Stephen Chbosky was born and raised in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania where he lived with his two parents. As a teenager, he was an avid reader and mainly enjoyed the classics, horror and fantasy genres of literature. He was highly influenced by J.D. Salinger, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Tennessee Williams. After graduating from high school in 1988, he pursued a degree from the screenwriting program at the University of Southern California. After he graduated in 1992, he went on to write, direct and act in the 1995 independent film The Four Corners of Nowhere. This film brought him much success, including a spot at the Sundance Film Festival. He continued to write screenplays after the success of his first film but none were produced.
In 1994, he began work on what is now known as The Perks of Being a Wallflower. He claims that the novel stemmed from one line that he wrote in particular, "I guess that's just one of the perks of being a wallflower." After he wrote this line, he knew that he wanted his protagonist to be defined through it. The book was finished in 1999 and became an immediate success. It went on to sell over 700,000 and became a very controversial novel in many school districts. Due to its sexual, violent and drug related plot lines, it has been banned in several school districts. Chbosky claims that he is disheartened by those who cannot appreciate the book despite its harsh plot lines:
"It’s more of mourning the fact that people can’t agree to disagree, and people can’t find common ground. The people who object for moral reasons cannot see the value of the book, and the people who see the value of the book don’t realize why it’s upsetting to more religious people."
I find Chbosky's work very beneficial in the realm of adolescent readers because he writes about such real and sometimes terrifying topics. He makes his writing accessible and relatable to any teen or any person who is going through difficult times. His depiction of depression and its partnership with drug and alcohol abuse was so chilling yet he wrote it in a way that an outsider looking in can understand how they all flow together. Through reading several articles about Chbosky and an interview that he did, it is evident that he has positively impacted the lives of many teens who were on the brink of suicide. He brought their stories to life in his novel and gave them a friend in protagonist Charlie. Ironically enough, he claims that he did not originally write this novel for a young adult audience but that critics have created it as such due to its graphic focus on adolescent life.
When thinking of this text in terms of the secondary classroom, I have conflicting ideas as to whether it should be included in the ELA curriculum. The teacher who is working with this novel must be 100% comfortable with all of its topics and with discussing these topics with adolescent students. I believe that it does contain extremely graphic and serious events and that it should be first approved by parents before the students begin work with the novel in the classroom. An alternate option could be to have the student read excerpts from the novel that focus on the social issues of the book, while leaving out some of the more graphic material. If and when the book has been approved for use in the classroom, I think that as a teacher, I would immediately address the social issues depicted within the novel. The students should discuss the stereotypes associated with drug use, sexuality, depression and other main themes from the novel. The students could journal their thoughts on these topics as they are reading the novel or upon completion. They could also work in small groups to discuss the issues that the characters of the book faced and relate it to personal experiences or experiences seen in the school community. This novel could also be taught in conjunction with other similar novels that address similar social issues.
Discussion Questions on The Perks of Being a Wallflower:
1. The protagonist, Charlie, seemed to be grappling with many different issues in his daily life as an adolescent. How can we as educators and socially-sensitive adults teach this novel in class and provide a positive outlet for the discussion of the social issues that many adolescents go through?
2. In the novel, Charlie makes a mix-tape of songs for his crush Sam. How does having a soundtrack to the book make it more meaningful? Do we learn more about who Charlie is by learning of the songs that he includes on the mix?
3. The book is comprised entirely of letters that Charlie writes to an unknown friend. How does this impact the tone and message of the story?
Interview with Chbosky:
http://www.wordriot.org/template.php?ID=552
Unit/Lesson Plans:
http://yalitgourley.wikispaces.com/The+Perks+of+Being+a+Wallflower+Lesson+Plan
http://www.mrjeffrey.com/lesson_plan_zone.html
http://hypermedia.educ.psu.edu/k-12/units/teens/weekone.htm
Digital Media:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyelRt06Yjk
I signed this book out of the library because I heard many people in class talk about it, so I was interested to see what it was all about. Upon reading, I felt that the time period could be placed in the seventies because of the conversations and events taking place between the characters. Also, who makes a mixed tape anymore? :) Anyway, I do believe you need to be 100% comfortable teaching, and reading, this book. I also think it may be better for a small book club activity, or perhaps take small passages here and there to demonstrate the issues that are relevant to young adult readers. If the students become interested in the book you can then direct them to take the book out on their own to read.
ReplyDeleteI did the above mentioned activity with "Bang!" by Sharon G. Flake and read certain passages that would grab my students attention or to help introduce a topic that is relevant to my students. On the days that I did not get to read the book, more than one of my students asked me, "When are we going to read Bang!? Are we going to continue reading the book?" It's amazing how students can become interested in a book when you've only shown certain passages.
I definitely agree that you have to be comfortable teaching this book to a group of students. I think that the text is a good one to recommend for certain students that you think might find it interesting in a upper secondary level. (Actually, I heard about it through a friend that read it and recommended it.) I think it would be a tough sell to get parents and administrators to incorporate it into a set curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI really like that one of the lessons focuses on analyzing the songs Charlie mentions in the book. I think the mixed tapes are a goofy, but central part to Charlie's character.
I think the perspective of the book (written through letters to an anonymous person) is very intriguing. This could provide many opportunities for students to do creative writing. There are a lot of assignments that could branch out of letters to anonymous people. That is another part of the book that would be interesting to analyze with a small group or book club.
Melissa, what other books would you pair this one with? I haven't read it (yet) but i know the nottingham book club is (or maybe by now they have completed it...).
ReplyDeleteAnd Michael's idea of letters to anonymous people also seems like something interesting to do that would catch the students' attention and get them thinking more about the book.