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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Book by Stephen Chbosky · 39 quotes · Love, Perks, Perks Of A Wallflower

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower Quotes

“Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines he wrote a poem And he called it "Chops" because that was the name of his dog And that's what it was all about And his teacher gave him an A and a gold star And his mother hung it on the kitchen door and read it to his aunts That was the year Father Tracy took all the kids to the zoo And he let them sing on the bus And his little sister was born with tiny toenails and no hair And his mother and father kissed a lot And the girl around the corner sent him a Valentine signed with a row of X's and he had to ask his father what the X's meant And his father always tucked him in bed at night And was always there to do it Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines he wrote a poem And he called it "Autumn" because that was the name of the season And that's what it was all about And his teacher gave him an A and asked him to write more clearly And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door because of its new paint And the kids told him that Father Tracy smoked cigars And left butts on the pews And sometimes they would burn holes That was the year his sister got glasses with thick lenses and black frames And the girl around the corner laughed when he asked her to go see Santa Claus And the kids told him why his mother and father kissed a lot And his father never tucked him in bed at night And his father got mad when he cried for him to do it. Once on a paper torn from his notebook he wrote a poem And he called it "Innocence: A Question" because that was the question about his girl And that's what it was all about And his professor gave him an A and a strange steady look And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door because he never showed her That was the year that Father Tracy died And he forgot how the end of the Apostle's Creed went And he caught his sister making out on the back porch And his mother and father never kissed or even talked And the girl around the corner wore too much makeup That made him cough when he kissed her but he kissed her anyway because that was the thing to do And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed his father snoring soundly That's why on the back of a brown paper bag he tried another poem And he called it "Absolutely Nothing" Because that's what it was really all about And he gave himself an A and a slash on each damned wrist And he hung it on the bathroom door because this time he didn't think he could reach the kitchen.”

Poem
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“I know that you know that I like Craig. And I know that I told you not to think of me that way. And I know that we can't be together like that. But I want to forget all those thing for a minute. Okay? Okay. I want to make sure that the first person you kiss loves you. Okay? Okay. She was crying harder now. And I was, too, because when I hear something like that I just can't help it. I just want to make sure of that. Okay? Okay. And she kissed me. It was the kind of kiss I could never tell my friends out loud. I t was the kind of kiss that made me know that I was never so happy in my whole life.”

Sweet
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“That’s when I realized that I really loved you.” She sat down on the floor with me. She spoke quiet. “Charlie, don’t you get it? I can’t feel that. It’s sweet and everything, but it’s like you’re not even there sometimes. It’s great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but what about when someone doesn’t need a shoulder. What if they need the arms or something like that? You can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can’t. You have to do things.”

Participation
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“My sister said Mary Elizabeth is suffering from low self-esteem, but I told her that she said the same thing about Sam back in November when she started dating Craig, and Sam is completely different. Everything can't be low self-esteem, can it? My sister tried to clarify things. She said that by introducing me to all these great things, Mary Elizabeth gained a "superior position" that she wouldn't need if she was confident about herself. She also said that people who try to control situations all the time are afraid that if they don't, nothing will work out the way they want.”

Self EsteemControlLow Self EsteemBitchesControl FreaksFeeling SuperiorNeeding To Feel Superior
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“She also keeps talking about the Billie Holiday record she bought for me. And she says she wants to expose me to all these great things. And to tell you the truth, I don't really want to be exposed to all these great things if it means that I'll have to listen to Mary Elizabeth talk about all the great things she exposed me to all the time. It almost feels like of the three things involved: Mary Elizabeth, me, and the great things, only the first one matters to Mary Elizabeth. I don't understand that. I would give someone a record so they could love the record, not so they would always know that I gave it to them.”

LoveKindnessSelfishnessSelflessnessGiftsSnobsBitchesSelf Centered PeopleObnoxious PeopleHistrionic People
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“E anche se ci sono persone che stanno peggio di te, ciò non toglie che tu abbia la tua vita. Bella o brutta che sia. Proprio come mi ha detto mia sorella, quando ormai ero in ospedale da un po'. Mi ha confidato che il fatto di partire per il college la preoccupava molto e che, considerando quello che stavo passando, si sentiva una vera stupida. Ma io non capisco perché. Anch'io sarei preoccupato, al posto suo. E, in effetti, non credo che la mia situazione sia migliore o peggiore della sua. Non lo so. È soltanto diversa.”

VitaDiversitàIdeeRiflessioneImportanza
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“Ma è come quando la dottoressa mi ha raccontato la storia di quei due fratelli, il cui padre era alcolizzato. Uno è diventato un bravo carpentiere, e non tocca una goccia d'alcol. L'altro è finito come il suo vecchio. Quando hanno chiesto al primo perché non bevesse, lui ha detto che, dopo aver visto quello che faceva quella roba a suo padre, non è riuscito nemmeno a provarci. Il secondo, invece, ha dichiarato di aver imparato a bere sulle ginocchia del genitore. Quindi, immagino che siano tanti i fattori che ci fanno essere come siamo. Molti, forse, non li conosceremo mai. Ma, anche se non possiamo essere noi a decidere da dove veniamo, possiamo scegliere la nostra meta. Ci sono altre cose che possiamo fare. Cercando di sentirci a posto.”

VitaScelteFamiglia
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“It's sweet and everything, but it's like you're not even there sometimes. It's great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but what about when someone doesn't need a shoulder? What if they need the arms or something like that? You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can't. You have to do things." "Like what?" I asked. My mouth was dry. "I don't know. Like take their hands when the slow song comes up for a change. Or be the one who asks someone for a date. Or tell people what you need. Or what you want.”

RelationshipsStrengthPersonalityBeing YourselfBeing In LoveBeing StrongNice Guy SyndromeBeing A Nice GuyBeing ConfidentHow To Get A GirlHow To Get A Guy
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“To tell you the truth, I've just been avoiding everything. I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mea way. In a curious way. it's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that da, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report on top of that. or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why. Especially since I know that if they went to another school, the person who had their heart broken would have had their heart broken by somebody else, so why does it have to be so personal? And if I went to another school, I would never have known Sam or Patrick or Mary Elizabeth or anyone except my family. (Pg 142)”

Friendship
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