The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Charlie goes to the high school football game and sees the kid from his shop class, Nothing. His real name is Patrick, and he is sitting next to a girl named Sam. They invite Charlie to sit next to them during the game. He describes Sam as having “very pretty green eyes. The kind of green that doesn’t make a big deal about itself” (19). After the game they all go to the Big Boy, a local hangout, and Sam and Patrick chain-smoke outside. They make him feel welcome by asking him a lot of questions about himself. He tells them that he’s 15, his favorite band is the Smiths, and his favorite book is This Side of Paradise because it’s the last book he has read.

Charlie asks them how long they’ve been dating, and they laugh and tell him that they’re step brother and sister: “I was very happy to know that because I would really like to ask Sam on a date someday. I really would. She is so nice” (21).

That night, Charlie has a sex dream, which stirs up more emotional confusion: “I had a weird dream. I was with Sam. And we were both naked. And her legs were spread over the sides of the couch. And I woke up. And I had never felt that good in my life. But I also felt bad because I saw her naked without her permission” (21). He decides he should tell Sam about the dream and hope that they can still be friends.

Charlie’s previous dream brings his adolescent developments to the forefront. He continues writing to the “friend,” introducing topics about sexuality: “Do you know what ‘masturbation’ is? I think you probably do because you are older than me. But just in case, I will tell you. Masturbation is when you rub your genitals until you have an orgasm. Wow!” (21).

He tells Sam about his dream where they were naked on the couch, and she laughed and said that it’s okay. She asks him if he thinks she is “pretty,” and he says she is “lovely” (22). She says she’s too old for him, and she doesn’t want him wasting his time thinking about her in that way. He says he won’t.

Charlies tells Patrick about his exchange with Sam. Sensing his naivety, Patrick gives Charlie advice about girls:

They just like somebody that can give them a purpose. [..] Girls like guys to be a challenge […] The thing is some girls think they can actually change guys. And what’s funny is that if they actually did change them, they’d get bored. They’d have no challenge left. You just have to give girls some time to think of a new way of doing things (23).

Bill asks Charlie if he always thinks too much, and Charlies asks if that’s “bad” (24). Bill explains how “sometimes people use thoughts not to participate in life” (24). Charlie counters, saying that sentiment isn’t true for him. After Bill questions him further, Charlie reveals that he doesn’t dance at dances and doesn’t go on dates, which then signifies he’s not really participating. Charlie ends up telling Bill about the boy who hit his sister. Bill gets a serious look on his face and says, “Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve” (24).

When Charlie gets home his sister is crying, and his mom and dad are standing next to her. Bill called and told Charlie’s parents about the boy hitting his sister. She sobs, reiterating how much she loves the boy, but her parents forbid her from seeing him again. She then tells Charlie she hates him.

Charlie continues writing about his sexuality, revealing to the “friend” his innermost thoughts:

I guess I forgot to mention in my last letter that it was Patrick who told me about masturbation. I guess I also forgot to tell you how often I do it now, which is a lot. I don’t like to look at pictures. I just close my eyes and dream about a lady I do not know. An I try not to feel ashamed. I never think about Sam when I do it. Never (27).

Although Charlie’s parents didn’t raise him in a religious environment, he relays how he believes in God and sometimes feels guilty when he masturbates.

Charlie’s dad talks to the parents of the boy who hit Charlie’s sister and tells them to keep their son away from his daughter. Charlie asks his dad if the boy had problems at home, and his dad says, “Not everyone has a sob story, Charlie, and even if they do, it’s no excuse” (28).

Charlies continues exploring his inner thoughts and feels, trying to become more self-aware: “It’s strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book. Also, when I write letters, I spend the next two days thinking about what I figured out in my letters. I do not know if this is good or bad. Nevertheless, I am trying to participate” (28). Bill gave him Peter Pan to read, and Charlie thinks he gave him the book to teach him a lesson of some kind. While it’s too late for him to join any clubs, Charlie is committed to going to the homecoming dance despite not having a date as a way of participating.

After a football game, Sam and Patrick invite Charlie to a party at their friend Bob’s house. Charlie says he’s never been to a party, but he’s seen one his older brother held at their house when their parents were away at a funeral. His brother told Charlie to stay in his bedroom during the party, but an intoxicated couple came in and asked him if they could use it. While kissing, the boy put his hand up the girl’s shirt. She didn’t want him to because Charlie was in the room. The boy ignored her and tried to take off her pants. She started crying, so instead the boy pulled his own pants down. Charlie details the incident with an emotional detachment:

[T]he boy just talked soft to her about how good she looked and things like that, and she grabbed his penis with her hands and started moving it […] After a few minutes, the boy pushed the girl’s head down, and she started to kiss his penis. She was still crying. Finally, she stopped crying because he put his penis in her mouth (31).

Charlie is telling Sam and Patrick this story and concludes with how he stopped watching after that point. They both get quiet. Charlie asks if the boy raped the girl, and Sam nods. Charlie asks if they should tell someone, but Sam “explained about all the things you have to go through to prove it, especially in high school when the boy and girl are popular and still in love” (32).

On the way to Bob’s party, Charlie sits in the middle of Patrick and Sam in her pickup truck. A song comes on the radio that Charlie loves, and “Sam tapped her hand on the steering wheel. Patrick held his hand outside the car and made air waves” (33). After the song is over, Charlie says he feels “infinite” (33). Sam and Patrick agree.

Charlie is welcomed to the party as if he were everyone’s long lost friend, despite not knowing anyone besides Patrick and Sam. Everyone is drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. They note that Brad, the school’s quarterback, is also there. Bob asks Charlie if he wants a brownie, and he agrees because he’s hungry. Charlie does not realize the brownie contains drugs and experiences the effects shortly after eating it: “[T]he room started to slip away from me. I was talking to one of the girls with the belly button ring, and she seemed like she was in a movie. I started blinking a lot and looking around, and the music sounded heavy like water” (35). Sam comes in the room to see that Charlie has eaten a pot brownie, and she’s angry at Bob. She asks Charlie if he’s hungry, and he says he wants a milkshake. The whole room laughs at his response, and Sam takes Charlie upstairs to make him a milkshake.

Sam starts the blender while Charlie goes to find the bathroom. He opens a door to find Patrick kissing Brad. Brad looks nervous, but Patrick walks into the hallway with Charlie. He tells him not to tell anyone about him and Brad because Brad doesn’t want anyone to know. Charlie agrees to keep their secret. Everyone goes back downstairs to the party, and Patrick calls Charlie a “wallflower,” reinforcing that Charlie will keep his secret: “You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand” (37). Then everyone makes a toast in Charlie’s honor.

Charlie writers how he forgot to say that after the dance, on the way to the party, Patrick pulled over and let Sam get into the back of the pickup truck. Then she stood up as he drove under a tunnel, and “the wind turned her dress into ocean waves” (39).