The Perks of Being a Wallflower Options

[nightsong]

I will be impressed if you take the time to actually read all of this.

Dear friend,

I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have. Please don't try to figure out who she is because then you might figure out who I am, and I really don't want you to do that. I will call people by different names or generic names because I don't want you to find me. I didn't enclose a return address for the same reason. I mean nothing bad by this. Honest.

I just need to know that someone out there listens and understands and doesn't try to sleep with people even if they could have. I need to know that these people exist.

I think you of all people would understand that because I think you of all people are alive and appreciate what that means. At least I hope you do because other people look to you for strength and friendship and it's that simple. At least that's what I've heard.

So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.

Full Excerpt

I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower = One of my favorite books

I recommend this book to anyone who hasn`t already read it.

Did anyone else like this book/fall in love with the main character?

xo, Pauline

[LUNACY _ FRiNG3 ...]

well, i know this thread is from a while back, but i was searching for something a 'perks'. first off, i just finished reading it, and it is my favorite book, of all time.
but as much as i liked it, i was still partly confused by the ending of it. i read it a few times, and i have an idea of what happened, so if someone could clarify, it would be great.

[william]

well, i know this thread is from a while back, but i was searching for something a 'perks'. first off, i just finished reading it, and it is my favorite book, of all time.
but as much as i liked it, i was still partly confused by the ending of it. i read it a few times, and i have an idea of what happened, so if someone could clarify, it would be great.

i don't remember the exact details, but basically the aunt who died molested charlie at least a couple of times when she was still alive.

[ParanoidAndroid]

i don't remember the exact details, but basically the aunt who died molested charlie at least a couple of times when she was still alive.

NO. Charlie was saying his aunt helen was molested by someone in the family. it wasn't Charlie who was molested. it was the aunt! That was why she had lots of problems in life and had to move in with her sister, Charlie's mom. What happened in the end was right after Sam went home from the college program, they went to the tunnel and drove while Charlie climbed at the back of the pick-up truck. You'd get the meaning if you this if you read and understood the whole book. Then he summed up at how he wasn't so afraid of starting sophomore year and how he was looking forward to more things now.

[bowl_of_oranges]

NO. Charlie was saying his aunt helen was molested by someone in the family. it wasn't Charlie who was molested. it was the aunt! That was why she had lots of problems in life and had to move in with her sister, Charlie's mom. What happened in the end was right after Sam went home from the college program, they went to the tunnel and drove while Charlie climbed at the back of the pick-up truck. You'd get the meaning if you this if you read and understood the whole book. Then he summed up at how he wasn't so afraid of starting sophomore year and how he was looking forward to more things now.

hey. um thats all true. but pretty much very confused as well. aunt helen was molested, which we later (towards the end) find out messed her up a bit. this led to her molesting charlie, which he blanked out. when he's with sam (the night before she went to uni) he has flashbacks to being molested by his aunt helen, this then leads to him going into hospital, where he starts to process everything that happened. right at the end when he's going through the tunnel with patrick and sam, he's happier because now he understands and can resolve his issues. i haven't read the book in a while so i may have some of the timing or whatever wrong. but that's definately the basic outline.


also:

haha
i agree with the post before me as well
there wasen't any real depth
and the end i think just plain sucked.
but i found it to be a good book in some parts.

although i liked the poem he put in the book because i knew it before......

yea,
i really liked the ending the most..
you should read the Catcher in the Rye if you enjoyed this book

or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time
that book is awesome to me..
i have no idea really why.

does nobody find this odd?

[lovescream]

hey. um thats all true. but pretty much very confused as well. aunt helen was molested, which we later (towards the end) find out messed her up a bit. this led to her molesting charlie, which he blanked out. when he's with sam (the night before she went to uni) he has flashbacks to being molested by his aunt helen, this then leads to him going into hospital, where he starts to process everything that happened. right at the end when he's going through the tunnel with patrick and sam, he's happier because now he understands and can resolve his issues. i haven't read the book in a while so i may have some of the timing or whatever wrong. but that's definately the basic outline.
also:
does nobody find this odd?

LOOL yeah that is odd.

and I never read ANYTHING about Charlie getting molested.. I really don't remember anything about charlie being the one molested..

I just finished the book about 1-2 weeks ago so it's quite still fresh on the plate.
It was a really good book. I was interested in reading it the entire time. I read some of the comments and I agree with most of them. This book was very inspiring and had many inspiring quotes. I loved Charlie's way of thinking. He was just incredibly unique. Not your average freshman, but overall, definitely not your average high schooler.

[bowl_of_oranges]

LOOL yeah that is odd.

and I never read ANYTHING about Charlie getting molested.. I really don't remember anything about charlie being the one molested..

I just finished the book about 1-2 weeks ago so it's quite still fresh on the plate.
It was a really good book. I was interested in reading it the entire time. I read some of the comments and I agree with most of them. This book was very inspiring and had many inspiring quotes. I loved Charlie's way of thinking. He was just incredibly unique. Not your average freshman, but overall, definitely not your average high schooler.

yeh it wasnt really just said right out. but it's definately what happened. i've gone and got my copy of the book now to quote. which probably makes my life kinda sad. but i can deal with that. sooooo..the second from last letter, just after hes been with sam,

'when i fell asleep i had this dream. my brother and sister and i were watching television with my Aunt Helen. everything was in slow motion. The sound was thick. And she was doing what Sam was doing. That's when i woke up. '

a little bit further on in the same letter 'Except maybe my Aunt Helen. But she's gone. And even if she were here, I don't think I could talk to her either. Because I'm starting to feel like what i dreamt about her last night was true. And my phychiatrist's questions weren't weird after all.' (his phychiatrist had been asking him alot about his childhood)

so thenn. in the very last letter, he's been in hospital for two months in between. His doctor asks his questions about his aunt helen.

'i don't really want to talk about the questions and the answers. But i kinda figured out that everything I dreamt about my aunt Helen was true. And after a while, I realised that it happene every Saturday when we would watch the television.'

that's what he's talking about when he says 'the hardest part was sitting in the doctor's office when the doctor told my mom and dad what had happened. i have never seen my mother cry so much. or my father look so angry. Because they didn't know it ws happening when it was.' and again when he says

'the time it started to feel like everything was going to be alright was when my sister and brother stayed after my parents had left...they asked me a lot of questions about Aunt Helen because i guess nothing had ever hapened to them...It was at that time that things started to get clearer becasue there was nobody to hate anymore after that.'

so then all his friends and family come visit him and help him get better and he sort of starts to feel better because he knows what happened now, he understands what it was that i guess kinda led to his depressive episodes in the past, and feels like he has closure. i agree with whoever it was before that said they admired how he wasn't mad about it. he says
'i'm not the way i am because of what i dreamt and remembered about my aunt helen. That's what i figured out when things got quiet. And i think it's important to know. It made things feel clear and together....So, I guess we are who we are for alot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we cans till choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.'

i guess i could be wrong, but that's the only solution i have to how it ended. if i've compleeeeetely misunderstood (which, kinowing me is highly likely) then feel free to hunt me down or whatever.