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Review and Study Guide for Stephen Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower
This story about growing up also deals with intergenerational trauma.
by Ari Armstrong, Copyright © 2026
I read this book as part of my review of the books suppressed by Colorado's Elizabeth School District. See the main document.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
MTV Books (Simon & Schuster) 2019, 20th Anniversary Edition
Reading Notes
One thing about Charlie, the main character of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is that he can get mad at injustice. We have that in common. For example, I'm mad that the Elizabeth School District suppressed Chbosky's amazing book.
I also have something in common with Charlie's teacher, Bill. Like me, Bill generally is not afraid of books and is not afraid of children reading books. Indeed, sensing Charlie's literary potential, Bill assigns Charlie extra books as well as essays about the books. Some of the books Bill assigns are not very controversial (Peter Pan, Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise); others are highly controversial (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, On the Road, Naked Lunch).
In one of the most touching scenes of the book, Bill tells Charlie that he's "gifted" and "very special" (p. 181). Charlie tells Bill, "You're the best teacher I ever had" (p. 182).
Yes, it's obvious why this book is controversial. It includes discussions of suicide, drug abuse, mental illness, sexual assault, general assault including domestic violence, sex (including gay sex), anti-gay sentiments, and an abortion. But, as I've said before, we don't protect children from the problems of life by refusing to talk about those problems. (This is not a book for younger children, obviously.)
If you reduce Chbosky's book to its controversial elements based on out-of-context passages, then, bluntly, you are an idiot, and it is a shame that no one ever encouraged you to read and think as a child. But it's never too late!
Perks mainly is about growing up, making friends, navigating school, dating, learning about the world, understanding people, and experiencing love. It is about participating in life. The story also is surprisingly hilarious at times. Chbosky has written a warm, delicate, and often-humorous story. And, yes, at times a very tough story. I love this book.
The questions below contain spoilers. Interestingly, the end of the book features its own set of questions for discussions that are also good.
Questions for Discussion and Review
1. The novel consists of Charlie's dated letters to a "Friend." The first letter describes this friend: "You listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have." Charlie writes, "Other people look to you for strength and friendship" (p. 2). To whom is Charlie writing? Why does Chbosky choose this format? In a letter for the 20th Anniversary Edition, twenty years later, Charlie writes, "You wrote back" (p. 216). How does Chbosky reconcieve the "Friend" here?
2. In his first letter, Charlie writes, "I am both happy and sad" (p. 2). How is that? How typical is that experience?
3. The first letter discusses Michael Dobson's suicide, but that event doesn't play too big a role in the rest of the story. Why does Chbosky start with that?
4. At two points in the novel Charlie becomes very violent, once in self-defense (p. 7), another time to defend a friend (p. 151). At the same time, Charlie is one of the most emotionally sensitive people around, extremely thoughtful of others, and prone to crying. Where is all this emotional intensity coming from?
5. Early in the novel come examples of violence. Charlie recalls his dad hitting him (the only time his dad ever does) for asking Aunt Helen about her past trauma (p. 6). Charlie witnesses his sister's boyfriend hit her (p. 11). Many characters in the story suffer sexual or other physical abuse at some point. Chbosky's book largely is about the dynamics of intergenerational trauma and abuse. Compare and contrast how Charlie, Charlie's father, Sam, Helen, and other characters deal (or fail to deal) with such trauma.
6. The event that sets up the arc of the novel is when Charlie walks up to Patrick at a football game, leading to his friendships with Patrick, Sam, and their friends (p. 19). Why does Charlie, not always the most socially outgoing person, do this?
7. Patrick tells Charlie that girls, at least before they mature, "just like somebody that can give them a purpose" (p. 23). What does that mean? Is he right?
8. Bill tells Charlie, "Sometimes people use thoughts to not participate in life" (p. 24). What does that mean? Is it true?
9. During the same meeting, in the context of Charlie's sister, Bill also tells Charlie, "We accept the love we think we deserve" (p. 24). Discuss.
10. Bill assigns several books to Charlie. Why does he assign these particular books? What is Bill's implicit message about the role of literature in understanding one's self, others, and the world around us? (What do you think Bill would say to the Elizabeth School District?)
11. When Charlie's sister says to their mom about her boyfriend, "He's my whole world," Mom replies, "Don't ever say that about anyone again" (p. 25). Why does she react that way?
12. "I feel infinite," Charlie tells his friends (p. 33). What does he mean by this? Also, what is the symbolic role of the tunnel?
13. What's a wallflower? Patrick says, "You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand" (p. 37). What are the different meanings of the term? Is being a wallflower a good thing?
14. Although Charlie is very observant of other people, often he fails to understand the significance of what he's observing, especially about himself. What does this say about Charlie, and how does this shape the experience of outside readers?
15. Mary Elizabeth tells Charlie that Zen "makes you connected to everything in the world" (p. 42). How does Chbosky see the relationship between independence (remember Charlie's mom's comment to his sister) and interdependence?
16. What are "Glory Days" (p. 52), should people try to create them, and if so why and how?
17. Charlie writes, "Things start to slip away . . . and I see nothing" (p. 74). How does Charlie understand his mental illness, and how does he cope with it?
18. I thought this was one of the funniest lines of the book: "They were really having fun being cynical, and I didn't want to ruin it" (p. 106). What do you think of Chbosky basically laughing at cynicism here?
19. What does Mary Elizabeth see in Charlie, and why is their romance such a disaster?
20. Charlie writes, "I had better start being honest with Mary Elizabeth about how I feel" (p. 133). Sam also talks about honesty in a relationship (pp. 200–201). Obviously honesty is crucially important in a relationship; why do so many people have trouble being honest?
21. Sam says to Charlie, "I don't want to be somebody's crush. If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am" (p. 201). Why do people so often idealize others? To what degree does Charlie like the real Sam rather than a fantasy of her?
22. Charlie paraphrases the theme of The Fountainhead like this: "Every person has to live for his or her own life and then make the choice to share it with other people" (p. 169). How does that fit with Sam's comment, "Tell people what you need" and "want" (p. 200) and with Chbosky's broader themes?
23. In the hospital, Charlie contemplates the dynamics of recognizing the harm that others do while taking responsibility to forge ahead. Charlie writes, "I guess there could always be someone to blame" (p. 210). He writes, "I'm not the way I am" because of Helen's abuse. He tells the story of two brothers who respond quite differently to their father's alcoholism. He adds, "We can still choose where we go from there" (p. 211). Discuss.
24. This question is more about the historical context of the novel, and it points to outside research. The Perks of Being a Wallflower originally was published in 1999, following the peak of the so-called "memory wars" in psychiatry during which various experts cast doubt on some claims of repressed memories. Elizabeth Loftus argued that therapists could unintentionally help plant false memories and that in some cases dubious claims of repressed memories led to injustices. In the novel, Helen sexually abused Charlie, and Charlie suppressed those memories. Does Chbosky overrely on an implausible psychological theory? If so to what extent (if any) does that undercut the story or themes of the book?
25. Steelman the arguments for suppressing Chbosky's book in school libraries. Then give your strongest reply.