Perks Of Being Wallflower

Perks of Being a Wallflower Text to Film: Does The Film Hurt Or Enhance?
Stephen Chbosky’s epistolary novel and film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, published in 1999 and directed in 2012, both contain unique structural and content changes to add depth to Charlie’s character in the novel and gain multiple perspectives to better understand Charlie. Stephen Chbosky’s distinctive role as the author, screenwriter, and director of The Perks of Being a Wallflower help to maintain the integrity of the novel while enhancing its storyline. With a very challenging topic, Chbosky was so proficient that critics say: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower successfully balances touching drama, charming performances, and a challenging storyline with a proficiency
The novel is structured as a series of letters as Charlie writes to an unknown person. These letters help to explain Charlie's thoughts and actions as he goes through his freshman year of high school. As critics state, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower turns out to be as much about the fear of loss, as the joy of being accepted” (screenrant.com). Charlie’s wallflower status makes Charlie one of the unpopular kids in his school. He eventual meets and befriends Patrick and Sam at a high school football game and begins to open up and actively participate in both his life at school and at home. Although he has made friends, Charlie's writing also indicates that he also has personal mental issues that he deals with everyday. As the novel continues, Charlie's mental instability becomes clearer. He constantly references his Aunt Helen, who died on his birthday when Charlie was a child. He persistently feels guilt about Aunt Helen's death because she while buying Charlie a birthday present. It is not until the end of the novel, when Charlie is about to have sex with Sam, that Charlie realizes that Aunt Helen had sexually abused him. Throughout the novel, Charlie suppresses many of his memories of being molested by Aunt Helen. After undergoing several weeks of therapy at the hospital, he comes to terms with the fact that his Aunt Helen had molested him weekly when he was younger. Charlie's growth and
The flashbacks that are referenced in the novel are various memories of Charlie’s Aunt Helen and her death. Each flashback in the film repeats the phrase: “This will be our little secret” (The Perks of Being a Wallflower). With each repetition of this phrase and flashback, there is a clearer understanding of Charlie’s mental state. The literary elements used in these flashbacks include: Chekhov’s Gun, Flashback, and repetition. What is unique about the film’s depiction of the flashbacks is the scattered and disorganized flow of them. When Charlie is the film is having a panic attack, the images and phrases of “This is our little secret” (17), continuously repeat in the film. This helps to elaborate on what Charlie is feeling as he goes through his panic attack. In contrast, throughout novel different people including Aunt Helen, Charlie’s father, Patrick, and his sister all repeat this phrase instead of showing multiple flashbacks of Aunt Helen. Moreover, when Charlie is having his panic attack, there is only a small list of different thoughts that are introduced. In the novel, there is a revelation regarding his molestation which allows the reader to be just as surprised as he is when Charlie comes to figure it out: “I dreamt about my aunt Helen was true. And after a while, I realized that it happened every Saturday when we would watch television” (209). This sudden revelation is shocking