Prompt #1: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

[James]

I have finished “Perks of Being a Wallflower”. In my own words it was an emotional rollercoaster. It hits very deep and strikes the reader very personally. Overall, it is a book that confronts and deals with many modern issues that teenagers struggle with, anxiety, depression, suicide, and taking on new situations. A brief summary of the book would be said as a teenager taking on highschool and facing problems such as bullies, new friends, relationships, and suffering with trauma. The main character Charlie suffers with anxiety and depression due to the fact that he was raped as a child by his favorite aunt and denying the fact that he was raped. This issue stems throughout the book, as he takes on new relationships he is being strained back due to past trauma. The issues that this book addresses concern many teens today. We have so many issues of teenagers facing mental health issues and having them ignored due to the fact that traditional families believe its a “myth”. Not only that but it also addresses how teenagers themselves tend to not realize or deny the fact that they are suffering with mental health issues. Throughout the story we see Charlie fighting his issues through various situations and towards the progression of his story he ends up just snapping. Towards the end of the book his friends leave for college and he feels alone, the depression strikes him hard at this point. He goes home and nearly commits suicide. But he doesn’t. Hes placed in a hospital and finally faces facts that he was raped. This was his one step towards acceptance and self improvement. The story really progresses and evolves the characters, we see how they develop as teenagers and how young dumb teenagers face problems as well. The story really relates to many issues of today and how teenagers today are facing mental illness and anxiety. It all comes down to acceptance, the theme that I captured throughout the story.