A.P. Writing Prompt: The Perks of being a Wallflower

In some novels and plays certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant. In an essay, describe the major similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events in a novel or play and discuss the significance of such events. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Throughout The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, the main character Charlie repeats one thing “I hope they are happy.” He says it in many different ways, shapes and forms, but he says it numerous times nonetheless. Charlie grows as a person, but you can tell there is something off about him, that something isn’t quite right. It’s not the fact that none of his friends are his own age, or that he seems to have been in numerous traumatizing experiences without major side effects. It’s the fact that he always wishes other people were happy, but not himself.
    There are very few self-pity moments in this novel, if it were any other novel, it would be a good thing, but Charlie needs those moments. He is so wrapped up in what he thinks other people want, he doesn’t see what they truly need, and doesn’t understand what he, himself, needs. This is ultimately where things start to go downhill for him. If you just read the last sentence of every letter that Charlie writes, you would see how he starts to slip and can’t seem to keep himself from falling. By Charlie putting other people first and almost pushing himself aside, we see that Charlie is not acknowledging his abandonment of himself. It is slowly made clear he isn’t stable anymore.
    It is a good thing to want people to be happy, but it is one of the most common things Charlie thinks about. By treading on the happiness of others so much, we start to see that Charlie isn’t happy. He has become depressed and almost unresponding. In this case, it is unhealthy. At the end of the book, things start to look better for Charlie; he even urges the reader to "beleive that things are good"(213). You can tell by his tone how honest he is, leaving the reader with a sense of resolution. While he still, once more, repeats "I want everyone to be happy," it is not the same way as before. He says it in the sense that he is happy, and wants everybody around him to be happy as well.