What 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' Means to Me

Teens and adults alike are addicted to the social phenomenon that is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. These days, we all want to be infinite. Of course, the movie has brought the book into the spotlight, and reviews are all over the place. As a proponent of the written word, I have made it my personal goal to ALWAYS read the book before seeing the movie adaptation. Because I spent a full Thursday doing nothing but reading the entire book, I’d like to share my personal attachment to the novel.

As the various back covers of the book claim, Chbosky’s story of 15-year-old Charlie is pleasantly reminiscent of Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, but it is much more than a mere modernization. Those close to me know how dear Catcher is to my heart, so the parallels I found between the novels had me instantly addicted. If you’re like me and you find yourself eternally attached, or perhaps even in love with, the lost or misunderstood characters of fictional literature, Charlie evokes the same effect as Holden Caulfield does. Both remain, despite the hints of mental illness, somehow much more reasonable than the misguided or detached people around them. Seeing the world through their eyes allows us to believe in them, even when the others around them think they’re, to put it plainly, crazy.

I don’t want to give you the idea that Charlie is a carbon-copy of Holden because he’s certainly not. Here’s where the “wallflower” bit comes in — Charlie stands back and watches the world around him, trying to learn by observation without commitment. Holden would rather be the one to jump into the middle of something without thinking, but then denounce it as ‘phony’ as soon as he finds something he doesn’t like. The point I’m trying to make with this comparison is that across decades, the coming-of-age novel has proven that growing up is hard for everyone. Giving up your childhood and trying to make sense of a more mature world is difficult, and it appears that there’s no “best” way to go about it.

For Charlie, ‘participating’ in things that make him feel alive proves to be the best way to cope with the harsh reality that regardless of how many people support him, growing up is really something everyone has to go through alone. He depends on the moments that will become the fond memories he thrives on, like standing in the truck in the middle of the tunnel, letting the dysfunctional world rush by as he takes in this little glimpse of happiness.