Character Analysis in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

This page provides a comprehensive guide to analyzing characters in Stephen Chbosky's novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." It offers insights into the structure of character analysis and the distinction between round and flat characters.

The document begins by outlining the structure for a character analysis, including an introduction, main part, and conclusion. For the introduction, it suggests mentioning the title, author, date, and topic of the novel, as well as introducing the character being analyzed.

Example: "The excerpt from the epistolary novel 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' written in 1999 by Stephen Chbosky is about [character] who..."

In the main part, the guide emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between round and flat characters.

Definition: A round character is complex, undergoes change, and can be described with many traits. In contrast, a flat character is uncomplicated, remains static, and can be described with only one or two traits.

The document provides helpful phrases for analyzing characters, such as:

• "This behavior clearly indicates that..."
• "[Character] is described/portrayed as..."
• "From this one can conclude that..."

These phrases can be used to link observations about the character to conclusions about their personality or role in the story.

The page also includes a list of character traits, ranging from "ambitious" to "weak," which can be useful in describing characters like Charlie, Sam, or Patrick from "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

Highlight: The guide emphasizes the importance of moving from outward descriptions to inward characteristics when analyzing characters.

Finally, the document provides brief character descriptions for some of the main characters in the novel:

• Patrick: faithful, honest, lighthearted, spontaneous, forgiving, understanding, happy, funny, but more serious and depressed after the breakup
• Sam: pretty, caring, mature, lovely, easy-going, forgiving, non-judgmental, kind, supportive
• Charlie: (not explicitly described in the given text)
• Bill: knowledgeable, talkative, kind, caring, thoughtful, well-educated, responsible, supportive, motivational, passionate

These descriptions offer a starting point for a more in-depth analysis of the characters in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", helping readers understand their roles and development throughout the novel.