The Perks of Being a Wallflow­er - Inhaltsa­ngabe

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Part 1:

Letter 1(p.8-11)

- doesn’t want anyone to figure out who he is / who the person is he slept with

- is both: happy and sad

- his friend Michael killed himself by a gun | he is very sad

- after that: older brother is really nice to him (let him work on his Camaro (car)

- guidance counselor knows his name

- made teachers nervous ---> got better grades

- wants to know why Michael committed suicide (“problems at home”?)

- one brother (very good football player, likes his car, good fighter, is football player at Penn State), one sister (very pretty, mean to boys, good grades, part of the Earth Day Club in high school), he is youngest

- mother: cries a lot during TV programs, visits the cemetery of people she loves

- dad: works a lot, honest, lets Charlie sit on his lap, called him “champ”, doesn’t lose fights, his stepdad hit him a lot, sometimes strict, doesn’t want to hit his kids (because of stepdad)

- aunt Helen: mom’s sister, got good grades, gave him books to read (he liked them), something bad happened to her but he doesn’t know it, is dead, he liked her, did babysitting with Charlie,

- reason of the letter: starting high school tomorrow | really afraid

Letter 2 (p.11-13)

- doesn’t like high school

- Susan (old classmate of him)
- before: liked movies, fun to be around, had baces

- after: had her braces taken off, little taller and prettier, grew breasts, doesn’t look as happy

- Michael was her best friend, misses him, was going out with him

- Sean (new classmate): only one who noticed him, seemed unhappy --> told him --> fight

Letter 3 (p.13-14)

- saw his brother on television because of special occasion (Anlass/Grund), misses him

Letter 4 (p.14-16)

- likes his advanced English teacher Bill

- should write an essay about the book

- sister gets a boyfriend, Charlie sees them naked

Letter 5 (p.16-17)

- boy in class called “nothing” (Patrick)

Letter 6 (p.18-21)

- only C in essay

- doesn’t like star-interviews

- when he was little: family saw M*A*S*H* and everybody cried, even his father

- he really loves his parents

Letter 7 (p.21-23)

- likes watching people

- not very popular

- meets Patrick and Sam at a school football game

- Sam: very pretty, very nice smile, brown hair, pretty green eyes, smokes, brother: Patrick, Charlie wants to ask her on a date sometime, loves her pickup truck

- Patrick: =”Nothing”, much knowledge about football, smokes, sister: Sam,

- Charlie saw Sam naked in his dream

Letter 8 (p.24-28)

- told Sam about his dream and cried

--> she laughed | not mean

- she thinks, that he is too young for her

- P + S know that he has a crush on Sam

- Patrick tells him “rules of having a crush”

- Charlie never thought about a girlfriend

- he’s not a good dancer, he’s 15

- talks with Bill about his private life | about .....[read full text]

-> was the best time in his life

Letter 6 (p.97-98)

- Sam tells him how to treat a girl (Mary Elizabeth) on a date

Letter 7 (p.98-101)

- learns much about Mary Elizabeth during Sadie Hawkins’ Dance

- ME wants to kiss him | “not ready”

- Sam went with Patrick to the Dance | Craig: too busy (beschäftigt)

- sister had fight with her boyfriend

- is pregnant + boyfriend broke up with her after finding out about it

Letter 8 (p.101-105)

- goes to clinic with sister

- sister recognizes that he’s smoking

- tells his parents a lie where they were

- sister wants to tell her ex-boyfriend that it was a false alarm

- sister wants Charlie to stop smoking because she loves him

Letter 9 (p.106-109)

- tells his parents about Mary Elizabeth | has a sex talk with father

- second date with Mary Elizabeth | cinema, underground record store, Mary Elizabeth’s home

- had sex with Mary Elizabeth

Letter 10 (p.110-113)

- Sam and Patrick know about Charlie and Mary Elizabeth

- doesn’t like that Mary Elizabeth always talks about herself

- invites Sam and Patrick to meet his parents | very important to him

- Mary Elizabeth invites herself and was more important to parents

- is on edge of Mary Elizabeth (genervt)

Letter 11 (p.113-117)

- should show a book to everyone he knows (because of Mary Elizabeth)

- returns the book ME bought him

- drives back with sister to get the book back because he felt so messy

- gives ME “To Kill a Mockingbird” as a present

- plays truth or dare on Craig’s apartment

- should kiss the prettiest girl in the room -> Sam

- ME cries

- he cries and wants to apologize

- knows that something is wrong with him

.....

- Brad called Patrick a “faggot” (homosexual man)

-> Patrick got very mad

-> Brad’s buddies laugh very hard

-> hard fight; Charlie helps Patrick

- Patrick gets suspended for a week

- Charlie gets a month’s detention

- Brad thanks Charlie for stopping them

- Sam waits for Charlie | tells that she was first angry because Charlie hurt long friendship between Sam and Mary Elizabeth

- now all friends again

- says sorry to Mary Elizabeth

- Patrick doesn’t play in the Rocky Horror Picture Show anymore

Letter 4 (p.132-137)

- spends a day with Patrick

- Patrick is looking forward to go away to college

- Patrick tells the story of Lily Miller

- Patrick thanks Charlie and gives him a kiss

Letter 5 (p.137-139)

- meets a man who does the sports on the TV news

- sees many places through Patrick

.....

Letter 12 (p.149-155)

- Craig and Sam break up

-> Craig cheated on her; she was this “dumb high school girl”

- Bill’s house

- Bill thanks Charlie because it “has been a wonderful experience teaching” him

- thinks Charlie is special

Letter 13 (p.155-166)

- brother changes: has a beard; more polite and well-behaved

- graduation of sister

- Sam calls

- goes to a dance club downtown with Sam and Patrick

- dances with Sam

- gives them his gifts

Letter 14 (p.167-174)

- Sam scared about going to college

- with Sam and Patrick he feels for the first time that he belonged somewhere

- kisses Sam because he WANTS to

- stops before they have sex

- dream

- says goodbye to Sam

.....