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In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, what quotes exemplify theme, irony, dynamic character, inciting incident, and climax?
Quick answer:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower lends itself to analysis because of the many uses of different literary devices and techniques. However, some of your considerations are going to be more than single events; instead, they will stretch over the entire course of the text. For example: One of the central themes of the book is that participation is key to getting the full experience in life. Charlie is a “wallflower.” His primary mode of being is as an observer instead of a participant. Being an observer rather than a protagonist gets him into trouble, like in his relationship with Mary Elizabeth, whom he mostly dates because he cannot work up the courage to tell her he doesn’t want to be in a relationship.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower lends itself to analysis because of the many uses of different literary devices and techniques. However, some of your considerations are going to be more than single events; instead, they will stretch over the entire course of the text. For example:
Theme
One of the central themes of the book is that participation is key to getting the full experience in life. Charlie is a “wallflower.” His primary mode of being is as an observer instead of a participant. Being an observer rather than a protagonist gets him into trouble, like in his relationship with Mary Elizabeth, whom he mostly dates because he cannot work up the courage to tell her he doesn’t want to be in a relationship. He eventually makes the drastic move to kiss Sam instead of her at a party during a game, and she remarks later that she is...
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okay because he never talked enough. However, the break-up does negatively affect Charlie, who is essentially abandoned by his friends. One of the most significant parts of the story is that Charlie comes out of his shell by the end. Sam and Patrick work diligently to show him how to live his life to the fullest, and he learns by the end that participation is key to experiencing what life has to offer.
One of the most ironic moments in the text is when Brad mistreats Patrick for being gay, even though they are having sex. It's ironic because Brad is a closeted gay man, and yet he abuses Patrick because he is openly gay. It is also ironic that Patrick still has sex with Brad despite the way Brad treats him.
Dynamic Character
Charlie is the epitome of dynamic, because he changes in nearly every letter of the book. Sometimes the change is simple, like learning something new or being exposed to a new activity, and sometimes the difference is profound, like when he learns that he was sexually abused and decides to participate more in his sophomore year at the end of the book. Charlie is one of the few characters that changes so much in the book. Many of the other characters, with the exception of Patrick, stay roughly static in their personalities and interests—likely because we see them from Charlie’s perspective as a younger person looking up to older friends.
Inciting Incident
This is an interesting device because it is not typically included in the list of literary terms, but an inciting incident sounds like an incident in the text that builds conflict that must be overcome. One such incident is Brad beating up Patrick after his dad catches them together. This creates conflict because Charlie has to rescue Patrick. Subsequently, Charlie is brought back into the friend group and has to deal with his feelings for Sam. Charlie coping with his feelings for Sam is one of the central issues in the text, and it makes sense then that the conflict between Brad and Patrick might bring that back to light, given Charlie’s loyalty to Patrick.
The climax of the story is when Sam and Charlie are nearly able to be together. They are finally together, the conflict between Charlie and his feelings is resolved, but in the falling action, we see the blowback from their passionate embrace. Charlie falls into a catatonic state and has to go to a psychiatric hospital. He eventually comes to terms with abuse from his past, but we see the resolution that Sam and Charlie are still close after their time together during the climax of the story.