“I Swear We Were Infinite”: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Echoes our Teen Voices

“I Swear We Were Infinite”: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Echoes our Teen Voices

By W.S.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower portrays a shy teenager named Charlie who starts writing letters to an anonymous person so-called “Friend.” Through letters, Charlie talks to this “Friend” about his life, his worries and dreams.

He is unstable and pessimistic. He fears loneliness; he tries too hard to fit in to the point of accepting things he is not sure about; he is even afraid of his own feelings to the point where he gets confused all the time.

When reading this book, you might be reminded of your own teenage days and will probably become quite nostalgic at times. Many readers can identify with the challenges that Charlie faces, like the fear of loneliness, the hardship to fit in a social circle, the confusion to define who you are and what you want, the memories of your first crush, the loss of innocence and the daily feeling of anger without an apparent reason.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is the style in which it is written. These letters to an anonymous “Friend” tell the reader how much Charlie needs of someone to listen to his thoughts and his perception of  the world. This choice of form allows the reader to understand Charlie’s psyche and feel close to him. However, his tendency to cry in public and in private is a motif that disconnects you from the character. Charlie goes through serious psychological issues, and still he is portrayed as a brilliant student who gets A’s in all his classes. It is not surprise, then that the reader stops seeing Charlie as someone to relate to since he becomes just another cardboard character who suffers from psychological problems.

But even if this can be an issue to some people, there is not denying that this book presents a great story about the struggles of teenagehood. It presents the worries that everyone has had a least once in their lifetime, and yet at the end it gives readers hope. “Everything will be okay” is what many need at certain points of their lives.