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The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Comparison Essay

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Required reading is something my peers overlook and skip straight to spark notes to pass. I believe if well written literature is studied it can be a blessing rather than a curse for the student. The reason teachers force us to read, isn’t just because it’s the standard on the syllabus. The books we have to read inspire debate, enlighten the reader, introduce us to unfamiliar points of view, and have important morals and themes. Two pieces of literature that I’ve never studied together is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. These two novels can be effectively studied together due to their similar motifs, protagonists, and genres. They each have a theme of coming of age and alienation …show more content…

The tone of The Catcher in the Rye was sad and cynical while The Perks of Being a Wallflower was more analytical and reflective. The main characters in both novels can be compared and contrasted due to their distant nature. Holden Caulfield the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye was kicked out of four private schools, is adventurous, and struggles academically. On the other hand, Charlie, the protagonist of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is introverted and intelligent. Holden is naïve and resentful of the adult world; like many teenagers he is frightened to grow old. Charlie’s aunt died in a car accident, and Holden’s brother died of Leukemia. They alienate themselves as a result of their loved ones deaths and cannot love without fear. However, they also both long for connection, yet Holden pushes people away before he can get hurt. Charlie just wants acceptance and actually makes a group of misfit friends. The Catcher in the Rye was written in the 1950’s while The Perks of Being a Wallflower was written in 1999. Despite the books being written nearly 50 years apart, their connections are not broken by time. I believe it could be an interesting and unexpected treasure to study

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Holden has the choice to either act like an adult or play like a child when he comes across a problem. But not surprisingly, he can’t choose which path to follow, so he stays stuck in the middle. This middle grey area of transitioning from childhood to adulthood for Holden is what is causing his problems and what is making his choices and decisions a lot harder. Holden 's past experiences have taken a toll on him and are starting to cause present issues for him. Holden was only thirteen when his younger brother passed away and it hit him hard.

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The Catcher in the Rye In the novel The Catcher in the Rye J.D Salinger writes about a teenager struggling to find his place within the existence of the reality of others. Salinger creates shocking events that lay out the foundation of the the main character Holden Caulfield’s life in the novel. Salinger uses Holden’s characteristics throughout the novel such as Holden’s stubbornness to establish a much bigger theme in the book along with many other symbols.

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Comparison essay There are a lot of similarity and deference's between The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and Dead Poet's Society by Peter Weir. One of the most important is taking risks and pressuring the person, both the novel and the movie showed that taking risks and putting pressure on the people is bad because it affect both of the protagonist in a negative way. Taking risks and putting pressure on the both protagonist will affect their future, caring about education and they were reckless about their lifes Taking risks is bad and can affect the people in a negative way. In this case taking risks is effecting their future.

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Blinded by Memories How protagonists of Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby are similar by rejecting reality and how it leads to their downfall? The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby share the podium when best portraying the American dream and experience. Despite differing greatly, J.D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield’s experiences and inner aspirations are akin to those of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby. The Great Gatsby and the American dream and success it illustrates including: wealth, fame, and roaring parties held by Jay Gatsby may initially seem wholly different from The Catcher in the Rye.

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Throughout the book, Holden is struggling to get by. The death of his brother Allie has left him in a tough spot. Holden doesn’t exactly know how to deal with this. The different stages of grief are represented through Holden. Holden shows denial and anger when he flashbacks to one of his memories after his brother’s death.

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1. The Perks of being a Wallflower is a story about a high school freshman named Charlie. Through the entire novel Charlie is writing letters addressed to an anonymous friend. In these letters, he talks about his journey throughout his first year in high school. Where he experiences everything for the first time – first dates, family drama, drugs and new friends. In other words; growing up.

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In the 1900’s, Winston Churchill said “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” (Kutner, The Illustrious History of Misquoting Winston Churchill,”). This quote stands out for a number of reasons. When people read books, people slowly gain more character, courage, and more curiosity. First of all, reading helps people develop character to know the good choices from the bad ones.

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The only motivator that Holden has to continue living is his younger sister, Phoebe, who is extraordinarily intelligent for her age. After he gets kicked out of Pencey, Holden is lost in life. He speaks to many people, seeking advice and comfort, but they are not able to help him find a human connection. Holden’s depression increases throughout the novel, almost to the point of suicide. He criticizes many people and ideas, labeling them as ‘phony’.

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Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.

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He talks to his brother as if he 's there searching for help from him. This novel is about him moving through New York and witnessing this and not wanting to be a part of it, yet knowing he has to fit in there somewhere. Holden grows a very dangerous drinking problem. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, Holden is a lost and depressed boy looking for a purpose in life. Holden believes that growing up is going to cause him to lose all innocence in himself.

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A. Allie’s death causes Holden to become obsessed with death and this obsession makes him believe that growing up and becoming a “phonie” is like dying; this belief that is planted inside Holden’s head when Allie died is what sends him on a quest to preserve children’s innocence and save them from the “death” of growing up. B. Salinger includes the traumatic story of Allies death that happened years in advance to provide an explanation for Holden’s obsession with death and how he sees loss of innocence as equivalent to dying. Allie died with his innocence still intact, so Holden does not want other children to grow up and have their innocence “die”. C. Holden even admits to being mentally unstable after his brother’s traumatic death when he says, “I was only 13, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all

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Adolescence is a time of many changes including puberty, high school and finding one’s identity. Among the many changes in this period of development there are many new experiences combined with a greater amount of responsibility. Adolescence can be a difficult time for many people especially when trying to find out who they want to be. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a movie about a freshmen in high school who is going through experiences most kids his age do. Depression, suicide, peer pressure, first love, and the importance of friends and family are all elements in the development of an adolescent.

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Gupta [1] Shrishti Gupta Ms.Kanika Dang English thesis paper 20th October, 2015 The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stefen Chbosky ‘The perks of being a wallflower’ is a popular book read mostly among teenagers, it revolves around the life of an introverted boy called Charlie. This book is a rollercoaster of human emotions and an excellent portrayal of “misfits” as they struggle to find their place in the turbulent high school world. The readers have greeted this premise with empathy and understanding. Charlie’s haunting letters, addressed only to “Dear Friend,” bring readers straight to the heart of his struggles to fit in, to find the will to “participate” in life, and to cope with the realities of the larger world as he learns how to grow up. ‘the perks of being a wallflower’ is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Stefen Chbosky and published in 1999.

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