Molly Pals University Seminar 11/27/10 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Bibliography- Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 1999. Main Characters: Charlie- Genius, something from his past is affecting his life but he cannot remember what it is, reads a lot of books that are given to him by his English teacher Sam- Charlie’s crush, Brings Charlie in as a friend but also introduces him to the party scene Patrick- Sam’s stepbrother, gay, has a secret relationship with the star QB of the school Older Sister- Typical high school teenager, thinks she is in love, hit by her boyfriend, gets pregnant but has an abortion Big Brother- In College, football player, comes home twice during the school year Aunt Helen- Sexually abused Charlie when he was a young boy, died a few years before the book’s current setting Teacher- Gives Charlie extra books and assignments because he is smarter than everyone else Anonymous friend- receiver of Charlie’s thought provoking letters Summary: Unlike the other books I have read so far for this class, this has a lot of small issues that would take pages to write about. The other books just had a couple of large issues that were easy to talk about.
At school, Charlie finds a friend and mentor in his English teacher, Bill. He also overcomes his shyness and approaches a classmate, Patrick along with his step-sister Sam, at a football game. They become two of Charlie's best friends, they were both outcast. During the course of the school year, Charlie has his first date and his first kiss, he deals with bullies, he experiments with drugs and drinking, and he makes friends, loses them, and gains them back. He creates his own soundtrack through a series of mix tapes full of iconic songs, reads a huge stack of classic books that his English teacher give him because he see that Charlie can go very far in his future.
Jessica's son is named Ryan and he has also been suffering from Colic which adds to her stress. Jessica has been in a strained relationship with her mother who is also a single parent. Jessica moved out on her own after repeated episodes of fussing between her and her mother whose name is Evelyn. Jessica smokes and drinks socially at parties. One evening she attended a party and meet a guy named Casey.
Later that evening, when Marcus and Lucia go back home to Los Angeles to finally reveal to their parents their upcoming plans Bradford finds out that the man who towed his vehicle turns out to be the father of Lucia and that they are soon to become in-laws. Miguel Ramirez and Bradford immediately start arguing and start again with the racial insults the moment they see each other. When Marcus goes to Lucia’s family’s house for brunch, he meets Lucia’s grandmother for the first time the family purposely does not tell her grandmother about Marcus’ ethnicity. When Lucia’s grandmother sees Marcus’ face she lets out a shriek and fall flat on her back in astonishment. Mister
While they were dancing with their dates, I was at home watching television. It’s not that I had trouble finding a date of my own but just the thought of getting dressed up and dancing in a dress didn’t interest me. One day, three weeks before prom, my friends were all talking about going dress shopping. Hearing all them talk about it made me decide I wanted to go. I already had a date in mind and finding a dress would be no problem.
Completely stunned by the first words coming out of this new, intimidating teacher, I was excited for an English class for the first time. Growing up I absolutely dreaded reading and writing. Literature as a whole was the bane of my existence. However, this teacher changed it all for me. Mr. Alessandri had us read Silence of the Lambs, Dune, and numerous short stories.
Leo starts to gain a crush on her and refuses requests of his best friend, Kevin, to put her on their show 'Hot Seat'. 'Hot Seat' is a show where students are put on the spot, and a jury of students asks them questions
The Notebook is about an elderly man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home who's memory is quickly slipping away from her. The story he reads everyday focuses on two young lovers named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun who meet one evening at a carnival and instantly fall in love. The two come from completely different worlds but fall in love and spend such a wonderful intimate summer together. However, the worst occurs as Allie's parents disapproved of Noah so much they picked up from where they were and moved far away. From being separated from the love of her life so soon, all Allie was left with was hope that Noah would soon write to her everyday until they were back together again.
During the year over which the letters span, this friend becomes the unwitting outlet for Charlie’s coming-of-age. Always a bit of an introvert, a “wallflower”, Charlie decides that this year will be different – and so it is, as he finally makes some connections with the likes of high school seniors; Sam and Patrick. He even finds friendship with his English teacher, Bill, who encourages him to participate in life. Charlie is silent but observant; shy but determined to please; introverted but filled with love and compassion. As well as dealing with the subject matter of a typical coming-of-age novel; Fitting in, puberty, first love etc.
Well, to be accurate, they catch one another’s eyes. That same day they end up befriending one another because their friend Isaac introduces them to each other and then leaves him and her alone. She then ends up going to his house that day and meets his parents. Soon enough, she and Augustus are flirtatious friends and talk to each other about everything. Hazel shares her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction, with Augustus, and together they obsess about the unsolved ending.