Ranking The 5 Major Characters in the Perks of Being a Wallflower Based on My Own Opinions

 

The Perks Of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephan Chbosky, is an intense novel focusing on the inner workings of a grieving teenage boy’s mind.

The book follows a boy under the false name of ‘Charlie’ as he faces his first year of high school after losing his best friend to suicide a few months prior. It tells the story through letters that he sends to an unknown recipient. The novel represents grief, depression, and friendship. Charlie befriends multiple seniors that teach him and help him in ways he never could have expected. Even though Charlie is mentally unwell, his newfound friends make his life a little easier.

These are my rankings of the most important five characters in the novel.

(as in Charlie, Patrick, Sam, Bill, and Mary Elizabeth as they are the most valuable to the plot)

[Pictures from movie although I am ranking them as to how they were portrayed in the novel]

1. Patrick

Patrick was Charlie’s first friend once Charlie made it to highschool. Patrick is a class clown, which is how Charlie meets him. He continues to make jokes throughout the novel which is refreshing in an occasionally bleak book. At a certain point of the book, in which Sam, Mary Elizabeth and majority of Charlie's friends began to avoid him, Patrick was the only one truly there for Charlie. When Patrick is having a hard time after his fall out with his ex, Brad, Patrick seeks comfort in not Sam, but Charlie. Which further solidifies their strong relationship, helping Charlie feel less alone. When Charlie goes to the hospital, Patrick is the only one that visits him.

2. Charlie

Charlie is the main character of the book, and it’s from his perspective that the novel is formed. Charlie is going through a lot of mental health issues so it can be easy to perceive some of his actions as cold or inconsiderate, but because of the perspective we get a clear insight into his mind which explains his reasoning. Charlie is extremely thoughtful towards his friends. This isn’t always directly represented to them but is constantly mentioned in his letters. Charlie is a kind, insecure and socially awkward teen. Sometimes he makes some poor choices however, and isn’t always acting in his own best interest.

3. Bill

Bill is Charlie’s English teacher. He does a great job encouraging Charlie and helping Charlie academically and socially. Bill supplies Charlie with vast amounts of books that help him develop his literary skill. He isn’t as important as the other main characters on this list but he played a big part in helping Charlie stay afloat.

4. Mary Elizabeth

Mary Elizabeth is Charlie’s first girlfriend. Though she is smart and funny I feel

as though she kind of forced herself onto Charlie very fast. She Sped up a relationship that was already new and unfamiliar to Charlie. Mary Elizabeth is very punky, but in her case she is also described as being very mean(or blunt). She kind of insults Charlie occasionally, which really messes with Charlie as he is already unwell.

5. Sam

Some people may disagree when I put Sam at last however I personally do not like Sam. Sam knew from the start of the novel that Charlie liked her. And instead of even attempting to put his feelings to rest it almost felt as though she was most of the time toying with his feelings. Half way through the book she kisses Charlie and then doesn’t acknowledge that it happened. She then begins brushing Charlie off after she starts dating Craig. She completely avoids Charlie after the Truth or Dare scene. Then at the end she kisses Charlie before she leaves for college and causes him to completely spiral. Despite being one of Charlie’s first friends, she is just not a good person.

By. Miranda Isaacs