Key themes
- The outsider who sees everything and says nothing
- Trauma, memory and the body's knowledge
- Friendship and love as the things that make survival possible
About this book
A shy freshman finds friends and faces buried pain; a beloved, bruised coming-of-age story.
Published in 1999, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is consistently one of the most challenged books in American schools and consistently one of the most beloved. Chbosky drew on his own adolescence in Pittsburgh.
Discussion questions
- Charlie writes letters to an unnamed recipient — we never know who 'Dear friend' is. What does this anonymous epistolary format achieve — and why does this form suit Charlie's particular kind of isolation?
- Charlie is a passive observer for much of the novel, watching others act. How does Chbosky gradually reveal the reason for Charlie's passivity — and what does the novel say about the relationship between trauma and witness?
- The novel has been challenged for its depictions of drugs, sex and abuse. Having read it, how do you understand these challenges — and what would the novel lose if these elements were removed?
- Patrick and Sam are the relationships that transform Charlie. What is Chbosky saying about the specific power of being seen by someone who accepts you as you are?
- The novel is a cult classic that resonates particularly with teenagers who felt different or isolated. What does it offer those readers — and does it offer something different to adult readers?
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower appears on the following curriculum reading lists.
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