Stephen Chbosky Trivia

1. Charlie begins the novel by informing an unknown recipient of his friend's suicide. What is his friend's name?

From Quiz Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Answer: Michael

At the beginning, we are introduced to the format of the novel and some key characters. The book is written in a series of letters to an unnamed recipient who was chosen by the protagonist because someone "said you listen and understand and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party even though you could have". The protagonist, Charlie, chooses to give fake generic names to people in his life for the letters because "I don't want you to find me". Charlie informs the reader that his friend, Michael, committed suicide, and he had been going to grief counselling with some others to help deal with the loss. He also tells the reader that the main reason he is writing to them is "because I start high school tomorrow and I am really afraid of going". The other names were chosen at random.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: Dear friend,

Every single letter Charlie writes begins with the date and 'Dear Friend,' 'Dear friend,' is also technically the start of the book, if you leave out the date of the first letter.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Answer: Letters

Stephen Chbosky is an American writer, born in 1970 and raised in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania. He wrote "Perks of Being a Wallflower" and published it on February 1, 1999.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Answer: His sister

Charlie's sister says this to him when he's driving her home from the abortion clinic.

From Quiz Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Answer: "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

Charlie instantly dislikes high school, finding it difficult to make friends and finding a lot of small things quite odd. He's bullied by a kid named Sean, which results in Charlie hurting him quite badly in self-defence. His advanced English class is his only solace. The teacher, who asks Charlie to call him Bill outside class, says that Charlie has "a great skill at reading and understanding language" and assigns him extra books and assignments as a friendly means of encouraging this. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is the first book Bill asks Charlie to write an essay for. The other options are other books he assigns Charlie throughout the novel. Charlie also tells us more about his family life. His brother is a professional football player in the making, having received a scholarship into an esteemed college based on his sport ability. His sister has been seeing a potential new boyfriend, one in a long line of lovers, as she is "very pretty". The boy makes her a playlist called "Autumn Leaves", which Charlie listens to and takes a great liking to the song "Asleep" by The Smiths (which is an excellent song, in my opinion) as a result. However, one night things turned sour when the boy hits Charlie's sister after she provokes him about not standing up to bullies. She forgives him and they begin dating, but Charlie is a bit uneasy about this.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: M*A*S*H

Charlie's dad has to leave the room to 'make a sandwich' while watching the series finale of "M*A*S*H" with his family. "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" are the shows that Charlie's brother, sister, and Aunt Helen used to watch, which Charlie would always fall asleep to, when his parents were out while Aunt Helen babysat. "Saturday Night Live" was still running well into the 21st Century.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Answer: Because the person did not sleep with someone, even though they could.

Charlie does write in one of his first letters, and mentions throughout the novel, that he does not know the person he is writing to, but is writing to him/her because they did not sleep with someone, even though they could have.

From Quiz Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Answer: Milkshakes

Charlie meets Patrick (who is known by the nickname "Nothing" at school) and his half-sister Sam at a school football match and they become friends quickly. Charlie develops quite a crush on Sam, who tells him that he is "too young" for her and that she "doesn't want to want to waste your time thinking about me that way", but continues to be his friend. They take him to a party with some of their friends. He is offered a brownie and accepts it, not realising it had weed in it, and becomes stoned, much to the amusement of those at the party. Sam asks a series of questions, including what he'd like to drink, to which he responds "a milkshake". As Sam makes him a milkshake, Charlie witnesses Patrick kissing his secret boyfriend Brad, and is told to keep it a secret, as Brad "doesn't want people to know". Patrick and Sam's friends accept Charlie, and they call him a "wallflower" ("You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand") and toast to him. Charlie also reminisces on some important (to him) moments in his life- such as witnessing his father crying over the finale of the show "M*A*S*H" and witnessing a rape at a party his sister held at their house. Charlie ends the first part by describing the homecoming dance, which he tries to "participate" in by dancing. He describes a beautiful moment in Sam's pickup truck as they drove through a tunnel, ending the part with the famous sentence "And in that moment, I swear we were infinite."

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: 'Asleep' by The Smiths

'Asleep' by the Smiths is the only song Charlie even talks about in the first part. Both 'Ziggy Stardust' and 'Disorder' never appeared in the book. While in the movie, 'Come On Eileen' never appeared in the book.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Answer: Pittsburgh

The story takes place in Pittsburgh during the 1991/1992 school year. Charlie is a freshman in high school.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Answer: Camaro

"He even made a joke that because of me he got to skip an afternoon of school and asked me if I wanted to help him work on his Camaro. I guess I was pretty messy because he never let me work on his Camaro before."

From Quiz Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Answer: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Charlie describes Mary Elizabeth as "a very interesting person because she has a tattoo that symbolises Buddhism and a belly button ring and wears her hair to make somebody mad". She runs a fanzine called "Punk Rocky", which is dedicated to punk rock and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and runs the local showings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". At these showings, some kids dress up as the characters and act out the movie in front of the screen. On Halloween, Patrick and Sam take Charlie to one of the screenings. Patrick plays Frank 'N Furter and Sam plays Janet. Sam's new boyfriend Craig plays Rocky. Charlie says he wants Sam to stop liking Craig because Charlie is in love with her, but says he is not jealous because Craig makes her happy. Charlie also becomes good friends with Brad and finds out more about his and Patrick's secret relationship. Brad's father is abusive and doesn't accept his son's sexuality, so they meet in secret or at parties and do not tell many people that they are seeing each other. Charlie also talks more about his family, especially his brother and his sport team. His brother doesn't talk much on the phone when he calls home, and is unable to make it home for Thanksgiving, which disappoints his mother especially. At an awkward Thanksgiving with Charlie's extended family, a VCR tape of his brother playing brings the family together as they are all proud of him.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: They're step-siblings

One, they're too young to get married, they're in high-school. Two, when Charlie asked if they were dating, they laughed. Three, when explaining their relationship, they mention they aren't siblings, but step-siblings, as Patrick's dad married Sam's mom.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Answer: During the last episode of "M*A*S*H"

In one of Charlie's letters he says that the only time his father has cried (that he has seen) is during the final episode of "M*A*S*H". Charlie is the only one that knows his father cried, and it is 'their little secret'.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Answer: The last one he read

"I have just finished to "To Kill A Mocking Bird." It is now my favorite book of all time, but then again, I always think that until I read another book."

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: 'Asleep' was the only song he'd heard from them.

Taken from the book, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower:" "'What's your favorite band?' 'I think maybe The Smiths because I love their song 'Asleep,' but I'm not really sure one way or the other because I don't know any other songs by them too well.'"

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Answer: The last book he read

"I have just finished 'To Kill a Mockingbird." It is now my favourite book of all time, but then again, I always think that until I read another book."

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Answer: Autumn Leaves

"He even hand-colored the cover."

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: Bill

Bill tells Charlie this after Charlie tells him about how his sister's boyfriend hit her.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Answer: Charlie

At the start of the novel Charlie is shy and unpopular, until he meets Patrick and Patrick's sister.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Answer: Nothing

"The kids started calling him Patty when his real name is Patrick. And 'Nothing' told these kids, 'Listen, either call me Patrick, or you call me nothing.' So, the kids started calling him 'Nothing.' And the name just stuck."

From Quiz Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Answer: She's pregnant

After Mary Elizabeth drops him home, Charlie finds his sister crying in the basement and persistently asks her what is wrong. After attempting to avoid the question, she hugs him and finally tells him that she is pregnant. She hasn't told anyone else as she is afraid of their reaction, and her boyfriend refuses to admit the baby is his. Charlie drives her to the abortion clinic, where he ponders on the shallowness of women's magazines in the waiting room and reminisces on important live events involving his sister. When his sister leaves, she lectures him on smoking and expresses her love for him, which obviously means a lot to Charlie. The two come up with a clever way to disguise where they really were to their parents. Charlie also goes on another date with Mary Elizabeth. They see a foreign language movie and visit an underground record store. They also have sex for the first time in her basement. However, as the relationship progresses, Charlie expresses frustration at it. He feels Mary Elizabeth talks far too much and doesn't ask Charlie enough questions, and is also annoyed at her constantly showing off to her friends the things she gets Charlie as gifts. He feels she doesn't appreciate him or the effort he puts in enough. He seeks advice from numerous people, including his sister, brother and psychiatrist, who tell him to be "honest with his feelings". Later, at a party, Charlie is dared to kiss "the prettiest girl in the room on the lips" by Patrick, and Charlie kisses Sam instead of Mary Elizabeth, which results in a lot of tension and the dissolving of their relationship. Charlie attempts to apologise to her numerous times, but they're rejected.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: 'This Side of Paradise' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

While Charlie mentions 'To Kill a Mockingbird' was his favorite when he finished it, it is revealed he read 'This Side of Paradise' and told Patrick and Sam that it was currently his favorite book.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Answer: When he and his family watched M*A*S*H together

"My dad left during one of the final moments to make a sandwich. Now, I don't remember much about the program itself because I was too young, but my dad never left to make a sandwich except during commercial breaks, and then he usually just sent my mom. I walked to the kitchen, and I saw my dad making a sandwich... and crying. He was crying harder than my mom. And I couldn't believe it. When he finished making his sandwich, he put away the things in the refrigerator and stopped crying and wiped his eyes and saw me. Then, he walked up, patted my shoulder, and said, 'This is our little secret, okay, champ?'"

From Quiz Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Answer: Peter

After Charlie's less than ideal breakup with Mary Elizabeth, he is overwhelmed with guilt and loses contact with most of his friends, who apparently avoid him to let things settle. He tells the reader about hanging around shopping centres to fill time, and details an awkward confrontation with one of his old friends, Susan (who was also friends with Michael, the boy who committed suicide at the start of the novel). He visits Bob a few times, but only to get pot. He finds out from him that Brad's father found Patrick and Brad together and badly beat Brad. At school, Brad yells a slur at Patrick in front of his friends and they get in a fist fight, which Charlie has to (violently) breakup, resulting in a week's suspension for Patrick and a month's detention for Charlie and Brad. After the last detention, Sam drives Charlie home and ridicules him for how he dealt with the Mary Elizabeth situation (which resulted in tension between her and Mary Elizabeth). Charlie asks if it is okay to be friends with her and everyone else again, and Sam replies "of course". At a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" showing, Charlie finds out Mary Elizabeth has a new boyfriend, Peter, who is in college and appeals to Mary Elizabeth because he is "opinionated" and can debate with her, an asset Charlie lacked. Charlie says that it "really didn't matter that much" to him, in fact he calls it "the biggest reason for everything being okay" (though possibly because he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol).

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: Sean

Sean was teasing Charlie, and physically tried to hurt Charlie, and Charlie (using the techniques his brother taught him) beat Sean up, and began to cry afterwards.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallfower

Answer: Rocky

"The next thing I know, I was wearing nothing but slippers and a bathing suit, which somebody painted gold."

From Quiz Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Answer: The guy who does the sports on the TV news

Patrick feels a need to hang out with Charlie a lot due to heavy emotions, so they spend a lot of time together. They visit places he and Brad used to go to a lot, and one evening sit at a golf course telling each other stories they heard from various people about people at their school. Patrick even kisses Charlie, who doesn't stop him because "that's what friends are for". One night, at a "park where men go to find each other", a man asks Charlie if he has an extra cigarette while he is smoking and waiting for Patrick. Charlie recognises his voice as the "guy who does the sports on the TV news" and asks him what it's like being on television, which is apparently the wrong thing to ask as the man leaves. They continue going to various places, and Patrick occasionally finds other men. One night, Patrick sees Brad with another man, and decides to quit drinking and sort out his life. The end of the school year is fast approaching, and Charlie's senior friends discuss their plans upon finishing intently. They prank the school by filling the swimming pool with tons of Kool-Aid. Charlie's English teacher Bill grows sentimental as he feels his first year of teaching ending, and gives Charlie one last book to write an essay on- "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. On the last day of school, Charlie and his friends celebrate by going to the Big Boy and smoking, and have a beautiful moment where they run towards the sunset together. They perform at perhaps the final "Rocky Horror Picture Show" showing, and Charlie even convinces his sister to see it with her new boyfriend. They then have a party at Craig's house, where Charlie DJs and lets his friends reminisce. Prom night reportedly goes well for the seniors, though Craig and Sam break up. Sam finds out that Craig had been cheating on her for a long time, and Peter, who had known but felt too awkward to speak up, forces him to tell Sam the truth. Bill invites Charlie over to his house and they, along with Bill's girlfriend, have a discussion about life. Bill tells Charlie he is "one of the most gifted people I've ever known", which means a lot to Charlie, and tells him he considers him a friend and offers to be always open for discussions next year when he is not his teacher.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 1

Answer: Fort Pitt Tunnel

Fort Pitt was the name of the tunnel, mentioned by Charlie in the last letter of Part 1.

From Quiz The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Answer: Rocky Horror

Craig doesn't join them and so Charlie takes his place as one of the lead roles in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".

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