The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By Stephen Chbosky
The Perks of Being a Wallflower describes the life of senior
student. It is about what Charlie, the main character, has encountered; who he
has befriended and how he felt and transferred upon being along with a group of
unique friends.
Generally speaking, it should be a book that people who have passed
the time of being senior high students will resonate and shout, “Yeah! These
were what I did when I was young.” When I read this book, I’m already a college
student. I have to be honest that the situations happening in the book probably
seldom appear in the lives of the students in Taiwan, no matter in senior high
or college. There are issues of friendship, love and family in the story. These are what all human are tangled with in our
lives. However, a majority of students in Taiwan may have already missed the
very time to experience the craziness and wildness which the characters were
having in their senior high. Students in Taiwan put all their efforts in
studying, striving for something called “future”; however, while we are keeping
our paces to the upcoming future, we have already neglect the moment we are
standing on; what we want is a great leap, a leap which may lead us to the top.
We bump, we jump; exhaustedly, we fall and try again and again. Repetitively,
we never have the chance to enjoy what we are standing on and what surround us.
Compare to those who can renovate how the characters feel, Taiwanese readers
may can only admire and pity for what they hope to experience at least once.
The characters in the story experience the sweet
and sorrow complicated relationship between lovers, bearing the struggling and
painfulness of seeing their lovers dating with others, enjoying the relationship
and then breaking their hearts in tears. They dance with music, enjoying
parties, driving cars, celebrating festivals with friends together. These are
so-called normal things and experiences in some of the western society;
however, students in Taiwan seem all become the wallflower like Charlie,
observing what are happening around them. When I read the story, I have the
same feeling as Charlie, as if I am a wallflower like him.
Charlie, who suffered from a kind of depression and oppression
because of his aunt and his good friend who committed suicide, was feared of
school. He observed people, hoping to join them but wanting to escape from
people at the same time. Then he encountered a group of friends, each of them
had their own styles and acted as their own ways. Charlie was shy and even
invisible to others, he performed well in academic area but he had no friends
before he met Patrick and Sam. I somehow observe people as Charlie did and
sinking into our own thoughts. Not knowing how to join others, we escape but
hope there will be someone grapping us in. We stand at the edge of the circle
which most people are in. We are sensitive and caring. I am really glad when
Charlie met Patrick and Sam, who led him to the road of being infinitive. They
cared about him, leading him, sharing and laughing with Charlie. They filled
out the blank in his empty heart. They needed not to be like everyone else;
they had their lives in their ways. And, they teach him something: they can be
hero in their own world. They could still be at the edge of the circle, but
there are a group of people standing with him, hand in hand. And I feel the
infinity as I let them lead me into their world. And back to the reality, I am
finding my ways to be a hero in my life.
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