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March 1, 2006

Literary Weaving

Posted by at March 1, 2006 10:06 PM | The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Comments

I believe that there are MANY topics that create patterns in today's youth. Life is like a continuous pattern. Sometimes the pattern reaches a high point and sometimes it reaches a low point. It is up to the "weaver" to take these patterns and arrange them however they want. If it is a good pattern, then turn it into a beautiful weaving, if it is a bad patternm try and fix it. This book focused on many bad topics that occur in our youth's lives today. Although it does, we must keep in mind that there are many good things that happen to teens in this world. As a society, we need to be aware of the good and the bad influences/occasions of our youth. I had many good things happen to me, and many bad things happen to me as a teenager. Some of the major events that I dealt with as a teenager was peer pressure, death, and stress. Along with these traumatic things, came MANY positive things. I got scholarships, awards, compliments, achieved goals, etc. I took these positive things and allowed them to control my life, rather than the bad things that happened to me. A lot of kids that have rough lives may disagree with me, and they have every right too. But it is in their hands to weave out their pattern and hopefully there is something positive in their life that can inspire them to go on with life and work past their struggles, because everyone has them.

Posted by: Beth Sorensen at March 5, 2006 2:44 PM

I think that many of the themes we wove together for this book affected me growing up. Maybe some more than others. One that has especially been apart of my adolesence and even present day is journaling and writing letters. I love to journal and it has always been a very personal thing for me. Another biggie I can relate to is the mixed tape, but now it has transformed into a mixed CD. When I was younger, I would record my favorite songs off the radio onto tapes, but now I just burn CD's which is much easier. There are more themes I could discuss, but I think these are two of the biggies, and the ones that are most personal to me.

Posted by: Ashley Baker at March 6, 2006 10:59 AM

I think that this book brought up a lot of common themes that teenagers experience, or at least things that parents, teachers, and other adults fear that teenagers will experience. Most people would agree that abusive relationships and experimenting with drugs and alcohol are bad choices teenagers could make. This book also brought up the controversial topic of abortion, specifically teenage abortion. I think that this book was written in a very teen-friendly format, but no dire consequences happened to the characters that participated in the serious topics in this book. I don't know if all books need to have consequences to negative actions, but I do believe that that is one of the reasons this book could never really be taught in a classroom.

Posted by: Christine Schmitt at March 6, 2006 5:25 PM

Adolescents who live life on the fringe seem to continuously have problems with their home- life. These problems are wide-spread but are commonly narrowed down to the environment with which they live in, including their parents' behaviors. The themes adolescents go through as they are growing up stem from these 'problems at home'. They could be dealing with their parents fighting or separating, alcoholic family members, abuse, etc. All of these things lead to an unstable life. As the synonym shows us, unstable is just another way of saying risky. Therefore, unstable home-life leads to involvement in risky behaviors. Some of these risky behaviors have been addressed in our weaving, and the topics have definitely affected me, although most of them indirectly. I have friends who have been suicidal, addicted to alcohol, and have to deal with the complexities of being homosexual. Most of these themes that adolescents go through have negative aftermaths. I think Christine hit it right on about how nothing really happened to Charlie after he went through these so called 'risky behaviors'. It's interesting because it's a different way to look at and think about adolescents actions. The book is more about the whole idea of experimenting and finding out who you are. And if Charlie was punished for participating in these risky behaviors then the book wouldn't be showing adolescents that it is okay to experiment and try to find yourself. In all means this book is a book of the new generation, with it's themes of homosexuality and abortion, but I think this is also very clear because of the way it shows that participating in risky behaviors is just a way of finding oneself. And in a generation where we are told to do what we want and be true to ourselves, how can we put down adolescents who want to do just that?

Posted by: Amanda Davey at March 7, 2006 2:44 AM

When reading this book, I believe that there are a lot of adolescents that can either relate or they know of someone who can relate. Being in High School seems to be an adventure for everyone. When Charlie goes to the Football game and sits next to Patrick and Sam, he didn't know a friendship would spark from his randomness. Charlie was thrown in a different directions his first year of High School, from making new friends, ones who cared about him, to falling in love, becoming close with his sister for the first time, and semi-losing his brother as a friend. To me this is a tyical scene from a High School. Losing/Gaining friends, falling in love peer pressure, dances..everyone goes through ups and downs.I think that this story is a good way to express to others that life happens, not only to us but everyone. Its sometimes hard to step outside ourselves to see what others are dealing with. Journaling is a neat way to write a story without even realizing it. It personally makes it seems more laid back and its a lot easier to place yourself in Charlie's shoes, and understand where hes coming from in a letter form versus chapters. I think its also neat because it seems like we subconsciencely kept reading hoping to see who he was writing letters too.....

Posted by: Ashley Haines at March 7, 2006 12:48 PM

Growing up I made different choices than my friends. They would often participate in activities that Charlie was introduced to in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.� A lot of American teens experience the phase of feeling like an adult, but not being one yet. They are able to make their own choices, pick their own friends and there is nothing anyone can do or say about it. Sometimes, this can be a good influence and give that adolescent a sense of independence from their parents. It also can lead to more self-destructive behavior if there is no sense of right and wrong. Excessive partying, prohibited substances, and other negative factors may become overwhelming and the teen is enveloped in that lifestyle. I do believe it is possible to experience some of these trials in life and be able to learn from them. Adolescence is a time of discovery and learning who you are. In “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,� Charlie became whoever people wanted him to be. I think this is common with this age group and doing what is “cool� and “acceptable� rather than something you believe in. Charlie never gave an indication of things he felt strongly about, but in the end I think he really learned to follow his heart instead of being a doormat all the time.

As an American teenager I have been exposed to many similar social realms as Charlie, however, growing up in a suburban neighborhood in Minnesota is quite different. Most controversial things growing up were never spoken of; it was a lot like living in a bubble. Some of the themes chosen by the class were influential in my life as a teenager. I had friends who participated in some scandalous activity, but I was never one to join in. I think in college was really the first time I was truly exposed to a lot of themes in the book. I have never let peers influence me in a way that I wasn’t already aware of the consequences. I’ve never been one for doing anything halfheartedly, I always trust myself.

Posted by: Kristin Wahlund at March 8, 2006 11:59 AM

I think uncertainty is a big theme that most adolescents living on the fringe experience and have to deal with. They tend not to have a voice of their own, but to question themselves and wonder what everybody else would want them to do. Charlie worried about this a lot with Mary Elizabeth when they "dated." He tried to do everything that he thought she would want him to do. He also questioned himself and his feelings for Sam. He stifled his own emotions in an effort to please his friends. He frequently apologized for doing things because he wasn't confident in his decisions and didn't want to hurt anybody. I think most adolescents experience this at some point in their teen years. I know that I have personally looked back on things and wondered if I made the right choice, or should I have done something differently. The adolescent world revolves around friendships and keeping them in tact. One way to do that is to try to please everyone, which inevitably causes uncertainty and self-doubt. This theme is very noticable in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

Posted by: Jessica Engle at March 8, 2006 8:44 PM

I believe that adolecents that live on the fringe participate and experience many of the same behaviors and activities. For instance, some of the patterns I see in society's adolescents are: drinking, drugs, experientation, smoking, ect. I think that these patterns develop because adolescent's main concern in life is to feel accepted by their peers. In the book, "Perks of Being a Wallflower" Charlie does not participate in some of his "bad behaviors" until he meets and becomes friends with Patrick and Sam. I do not think adolescents purely experiment with drugs and alcohol because they want to see what it's like. Therefore, I think these patterns exist because adolescents want to fit in and belong to a peer group. I was not personally affected by the themes/patterns because my peers were not into drugs or alcohol. However, I do think that if my peers did drink and do drugs that I would have also tried those things to fit in with the group.

Posted by: Anonymous at March 9, 2006 1:29 PM

I think that the literary weaving has a lot of things that many people can relate to. I have personally experienced a lot of the things that Charlie did in the novel. I have experienced a suicide, peer pressure and other situations in the novel. However, i didnt hang out with the same type of crowd that Charlie did. My friends didnt use drugs or anything like that. We werent huge party kids and kind of shyed away from that scene. I think that the homosexuality part of the novel is something that a lot of people can relate to however. I think that in this day and age it is becoming more socially acceptable for one to be in love with someone of the same sex. I am glad that the novel was able to touch upon that. Even thought it is an adolscent novel, I still think its important for teenagers to be exposed to this kind of thing.

Posted by: Kristin Bochler at March 22, 2006 11:09 PM

I didn't really like my first entry so I decided to do another one. I think that this "weaving" of themes throughout the book represents every teens life. All of the negative themes such as drugs, sex, abuse, etc. may not directly happen in each teens life, but may become evident in their peer's life. I was raised in a small town and had to choose to be a "good" girl or a "bad" girl. I chose to be a "good" girl. I was not perfect by any means, but really felt that I made many good decisions growing up. As a respectable girl, I viewed the positive parts of the weaving as motivational resources to stay away from the negative parts of the weaving. I feel as though no matter how surrounded you are by these negative things, you will find your true self through good and bad experiences. I feel as though Charlie did this in the book. Charlie was exposed to a lot of problems by his friends and family members. If you look at life as Charlie did, everything happens for a reason and you should try to learn from every occurance or mistake that comes your way.

Posted by: Beth Sorensen at March 27, 2006 5:06 PM

Ok what is this above my comment? That needs to be deleted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways, I must say that the themes we weaved together in our literary weaving all affected me while growing up. The pressure from peers to try alcohol, cigerattes, and drugs were high. I loved listening to music and making mixed tapes. I felt some depression (nothing major) and had some pretty funny experiences with dating. I also remember writing a lot of notes to friends. Adolescents should be a time of self discovery and of learning how relationships work. I know that no one's life is perfectly happy but it is very tragic when a fun and good time in a persons life gets ruined for any reason.

Posted by: Molly Reppe at April 28, 2006 12:36 PM

Ok what is this above my comment? That needs to be deleted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways, I must say that the themes we weaved together in our literary weaving all affected me while growing up. The pressure from peers to try alcohol, cigerattes, and drugs were high. I loved listening to music and making mixed tapes. I felt some depression (nothing major) and had some pretty funny experiences with dating. I also remember writing a lot of notes to friends. Adolescents should be a time of self discovery and of learning how relationships work. I know that no one's life is perfectly happy but it is very tragic when a fun and good time in a person's life gets ruined for any reason.

Posted by: Molly Reppe at April 28, 2006 12:36 PM

Ok what is this above my comment? That needs to be deleted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways, I must say that the themes we weaved together in our literary weaving all affected me while growing up. The pressure from peers to try alcohol, cigerattes, and drugs were high. I loved listening to music and making mixed tapes. I felt some depression (nothing major) and had some pretty funny experiences with dating. I also remember writing a lot of notes to friends. Adolescents should be a time of self discovery and of learning how relationships work. I know that no one's life is perfectly happy but it is very tragic when a fun and good time in a person's life gets ruined for any reason.

Posted by: Molly Reppe at April 28, 2006 12:37 PM

Ok what is this above my comment? That needs to be deleted! Anyways, I must say that the themes we weaved together in our literary weaving all affected me while growing up. The pressure from peers to try alcohol, cigerattes, and drugs were high. I loved listening to music and making mixed tapes. I felt some depression (nothing major) and had some pretty funny experiences with dating. I also remember writing a lot of notes to friends. Adolescents should be a time of self discovery and of learning how relationships work. I know that no one's life is perfectly happy but it is very tragic when a fun and good time in a person's life gets ruined for any reason.

Posted by: Molly Reppe at April 28, 2006 12:38 PM

The themes in the weaving are all brought up in most peoples lives, and are first being learned about in younger kids lives, like with Charlie. I have been affected by certain aspects of the weaving. When I was younger and learning about life many of these topics were present. I loved Perks of Being a Wallflower because anybody can relate to it. It brings up so many topics that young people have to deal with and after reading this book children might say, hey, its not just me going through this! That is important because when you feel like you are the only one going through something it can mess with your mind even worse and make things a lot harder.

Posted by: Brandon Tuttle at April 30, 2006 2:39 PM

I really can relate to the music reference strips because like the main character, I enjoy so many different kinds of music and I seem to get lost in the words and sound when I'm listening to them. Another theme that I could relate to is the drinking and smoking strips. I'm not going to say that I haven't used these things but at their age in the book, middle to high school kids seem to really be experimenting with them or being pressured to do so. I never felt pressured but I can very much see how this is a huge issue facing teens today.

Posted by: Dorie Craker at May 2, 2006 11:57 AM

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Posted by: Tyson F. Gautreaux at August 4, 2011 9:47 AM