Tuesday 11 June 2013

ISU summary

My ISU is a novel called Perks Of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, about an odd boy who is scared to go into highschool after the death of his best friend, but ends up making friends with a group of misfits. This book is very eye opening to the abuse that some people go through, and the effects it has on their life afterwards. IN this book, Fifteen-year-old Charlie is about to begin his freshman year of high school—without his best friend, Michael. Charlie’s only close friend, committed suicide several months before the narrative begins. In an attempt to cope with Michael’s death and his own anxiety of entering high school alone, Charlie begins writing letters to an anonymous stranger. Charlie does not feel that he can lean on his parents or older siblings for support because they never truly understand him. He laments that the only relative that he ever felt close to was his Aunt Helen, who was killed in a car accident on his seventh birthday.
At school, Charlie befriends two seniors, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick. He soon develops romantic feelings for Sam, but he believes that he has no chance with her. Sam and Patrick introduce him to many new experiences and a group of upperclassmen friends. Charlie writes about situations that he gets into with his new friends, including going to parties, driving through his town's tunnel and feeling "infinite," seeing and performing in Rocky Horror Picture Show, going on his first date, and trying various drugs. After one party, where Charlie takes LSD, the police find him passed out in the snow. In a conversation with the police and his parents, Charlie reveals that he often has visions, which implies that he is not mentally well.
Bill, Charlie's English teacher, also plays a significant role in his life. After giving Charlie a C grade on his book report, Bill begins lending him books to read outside of class and encourages him to write essays about them. He then critiques the reports to help Charlie develop better diction and syntax; with this guidance, Charlie's writing improves in the book's later letters.
Despite his feelings for Sam, Charlie briefly dates Mary Elizabeth, another girl in their clique. She takes him to their school's Sadie Hawkins Dance, and they go on a few dates. At first, Charlie does not mind how one-sided their conversations are. Even so, after Mary Elizabeth buys him a book of poems, he senses a change in their relationship that he does not like. In a game of Truth or Dare at a party, Charlie is dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. He kisses Sam, which officially ends his relationship with Mary Elizabeth. Patrick then decides that Charlie should stay away until their relationship drama calms down.
Sam also starts a relationship with an attractive older boy named Craig. Charlie does not think that Craig appreciates Sam; he explains that if Craig took a good photo of her, he would think that it was good because of the way he took it, instead of the fact that Sam was in the picture. Sam and Craig soon break up, after Sam learns that Craig had been cheating on her with numerous girls.
Later in the novel, Charlie writes about Patrick's relationship with Brad, the quarterback of the football team who is secretly gay. One day, Brad's dad catches Patrick and Brad having sex in the basement and Brad's dad beats up Brad in front of Patrick. A week later, Brad returns to school and during lunch, calls Patrick a "faggot." Patrick reacts by throwing a fist, which escalates into a physical fight between Patrick and Brad's friends. Charlie bravely comes to Patrick's rescue and fights Brad's friends. Taught how to fight by his older brother, Charlie seriously hurts two of Brad's friends which ends the fight. Charlie helps Patrick up and warns Brad's friends that if they ever hurt Patrick again that he will blind them.
After a disturbing family secret surfaces that Charlie's Aunt Helen had molested him prior to her death, Charlie has a severe mental breakdown and is hospitalized. Still, his final letters close with a feeling of hope and determination. Even if he does not have the power to choose where he comes from, Charlie will choose where he goes in the future. A possible thesis about this novel is that after going through times of abuse, one can find the ability to grow stronger. I found it to be a terrific book, unfortunately, however, an awful movie.

1 comment:

  1. Aiden, you have an interesting thesis. Remember to cite where you got your synopsis from (wiki) and then offer your opinions about the synopsis.

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