen. He is an observer, a dreamer, and has problems making friends. • Sam is a high school senior whom Charlie meets at a school football game with her step-brother. Charlie’s crush and best friend • Patrick is Sam’s step brother and is introduced as “Nothing” which is his nickname. He’s a senior as well and is gay and dating the school team’s quarterback, Brad. That’s why he’s always at football games throughout the book. He also becomes one of Charlie’s closest friends. • Friend is the ambiguous name of the person Charlie writes letters to. He believes that this individual is morally good and trustable therefore, he writes his deepest and darkest secrets in the form of letters to this person.

4. Plot • Charlie starts his first year of high school and is not able to make friends until he interacts with Sam and Patrick. • Charlie gets close to Sam and Patrick and soon is hanging out with them as well as all their friends. He’s the only freshman out of a group of seniors. • He develops a crush on Sam but dates Mary Elizabeth, a friend of Sam’s because she likes Charlie and he’s never had anyone like him before. But when they’re playing spin the bottle one day, he was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, so he kisses Sam, which didn’t end well. • Charlie and Mary Elizabeth break up because Charlie still likes Sam. The year goes on as usual. Then at the end of the year, when Charlie is helping Sam pack for college, he confesses his feelings for her and she gets angry that he didn’t talk to her before about it. They get intimate but Charlie get’s scared and they stop. • He then has flashbacks of how Aunt Helen would touch him that way. • It’s discovered that Aunt Helen molested Charlie, but he loved her way too much to hate her for it. He gets help by being admitted to a mental hospital.

5. Thesis • As a result, the word “friend” ultimately suggests that Charlie isn’t a freak, but rather an ordinary teen that just needs a should to lean on.

6. Quote 1 • In every letter, he writes, “Dear Friend” and then proceeds to spill his deepest and most personal feelings in the form of words onto the page.

7. Quote 2 • Charlie writes quite hopefully, “It would be very nice to have a friend again. I would like that even more than a date” (21).

8. Conclusion • Charlie wasn’t a freak, he was just a victim to trauma early in his life which resulted in him not socializing well with others. • As a result, he develops the desire to have a close friend whom he could trust and share his feelings with (Sam). • He gets help for himself at the hospital and is working hard towards a good recovery.

9. Question • Perhaps this story wouldn’t be able to end as happily as it did without Charlie’s ability to break out of his shell and make friends?