Question

How can I compare Hamlet to The Perks of Being a Wallflower?

Accepted Answer

The main characters of each story, Charlie and Hamlet, have death on their minds at the start.  Hamlet has lost his father and Charlie's friend has committed suicide. 
Insanity is a focal point of both stories. Everyone is concerned that Hamlet is crazy. He is acting very strangely, and the reader at times isn't even sure if Hamlet really is nuts or if he is still pretending to be crazy. His "crazy" is so convincing that his girlfriend is even convinced. Like Hamlet, Charlie has a mental breakdown. The difference though is that there is no doubting Charlie's mental state. 
Both Charlie and Hamlet have families that appear to be loving, but there is some gross stuff going on, too. Aunt Helen molested Charlie, and Hamlet's mom was likely having an affair with his uncle. That would explain her quick marriage after her husband's death. 
Both stories are about the main characters growing up and taking control of the events around their lives. Sadly, though, Hamlet ends in tragedy and a lot of death. The Perks of Being a Wallflower ends on a much brighter note with Charlie wanting to continue his positive growth.

Answer

What a fun question!
There are many similarities between the character Hamlet and Charlie, the protagonist in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. For one, both characters have strong internal thoughts that drive their stories. In Hamlet, this takes the form of a number of soliloquies (think, "To be or not to be..."), while Charlie essentially "thinks" his entire novel, as it is written in letters from him to an unknown recipient. In allowing the audience to "see" the protagonists' thoughts so clearly, both Shakespeare and Stephen Chbosky give us deep insight into the personal turmoil of their lead characters.
Family is another important theme in both texts. In Hamlet, the entire story is driven by Hamlet's father's murder and his mother's subsequent marriage to his uncle. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie's relationship with his parents and his Aunt Helen are vital parts of the story.
The difference, however, lies with how much the reader knows about the "sins" of the protagonists' family members. In Hamlet, we know that Hamlet's uncle murdered his father from the beginning. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, we do not know that Aunt Helen molested Charlie until nearly the end of the book. This allows us to experience the protagonists' thoughts about their relatives in very different ways.
Finally, both characters feel like outsiders in their own lives. Hamlet cannot trust those around him and is constantly torn regarding his relationship with Ophelia. Charlie keeps so many of his feelings to himself and struggles to find acceptance and comfort with an "older" crowd, not to mention his complex feelings for Sam.
The similarities in theme between these texts, which were published 400 years apart, show the lasting struggles of the human condition.

Answer

The Perks of Being a Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky and Shakespeare's Hamlet have many similarities.
In both The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Hamlet, the main characters are young men who are experiencing issues in their mental health. Charlie, the main character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, struggles with social anxiety as well as the effects of being molested as a young boy by his aunt. He eventually has a mental breakdown and ends up in the hospital. Hamlet, the main character of Hamlet, also has a mental breakdown. Hamlet pretends to be insane on multiple occasions and this results in the death of his girlfriend, Ophelia. 
Both stories also incorporate many family issues. Hamlet's father haunts him as a ghost and his mother marries his uncle. Charlie's parents struggle to help their son and do not pay a lot of attention to his or his sister's issues. His parents do not notice that his sister is being abused by her boyfriend until one of Charlie's teachers informs them. Charlie is also molested by his aunt, which causes a lot of his anxiety. This anxiety is heightened because Charlie loved his aunt, despite being sexually abused, and is devastated when she dies.
Although these two stories are similar in theme, they have very different endings. The Perks of Being a Wallflower ends on a happy note with Charlie trying to improve his life. Hamlet ends on a sad note, as it is one of Shakespeare's tragedies, with death.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

How can I compare Hamlet to The Perks of Being a Wallflower?

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