Stephen Chbosky is an American novelist, screenwriter, and director. He is most known for his novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and directing the film for the same story.
Summary
Plot Summary:
Fifteen-year old Charlie is about to start his first year of high school His best friend, Michael, committed suicide several months before the novel started. Trying to cope his anxiety for starting high school alone and feeling that nobody can understand him, Charlie starts to write letters to no one, sort of like a diary. He mourns on the death of his Aunt Helen, who was the only family member he really ever had a connection with. At school, Charlie becomes friends with two seniors, Sam and her gay brother Patrick. Patrick introduces Charlie to new experiences with upperclassmen like parties and hangouts. Charlie writes about all of these experiences. Charlie's teacher, Bill, plays a vital role in Charlie's life. He gives Charlie extra book reports and extra essays to write to improve his writing skills. This shows later on in the book as the letters get better. Despite Charlie's feelings for Sam, he dates a girl named Mary Elizabeth, another girl in their friend group. She takes him to the Sadie Hawkins dance at the school and on a couple dates. Charlie doesn't enjoy being in a relationship with Mary Elizabeth much and at a get together he is dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. Not thinking much about it, he kisses Sam and that ends his relationship with Mary Elizabeth. Patrick then tells Charlie that he should take a break from them for awhile until their relationship drama slows down. Sam soon starts a relationship with an attractive older guy named Craig. Charlie writes about how he takes pictures of them and that the only reason the picture is good is because same is in them. Later, Craig and Sam break up because Craig had been cheating on her throughout their relationship. Later on in the novel, Charlie writes about how Patrick is dating the high school football quarterback Brad, who is secretly gay. Patrick and Brad would secretly see each other on weekends. One day, Brad's Dad caught them having sex together and started beating Brad up in front of Patrick. A week later at school, Brad calls Patrick a faggot at lunch and Patrick swings at him which escalates into a huge fight then Charlie comes in and ends the fight by seriously injuring two of Brad's friends. His friendship with his friends reconnect after this incident. His letters close with hope and determination.
Fifteen-year old Charlie is about to start his first year of high school His best friend, Michael, committed suicide several months before the novel started. Trying to cope his anxiety for starting high school alone and feeling that nobody can understand him, Charlie starts to write letters to no one, sort of like a diary. He mourns on the death of his Aunt Helen, who was the only family member he really ever had a connection with. At school, Charlie becomes friends with two seniors, Sam and her gay brother Patrick. Patrick introduces Charlie to new experiences with upperclassmen like parties and hangouts. Charlie writes about all of these experiences. Charlie's teacher, Bill, plays a vital role in Charlie's life. He gives Charlie extra book reports and extra essays to write to improve his writing skills. This shows later on in the book as the letters get better. Despite Charlie's feelings for Sam, he dates a girl named Mary Elizabeth, another girl in their friend group. She takes him to the Sadie Hawkins dance at the school and on a couple dates. Charlie doesn't enjoy being in a relationship with Mary Elizabeth much and at a get together he is dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. Not thinking much about it, he kisses Sam and that ends his relationship with Mary Elizabeth. Patrick then tells Charlie that he should take a break from them for awhile until their relationship drama slows down. Sam soon starts a relationship with an attractive older guy named Craig. Charlie writes about how he takes pictures of them and that the only reason the picture is good is because same is in them. Later, Craig and Sam break up because Craig had been cheating on her throughout their relationship. Later on in the novel, Charlie writes about how Patrick is dating the high school football quarterback Brad, who is secretly gay. Patrick and Brad would secretly see each other on weekends. One day, Brad's Dad caught them having sex together and started beating Brad up in front of Patrick. A week later at school, Brad calls Patrick a faggot at lunch and Patrick swings at him which escalates into a huge fight then Charlie comes in and ends the fight by seriously injuring two of Brad's friends. His friendship with his friends reconnect after this incident. His letters close with hope and determination.
The "Tunnel" Song
In the movie, Heroes by David Bowie plays as Patrick Sam and Charlie are driving together. Charlie and Sam call it the tunnel song because Sam climbs to the back of the truck and stands up while the car is still moving. When Sam does this I think it is a resemblance of confidence and happiness, which Charlie never really seemed to have. At the end of the movie, Sam and Patrick come back to visit Charlie and Sam has a mixtape for him with the "Tunnel" song on it. They all take a long drive and the song Heroes comes on. As it plays, Charlie is the one who climbs out the back of the car and stands up. This represents that he is finally happy and confident with himself and all he needed was Sam's help.
"We accept the love we think we deserve"
"We accept the love we think we deserve" is a very famous quote from this novel. Some people may think that they are worthless and will only settle for abusive love. Others may be rich or famous and they may only settle for someone who will treat them like a King or Queen. This quote means that if you have a sense of self worth, you will attract people who will respect you, and if you do not then you will attract someone who disrespects you. In the story, this quite mainly goes towards Sam. She had a terrible childhood and didn't know how to respect herself until she met Charlie who shows her that he loves her for who she is.
Theme
I think the theme of this book is "Living a teenage life". Throughout the book Charlie goes through many teenage experiences and makes many memories. He figures out who he is throughout the novel. When he starts high school is when his teenage years begin. And that goes for anyone. Charlie was introduced to many new friends and things. High school basically changes Charlie, which is typical for many teenagers. Living the teenage life has many crazy moments, which Charlie experienced. He went to parties and had a girlfriend, Mary Elizabeth. Also teenagers go through many hard times, like Charlie does. His friend committed suicide and he has to make it through that.
Movie vs. Book
There are some major differences between the written story and the story directed into a movie. The first difference I noticed was when I read the book, i felt like Charlie was specifically talking to me so I felt more of his emotions. By reading it, the story felt more intimate and secretive; like he was sharing his innermost thoughts. While watching the movie, It was simply narrated, so it didn't feel as intimate to me. The biggest and most shocking difference between the two was when Charlie revealed that his Aunt Helen sexually abused Charlie before she died in the movie. Reading the book, I felt as if Aunt Helen was Charlie's hero and confidante. His depression issues were over her death but in the movie it was because she sexually abused him. In my point of view, it changed Aunt Helen from a Hero to a Villain which really disappointed me. I thin that the movie did this just for shock value.
