Perks of Being a Wallflower

Charlie, the main character in Perks of Being a Wallflower, is a freshman in high school who is struggling with the suicide of his only friend in middle school. Dealing with this type of trauma at this age is difficult, not that it is not difficult at any other age. However it is important to take into consideration that the transition from middle to high school can be difficult for students. From a teacher perspective I think it is important that we work with the students to create a smooth transition and help them in anyway that we can. Charlie's English teacher recognized that he liked to read and write and therefore gave him more books to read and graded his papers a little more rigorously. Having something to focus on such as the extra reading and having to put a little bit more into his papers can be a good escape for Charlie so he is not always thinking about how he lost his best friend.

I think the structure of the novel is also important to pay attention to. The novel is made up of letters that Charlie had written to a stranger that he had never actually met in person but heard they were a nice person. By writing letters Charlie was able to write about his feelings and it was a way for him to cope with the anxiety of starting high school alone.

In a world with a heavy technological influence it is important for adolescents to see the impact of stepping away from technology. By hand writing a letter the communication is more personalized, and it also means more simply because it takes more time than it does to send a quick text.