Perks Of Being a Wallflower - 1

What exactly does it mean to be a "wallflower"? 

Someone who is on the side. They aren't involved, they simply watch from the sidelines and fill space, like a wallflower.

Characterization

Who is the protagonist? How would you characterize him?

The protagonist is Charlie, the boy whom is writing to his 'friend'. He appears to be a round character, even though he's hiding it. There's something more about him that has yet to be explained.

Which characters are round and flat? 

Charlie, Sam, and Patrick are all round characters. Bill, Charlie's parents and siblings, his sister's boyfriend, and the other students are all flat, stock characters.

Examine the family dynamics in "Perks". Would you classify Charlie's parents as good or bad? What textual evidence do you have to support this?

Charlie's parents seem to be a mixture. They are not there for him right now, or whenever he needs him, and his father is abusive towards him as he has a set image for him to be that he isn't. They are putting a lot of pressure on him as the younger child. When Charlie cries as a child, his father hits him for it, and nobody did anything about it. Parents should not hit kids over grieving, especially when they're as young as he was. 

Point Of View

• What point of view is used and what style? Why would the author chose this method? How is it effective?

The point of view is first person. It is being told from Charlie's point of view, with all his thoughts and feelings in clear text. This connects the reader personally to Charlie as if they themselves are Charlie.

Plot

• What conflicts exist in this novel so far?

So far, the conflicts consist of Charlie's inability to participate or have friends after the suicide of his friend Michael, and his sister's abusive relationship with her boyfriend. There are a few minor conflicts, but none too plot changing.

• What do you notice about the exposition of this story? Does it grab your attention? How?

It's a very slow start; however, it is still effective. Charlie's problems and his position of starting high school with no place to fit in is relatable with how students felt their freshman year. Of course, his situation is a lot more dire and lonely than the average freshman, but it is still pretty similar. 

How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Which chapters apply so far?

Chapters 1, 2, 11, and 17.

Quotes

Discuss these quotes in your groups. What do they REALLY mean?

"Not everyone has a sob story, Charlie, and even if they do, it's no excuse."

People's actions are made because they decided to make them. They are the ones at fault, and they cannot and should not use some story about their past to justify them.

"Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve."

When a person's self esteem is low enough that they think they cannot get anyone better than the person they have, they will not try for something they actually deserve because they feel that because they are "awful" people, they think they deserve assholes.

So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.

Charlie is growing up. He doesn't know who he is. He has mixed feelings about each aspect of his life that make him both happy and sad at the same time, and he doesn't know why. It's normal for a person to feel that way, but because kids are usually a single embodiment of an emotion, having more than one feeling about something is confusing and frustrating and takes time to adjust and realize that it is how things should be. 

P.O.V

1st Person, The narrator is a character in the story.
3rd Person Omniscient, the narrator is all-knowing.
3rd Person Limited, the narrator is an outsider that can report on the thoughts and feelings of one character, as well as what he hears and sees.
3rd Person Objective, the narrator only knows what someone watching would know
3rd Person Collective, the narrator is a group. Uses words like "we".

A Rose For Emily

Emily Grierson is a stubborn lady who still believes very strongly in, what was

once, her family’s honor, wealth and status in society.  She refuses to believe that

time has passed and things have changed. When aldermen come to collect taxes, she

refuses to pay, insisting that her family does not pay taxes.  The reason being is

because back in the older days when her family was wealthy, they didn't.  When the

aldermen come about the smell, she refuses to open the door.  When people gossip and

whisper about Homer Barron, she refuses to stop seeing him.  When her father dies, she

refuses to give up the body for several days.  Through all of these examples, we see her

stubbornness.  I guess the reader can also say she lives in an alternate reality.  She

refused to admit that her father was dead.  She refused to admit that Homer Barron would

not be with her forever.  She refused to admit that her family honor was fading and that

she should pay taxes.  She refused to admit that her house smelled as a result of

Homer's body.  All of these things show that she had a rather demented idea of what was

real and what was not.

Characterization Literary Terms

Direct Characterization- WHen the author tells us what the personality of the character
Indirect Characterization- When the author describes things that reveal the characters personality.
Round Characters - one who has been fully developed. Almost three dimensional.
Flat Characters - Has not been fully developed. We don't know muxh about there past.
Stock Characters- Do not undergo any change.
Static Characters - does not undergo changes and remains the same, despite perhaps, having undergone some event.
Dynamic Characters - those who change and develop during the unfolding of the story

The Lame Shall Enter First

In Flannery O'Connor's "The Lame Shall Enter First", there is really no

happiness at all.
In the begining of the story, the reader already see's broken communion between

Shepard and Rufas as they eat breakfast. This already foreshadows that the events to

come are not good for these characters.
As the story progresses the reader realizes Shepard, who represents a Christ

like figure but ironically does not believe in God, ignores his real son, Norton, for a

random child he has taken in, Rufas. Shepard wants Rufas to excel in everything which is

why he wantts Rufas to use the teliscope but Rufus doesn't care about it. Instead Norton

starts using the teliscope to search for his mother in the sky. In a way that represents

flight.
Unnfortunatly Norton, who only wants to be with his mother, hangs himself in

hoping when he reachs Heaven he will see her.THe only reason he did so though was cause

Rufas told him if he died right now he would be with his mommy. Rufas knew he would kill

himself. The result of this is Shepard losing everything.

Plot & Structure Literary Terms

 Exposition – The beginning of the story.
 Rising Action – The events that lead to a turning point (Climax).
 Climax – The point with the greatest intensity.
 Falling Action - The events that fall afterwards.
 Resolution - The outcome of the story.
 Conflict – A struggle between characters. Can be internal or external.
 Protagonist - The Main character in a story.
 Antagonist – The person who opposes the hero.
 Flashback – A scene that interrupts the current to review the past.
 In medias res – “into the middle of things”

An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge

The plot and structure of "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge" really draws the

reader in. As the story starts out it puts you right there in the middle of

everything.The begining of the story starts out with Peyton Farquhar standing on a

platform that is hanging off the railroad bridge. Due to an incident he was involved in

he has a noose around his neck and is about to be hung by northern soldiers. There is

some symbolism in this. The bridge is actually a symbol for a crossing between life and

death.
As the soldiers are preparing to kick the stand which is holding him up,

Farquhar starts to think about his family. Then he starts to have a flashback about the

incident that got him here. A couple nights before a southern soldier (so he thought)

stopped at his house to get water. He also told Farquhar about the northern troops

trying to rebuild the railroad for another attack. Then Farquhar started asking him what

would happen if he went and sabotaged the railroad. The soldier tells him that he would

be hanged by the northern army. After the soldier leaves, we find out that he is a

northern spy.
Then the story cuts back to Farquhar in his final moments. The northern troops

kick out the platform from beneath Farquhar. But then he breaks the rope from the bridge

and falls into the water below. He starts to swim away and escape. The troops shoot at

him but they miss. Farquhar dives underwater and swims for his life. All the while

Peyton is talking to himself and telling himself what he should do to avoid getting

shot. Then Farquhar finally reaches land. He goes up on shore and walks to his family’s

house. He goes home and sees his beautiful wife and his kids.
In the end, the last lines of the story are a big plot twist. It turns out this

whole “I escaped” thing never even happened. It was all his imagination while he was

hanging from the noose. Using his last moments of life he imagines his escape. Farquhar

dies at the end, by hanging off the Owl Creek Bridge. By writing the story in this order, Bierce blows Freytag's pyramid out of the water.