Literary Criticisms 

Portrayed Experiences/Differing perspectives

This novel contains an overall theme containing coming of age. The stylistic writing choice of personal letters portrays the main character, Charlie’s, experience and development through a year of his adolescence. Through this style of writing, Chbosky is able to capture the complex perspective of Charlie as an outsider in his world. The story includes a balance of emotions through sadness and joy which can be seen throughout the various letters that are written by Charlie.

The characters and the story line also become more complex as the story continues through Charlie's perspective. Deeper topics beyond surface level experiences of teenagers are portrayed along with the growing loss of innocence in Charlie. Some of these include drug and alcohol abuse, abortion, and homosexuality. Yet, Chbosky is able to express these topics in a mature way that gets readers informed.

Range of Audience/ Impact of themes

The theme “coming of age” may be hard to understand because it has different interpretations, but Perks of being a Wallflower directly showcases the experiences of teenagers and how they feel. Chbosky’s emotional writing allows a wide range of people to connect with his “coming of age” perspective. Older readers are able to reflect on their younger selves better that their younger selves could have ever grasped. 

It's important to understand that the novel is confronting, and actually revolves around the emotional turmoil of teenagers rather than the actual events themselves. So, even though people may not find connection within the events, they are still able to find familiarity with how Charlie feels. Similarly, the significance of the characters that Chbosky provides are not only crucial to the story line, but how people find the importance of characters like these in their lives as well.

Connection to Media/Development of Characters

“What makes Chbosky’s stream of consciousness style more beautiful than that used in Suicidal Tendencies’ hardcore punk song “Institutionalised,” for example, is the lyrical philosophical nature of the prose.” While both of these capture a raw monologue, Chbosky is able to write in a way that is even more reflective. He dives deeper into themes without being as raw, but it makes readers reflect upon themselves and the growth of the characters. Beyond just the style of Chbosky’s writing, the characters are diverse and provide complexity to the story. 

The female characters are well developed as much as the male characters are. The prominence of Charlie’s homophobic grandfather and the present acceptance that Charlie has of is gay friend Patrick are quite contrasting and complex. Through this juxtaposing portrayal of characters, Chbosky is able to reveal the older generation's fear of homosexuality at this time. 

Relatable content/ Recognition of Mental Health

Sometimes when reading young adult fiction, it can seem stretched and forced, especially with the point of view being a teenager. Despite this, Chbosky’s portrayal of Charlie actually feels genuine and written by a real teenager. This allows for young adults to connect to the plot, but for adults even more. This is because these adults were once teenagers- they knew what it was like and have the ability to reflect upon it. Readers can also connect to other characters such as sam and patrick as they have their own personal issues too. 

This wide range of complexity in characters further proves the point as to how Chbosky recognizes the differing perspectives of people's lives and how they could be struggling with mental health. Mental health wasn’t as advocated back then when the book was published. Yet, Chbosky is able to beautifully illustrate through letters by Charlie of his own health and the relationships surrounding him too. Chbosky’s recognition of mental health and how it can be different for everyone makes the book timeless and relevant for all ages.