Ria Week 1 - The Identity of a Wallflower
Tears pricked at his eyes as he sat at his desk, writing yet another letter to “Friend.” This anonymous recipient that Charlie, our protagonist, divulged his life to through written letters is the backbone of the entire movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
The story is narrated in Charlie’s perspective, structured as a series of letters. I feel that this perspective was chosen to truly torment the viewer and make them feel the worst kind of pain right in their hearts, the kind that causes headaches to form and tears to gush down their cheeks.
I say this because Charlie’s life can be described as passive angst, to say the very least. He experiences traumas that would destroy a weaker person (I won’t go into depth—your tear ducts will thank me later—but you should know that he has experienced tremendous loss and it can be inferred that he suffers from mental disorders due to said loss), and keeps them to himself as he enters high school all alone.
Yet, Charlie does not think of himself as strong. He believes that deep down, he’s a nobody. At his first ever high school party as a freshman, he makes new friends, and when they toast to him, he whispers, stunned, “I didn’t think anyone noticed me.” These friends, Sam and Patrick, give Charlie a specific name, one that describes him as way more than a “nobody”.
They call him a wallflower.
Patrick declares, “You see things and you understand. You’re a wallflower.”
We see Charlie’s identity transform as he stumbles into high school with two left feet. Although he was rushed into many things by his older friends and might have been confused, they empower him to truly express himself, layer by layer, through both writing and music.
It is extremely important to note that Charlie had a special connection with words ever since he was a child. He spent hours reading books given by his aunt Helen, and as freshman year rolled around, he began writing these letters, which provided him with a safe space to construct his mental identity. Charlie also took interest in poetry, print, and classic literature; although he didn’t realize it, words were his way of deconstructing the pit of anxiety and trauma in him, allowing him to really find out who he was.
Charlie’s story is so incredibly heart-wrenching. But, despite being through the lowest of lows, he learns a lot about himself. He learns that he loves Sam, and she loves him. He learns that he is capable of being a good friend, although sometimes one who makes less-than-perfect decisions. He learns that he has a talent and passion for writing. But above all, he learns that even if life gets bad, it will always get better.
The story is narrated in Charlie’s perspective, structured as a series of letters. I feel that this perspective was chosen to truly torment the viewer and make them feel the worst kind of pain right in their hearts, the kind that causes headaches to form and tears to gush down their cheeks.
I say this because Charlie’s life can be described as passive angst, to say the very least. He experiences traumas that would destroy a weaker person (I won’t go into depth—your tear ducts will thank me later—but you should know that he has experienced tremendous loss and it can be inferred that he suffers from mental disorders due to said loss), and keeps them to himself as he enters high school all alone.
Yet, Charlie does not think of himself as strong. He believes that deep down, he’s a nobody. At his first ever high school party as a freshman, he makes new friends, and when they toast to him, he whispers, stunned, “I didn’t think anyone noticed me.” These friends, Sam and Patrick, give Charlie a specific name, one that describes him as way more than a “nobody”.
They call him a wallflower.
Patrick declares, “You see things and you understand. You’re a wallflower.”
We see Charlie’s identity transform as he stumbles into high school with two left feet. Although he was rushed into many things by his older friends and might have been confused, they empower him to truly express himself, layer by layer, through both writing and music.
It is extremely important to note that Charlie had a special connection with words ever since he was a child. He spent hours reading books given by his aunt Helen, and as freshman year rolled around, he began writing these letters, which provided him with a safe space to construct his mental identity. Charlie also took interest in poetry, print, and classic literature; although he didn’t realize it, words were his way of deconstructing the pit of anxiety and trauma in him, allowing him to really find out who he was.
Charlie’s story is so incredibly heart-wrenching. But, despite being through the lowest of lows, he learns a lot about himself. He learns that he loves Sam, and she loves him. He learns that he is capable of being a good friend, although sometimes one who makes less-than-perfect decisions. He learns that he has a talent and passion for writing. But above all, he learns that even if life gets bad, it will always get better.
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