In the novel Charlie confronted a fair amount of conflicts. For example, Charlie had to deal with the internal conflict that his Aunt died well going to get him a birthday present, that his best friend died because he had no one to talk to, and Charlie tried to always be there, Charlie loved Sam and wanted to be with her more than anything, and but didnt want to express his feelings to do what she told him to. Charlie also dealt with conflict between other people, like when he beat up the kid in the cafeteria, when Charlie and his girlfriend Mary Elizabeth broke up and he upset all of their friends, When Charlie helped Patrick fight kids at school, and when Charlie and his sister got in a fight after Charlie told his parents about her boyfriend hitting her.
All of the conflicts were resovled by the end of the novel, Charlie learned the truth about his aunt Helen, Charlie got his chance with Sam, and fixed all the relationships that had been damaged because of conflicts. The ending of the novel was Charlie waking up in the hospital after being with Sam the night before. Charlie is not well and has gone into the place that he talked about thoughout the novel....where he doesnt understand why he is thinking or doing what he is doing; he feels unreal and like he is in a dream. I didnt expect anything different for Charlie; and to me this ending was realistic and believable. Charlie is a individual with many problems that he has not dealt with, and these problems have taken a tole on his mental health.
In the end, I really did like my book. It was real, and you could feel like you were talking directly with Charlie. It is relatable, because Charlie deals with conflicts that many teenagers may deal with concerning trying to find them selves in the confusing times known as growing up
Monday, June 7, 2010
Blog #3
Charlie deals with the conflicts in his life in an interesting way. Charlie does not deal with the problem; Charlie accepts it and does what he is told.
In the novel Charlie is in love with his best friend Sam. Charlie tells Sam that he has had intimate dreams about her, and often thinks about the love that they would share if they were a couple. Sam tells Charlie that they would never be a couple and will always be good friends, so he should not waste his dreams or his thoughts on "thinking of her that way". Charlie promises himself and Sam that he will try his best to not think of her that way. On many occassions thoughout the novel, Charlie does not do certain things, or act the way that he wants to, to keep this promise to Sam. In the last section in the novel, after Sam and her boyfriend have broken up, Sam asks Charlie why he never asked her out. Charlie told Sam that he never asked her out because she told him many months ago not to think of her that way and he has accepted that they would never be anything more than friends. Charlie never dealt with the fact that he liked Sam more than a friend, and he never acted like he wanted to, because she told him not to. Charlie only does what he is told, he doesn't solve anything for himself.
Charlie is a follower, and does not do what he wants.... just what he is told to do. Would doing this be hard for you? Would you be able to put your emotions and feelings on hold, just to do what someone told you?
In the novel Charlie is in love with his best friend Sam. Charlie tells Sam that he has had intimate dreams about her, and often thinks about the love that they would share if they were a couple. Sam tells Charlie that they would never be a couple and will always be good friends, so he should not waste his dreams or his thoughts on "thinking of her that way". Charlie promises himself and Sam that he will try his best to not think of her that way. On many occassions thoughout the novel, Charlie does not do certain things, or act the way that he wants to, to keep this promise to Sam. In the last section in the novel, after Sam and her boyfriend have broken up, Sam asks Charlie why he never asked her out. Charlie told Sam that he never asked her out because she told him many months ago not to think of her that way and he has accepted that they would never be anything more than friends. Charlie never dealt with the fact that he liked Sam more than a friend, and he never acted like he wanted to, because she told him not to. Charlie only does what he is told, he doesn't solve anything for himself.
Charlie is a follower, and does not do what he wants.... just what he is told to do. Would doing this be hard for you? Would you be able to put your emotions and feelings on hold, just to do what someone told you?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Blog #2 "Charlie"
The main character in the novel is a teenage boy named Charlie. Charlie is fifteen years old and is entering highschool without any friends, and many emotional problems that haunt him. Charlie had a tough past, and I don't think that he understands how to deal with all the emotions that he is feeling. Charlie's best friend in middle school, killed himself ; this left Charlie feeling guilty for not being able to save his friend from himself. Charlie encountered death again when he was much younger his favourite aunt, the only person in the world that he felt truly loved him, died on her way to pick him up a bithday present. Charlie tends to cry a lot.... it doesn't matter if he is happy, sad, angery, depressed or excited....Charlie ends up crying. There has been countless times that he has had to leave school early because he couldn't stop crying.
Charlie is quiet and keeps to himself.... he watches from the sidelines. He watches people, he keeps quiet about what he sees and tries to understand. This is how he got his title as a wallflower. Charlie wants to break out of this, and he wants to "participate". By "participate" I mean going to the school dances and actually dancing, and going out with friends and going to parties and talking to people. When Charlie starts to "participate" and talk to his new friends, secrets about what he has seen as a wallflower start to come out. Charlie has seen his sister having sex, someone being raped at a party and his new friend Patrick and the football Quarter Back having sex.
Charlie just wants to be loved, and more importantly feel loved. He tries to find this closeness with his family, and his friends. Charlie is begining to find a closeness with his sister and his new best friends Patrick and Sam. The weakness that Charlie has is that, he will do anything to fit in and feel that he belongs. Charlie begins to smoke, drink and do drugs, so that he can do the same things his new friends do. Charlie does not think that there is a problem with doing these things to try and fit in.
If you were in Charlie's position, would you do the things that your friends did just to fit in and feel like you belonged? Do you think that it is wrong that Charlie thinks that what he is doing to fit in is okay?
Charlie is quiet and keeps to himself.... he watches from the sidelines. He watches people, he keeps quiet about what he sees and tries to understand. This is how he got his title as a wallflower. Charlie wants to break out of this, and he wants to "participate". By "participate" I mean going to the school dances and actually dancing, and going out with friends and going to parties and talking to people. When Charlie starts to "participate" and talk to his new friends, secrets about what he has seen as a wallflower start to come out. Charlie has seen his sister having sex, someone being raped at a party and his new friend Patrick and the football Quarter Back having sex.
Charlie just wants to be loved, and more importantly feel loved. He tries to find this closeness with his family, and his friends. Charlie is begining to find a closeness with his sister and his new best friends Patrick and Sam. The weakness that Charlie has is that, he will do anything to fit in and feel that he belongs. Charlie begins to smoke, drink and do drugs, so that he can do the same things his new friends do. Charlie does not think that there is a problem with doing these things to try and fit in.
If you were in Charlie's position, would you do the things that your friends did just to fit in and feel like you belonged? Do you think that it is wrong that Charlie thinks that what he is doing to fit in is okay?
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Blog #1 "Infinite"
The Perks of being a Wallflower is about a confused boy named Charlie. The novel is written in a way so it appears that Charlie is writing letters to the reader. These letters reveal a teenage boy who is entering highschool. A confused teenage boy that is going to encounter a new world of first dates, family troubles, drugs, new friends, sex and The Rocky Horror Picture show. However, Charlie's letters also tell a story about a difficult childhood, where he encountered the deaths of important people in his life and how he was left with an overwhelming guilt that still haunts him. Charlie feels alone, and just wants to feel loved. Charlie needs a good friend that will listen and help him find peace in his confusing world.
It is easy to get wrapped up in this book because the letters are sometimes devistating and scary, while other times they are hilarious and funny. Charlie is a complex and unique individual, and his letters are so intimate that the reader gets to know Charlie very well. The novel is about the roller coaster of growing up.
This is a quote from the first section that describes a first in Charlie's teenage life. His first car ride with his two new friends.
"Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called 'Landslide'. When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really funny scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."
Has there ever been a moment in your life, where you felt "infinite"?
It is easy to get wrapped up in this book because the letters are sometimes devistating and scary, while other times they are hilarious and funny. Charlie is a complex and unique individual, and his letters are so intimate that the reader gets to know Charlie very well. The novel is about the roller coaster of growing up.
This is a quote from the first section that describes a first in Charlie's teenage life. His first car ride with his two new friends.
"Anyway, Patrick started driving really fast, and just before we got to the tunnel, Sam stood up, and the wind turned her dress into ocean waves. When we hit the tunnel, all the sound got scooped up into a vacuum, and it was replaced by a song on the tape player. A beautiful song called 'Landslide'. When we got out of the tunnel, Sam screamed this really funny scream, and there it was. Downtown. Lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing. And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."
Has there ever been a moment in your life, where you felt "infinite"?
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