A wallflower is a person who watches from the sidelines,
uninvolved in life, filling space. They observe but they don't participate.
Characterization
Who is the protagonist? How would you characterize him?
The protagonist is Charlie. He appears to be a round
character; obviously there is a lot more to his character than is seen in part
one of the story.
Which characters are round and flat?
Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are all round characters. Bill,
Charlie's parents and siblings, his sister's boyfriend, and the other students
are all flat characters.
Examine the family dynamics in "Perks". Would you
classify Charlie's parents as good or bad? What textual evidence do you have to
support this?
Charlie's parents are indifferent - they are neither good
nor bad. They are not there for his soon and his father seems to be a wreck
around emotions, like when he hit Charlie for crying. He seems to have an image
of what his son should be and he's upholding that image instead of accepting
Charlie for who he really is. They put a lot of pressure on him to succeed as
well.
Point Of View
- What point of view is used and what style? Why would the author chose this method? How is it effective?
The point of view is first person. It is told from Charlie's
point of view with his thoughts and feelings in clear text. This let the reader
connect to Charlie and place themselves in his shoes.
Plot
- What conflicts exist in this novel so far?
So far, the conflicts consist of Charlie's inability to
participate in life or have friends after the suicide of his friend Michael,
and his sister's abusive relationship with her boyfriend.
- What do you notice about the exposition of this story? Does it grab your attention? How?
It's a very slow start but it is still effective. Charlie's
problems and his position of starting high school with no place to fit in is
relatable with how a lot of students felt their freshman year.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Which chapters apply so far?
Chapters 1, 2, 11, and 17.
Quotes
Discuss these quotes in your groups. What do they REALLY
mean?
"Not everyone has a sob story, Charlie, and even if
they do, it's no excuse."
There are no excuses for peoples' actions. They are at fault
for their own decisions and should not try to justify any of them with a story
from their past.
"Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve."
Self-esteem plays a key part in determining who is allowed
to love you. When a person has low self-esteem, they think that they can't get
anyone better than the usual stereotypical jerks and idiots when they deserve
so much more. They don't think they're good enough for something they actually
deserve.
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.
Charlie is growing up and has no idea who he is or what to
feel about all the different parts of his life. This makes him both happy and
sad, and he doesn't know why. It's normal to feel this way, and people feel
this way quite a lot, but it's new to Charlie. The fact that he feels so much
at once scares him beyond belief, but it's okay to feel everything at once and
it's okay to just not be completely okay all the time. Once he adjusts and
learns, he will realize that.
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