The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Essay

Stephen Chbosky left a lasting affect with his book The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The book, published in 1999, is still read in classrooms today and now has a movie, which was released in 2012. Currently the book has been causing some turmoil in certain districts throughout the U.S. and Canada. Despite the book’s popularity between teens in high school, and some middle school students as well, parents and teachers alike are coming together to ban the book from their school districts. These parents believe that The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book about a 15-year old freshman Charlie’s coming of age story, is too mature for their own15-year olds. Chbosky does write about masturbation, sexuality, sex, drugs and alcohol in his book but teenagers in high school, and most likely middle school as well, have heard and/or experienced most of these “explicit” topics.

First off, sexuality should be explored when one is young so a person does not have to go through life questioning themselves, and most likely hating themselves, later on in their life. Second of all, there was only one part of the book that hinted at possible bestiality, and it was meant to be a deterrent from drugs and alcohol. There are pieces about sex and masturbation that have fueled that fire of the book’s banishment even though all of them were meant as lessons and insights to the young reader. Many parents counter that they would rather have their teen reading and learning about all these topics by reading a book rather than learning them from their friends, from experience, or when it is too