I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere romanen The Perks of Being a Wallflower af Stephen Chbosky. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde summaries af både de enkelte kapitler og romanen som helhed. Vi giver dig også gode råd om fortolkning og perspektivering.
Citaterne i denne study guide er baseret på den britiske paperbackudgave fra Pocket Books, 2009.
Præsentation af teksten
Titel: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999)
Forfatter: Stephen Chbosky
Genre: Roman
Stephen Chbosky (f. 1970) er en amerikansk forfatter og filminstruktør. Han er bedst kendt for romanen The Perks of Being a Wallflower, som det tog ham fem år at skrive. Dele af bogens handling og karakterer er baseret på Chboskys egne minder om det at være teenager.
I 2012 skrev Chbosky et filmmanuskript baseret på romanen og instruerede selv filmen, som fik samme titel som romanen. Filmen havde Emma Watson, Logan Lerman og Ezra Miller i hovedrollerne og medførte fornyet interesse for romanen.
Uddrag
Her kan du læse et uddrag fra vores analysehjælp:
Symbols
The Perks of Being a Wallflower features a number of symbols. For example, several characters in the story give each other mixtapes, which are symbols of friendship. Charlie shows his affection for Patrick by making him a mixtape for Secret Santa (pp. 65-66); Patrick later shows he appreciates Charlie’s friendship by playing the tape when he is depressed about Brad (p. 168). Charlie even makes a mixtape for his Aunt Helen and leaves it by her grave (p. 99). However, mixtapes become a symbol of manipulation in the context of Charlie’s sister. Her boyfriend makes her mixtapes and also hits her.
The act of driving is another important symbol in the book. Patrick and Sam’s independence and maturity are confirmed by the fact that they can both drive and have a pick-up truck. Charlie sees gaining his driving license as an important milestone – and is also an external marker of maturity accepted by society. In a country like the US, it is often hard to get around without a car of your own. Therefore, to most Americans, a car symbolizes freedom. Driving gives Charlie a new independence and allows him to help others, such as taking his sister to her abortion appointment.
