User:Jessica wynne12/sandbox

Plot summary
Freshman Charlie, the narrator, begins high school closely after his friend, Michael’s, suicide. Due to his death, Charlie enters high school feeling lonely and anxious. He cannot go to his family for help due to his Aunt Helen dying early in his life, so Charlie seeks relief in writing letters to an anonymous recipient, retelling events and his feelings he is experiencing. His English teacher, Bill, helps him through the rough times by assigning Charlie many books to read and write reports on. Bill goes on to tell Charlie that he needs to “participate” more in social activities. As a result of this advice, Charlie befriends two seniors, Patrick and Sam.

Patrick and Sam introduce many new experiences to Charlie, such as parties, drugs, and relationships. Charlie soon develops romantic feelings for Sam. Due to their age difference, Sam rejects Charlie as a romantic partner but still wants to be friends. Charlie gets introduced to the Rocky Horror Picture Show and starts to perform with a group of upperclassmen continuing with Bill’s advice to participate. At one of the parties, Charlie is introduced to the drug LSD. After taking the drug, Charlie is found by the police, passed out at the post office after experiencing visions.

Following the party, Charlie starts to date one of the upperclassman from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Mary Elizabeth. She takes Charlie to one of the dances and on a few dates. Mary Elizabeth is very opinionated and likes to voice her perspectives to Charlie. He doesn’t mind at first, but he progressively gets annoyed with their conversations. During a group game, Charlie is dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. As a result of his romantic feelings for Sam, he kisses her, not acknowledging Sam’s current relationship with a local college student, Craig, or his fling with Mary Elizabeth. Patrick tells Charlie that it would be best to stay away from all the drama for some time.

Soon after these events, Patrick is seen in school trying to talk to Brad, his romantic partner. Brad replies with calling Patrick a "faggot," leading to a fight between Brad, his followers, and Patrick. Charlie jumps in as soon as he sees that Patrick is being outnumbered. Following the fight, Charlie and Patrick start to spend a lot of time together; Patrick is trying to get over Brad, while Charlie just wants to be a good friend. Patrick makes an attempt to get over Brad through unexpected kisses to Charlie, leaving Charlie confused as to what he should do. Sam helps Charlie get through his confusion about his relationships with Patrick and her, ultimately leading to Charlie and Sam almost having sex.

After the characters start to leave the storyline due to college responsibilities, Charlie falls into a dark place after having a mental breakdown. His parents send him to a mental hospital where Charlie soon realizes that Aunt Helen had molested him as a young child. When he is released, Patrick and Sam stop to take him to the tunnel that allows Charlie to feel “infinite” while standing in the back of a pick-up truck. Charlie’s closing letter reveals his optimism for the future.

Major themes
Critics have identified some main themes to be teenage reality and nostalgia for adults. David Edelstein said that Chbosky captures the "feeling [that] you belong when among friends, yet you'd soon be alone" and "the pain of loss. . .[is] almost as intense as the bliss." He believes "it's nostalgia with an emphasis on nostos, pain." Another critic, Marty Beckerman, said the reason why Perks conntects with kids is because it's real, the situations that occur are "so universal and happen to so many teenagers."

Another main point Chbosky wanted to express was respect for teens. In an interview with Home Media Magazine, he said he wanted to "validate[d] and respect[d] and celebrate[d] what they're (young people) are going through every day." Chbosky said that the novel is for "anyone who's felt like an outcast."

Style
Perks is written as a series of letters from Charlie to an anonymous character. In an interview, Chbosky said that the progession of the story through letters "feels intimate" and is "like [Charlie] is talking to you."

Background
Charlie is loosely based on Chbosky. In an interview, Chbosky said that "Charlie was [his] hope in the form of a character." Furthermore, he describes Charlie as the "closest [character] to [his] heart" in a separate interview.

For the other characters, Chbosky said he took "pieces of real people in [his] life." From that, he focused on people's struggles and things they are most passionate about and attempted to "hone in the essence of each." For example, Sam was inspired by someone that Chbosky has an equal passion to that of Charlie's for her; Patrick was inspired by a friend of his from college; Stuart Stern inspired Charlie's English teacher, Bill. The only completely fictional character was Mary Elizabeth, and Chbosky commented that he "thought about that person had that much force of nature and Mary Elizabeth was my response." He wanted the group he created to have "comfort in each other."

Chbosky said that the novel was written fairly quickly, given that he had two letters finished in a day, half of the novel in a month, and two drafts completed within a year of starting the project.

Reception
Perks of Being a Wallflower has been challenged due to its content. Interviewer, Marty Beckerman said the novel has been challenged "for its depictions of adolescent sexuality and drug use." In one instance, a Wisconsin school board declined the action to ban the book, angering the city's parents. In an interview, Chbosky stated that he knew of two specific school boards that have already banned the book, "Massachusetts and Long Island." Furthermore, Chbosky "didn't write it to be controversial book"  and is "surprised"   that it has been banned.

Reviewers have said that Perks seems similar to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Chbosky stated that he "was not trying to mimic his style as a writer." He sees "how readers could compare Charlie to Salinger's Holden Caulfield," but he thinks "they are very different people with unique problems and perspectives." Some of Chbosky's overall influences are J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tennessee Wiliams, and Stewart Stern.

The idea of Perks came from when Chbosky was experiencing a rough time. He was going through a "bad breakup" that led him to need an answer to the question "why do such good people let themsleves get treated so badly" and Charlie was his ultimate answer. Throughout an interview, Chbosky said his idea for the book started in school and and grew from another book he was working on. The novel helped him to understand all the thoughts and feelings he has on the world and people, since he "see[s] life the way Charlie does."

Perks has a large audience ranging form five to seven million readers.

Adaptations
Perks was made into a movie in 2012, directed by Chbosky, featuring  Logan Lerman as Charile, Emma Watson as Sam,  and Ezra Miller as Patrick. The film made numerous 2012 critics' top ten lists, some include Time magazine and Entertainment Weekly.