She’s All That (Yet So Much More): A Perks of Being a Wallflower analysis on Mary-Elizabeth

An essay we had to write for book club, thought you guys might like to read it.
WARNING: Potential spoilers ahead. Please read the book before proceeding.

 “I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird.” As someone who is frequently called weird, this is my go-to response to “Why are so weird?”

It’s easy to shelve people. That kid plays football? Jock. That girl who hides herself in all black? Emo. And anyone who doesn’t fit in these neat little shelves it put under the label “weird”. We don’t get them, their quirks are just so...odd and because everyone else shuns them, we should too. All of us eventually just want to fit in, so we tend to follow what everyone else does. If we don’t, there is “Log Kya Kahenge” and all that.

That is essentially what Perks Of  Being A Wallflower, an amazing, and shall we say, ‘infinite’ piece of literature  is about.A bunch of square pegs in round holes, who simply don’t care about liking the popular music or even remotely fitting in. To the protagonist, Charlie, this comes as second nature. He doesn’t know why (or at least he never reveals it) he is like that, he just is. Similarly his senior friends Sam and Patrick the Nothing, they are spontaneous and crazy and willing to put crazy costumes for the Rocky Horror Picture Show and swing dance in the middle of Homecoming. But I’m not writing to talk about them. I’m writing about Mary, a secondary character and Charlie’s short lived girlfriend.

In my eyes, Mary-Elizabeth’s nature isn’t to stand out. I think she would want to be like another girl, wearing pink and listening to the Top 40.She wants a boyfriend or even just a friend who she can talk to endlessly about anything, which is something she tries to do with Charlie. But she’s subconsciously peer pressured into being weird. Her friends are oddball, so she must be an oddball too. Personally, she pushes it to the limit. She scrambles to find everything that is unique and quirky, and does it.  Pierced to the nines, Buddhist, obsessed with the horror comedy Rocky Horror Picture Show, so much so that she has her magazine Punk Rocky, dedicated to it.and loves to listen to sad, woeful music absolutely no-one has heard of (indie girl bands being her favourite) . Well there are a lot of us too, who love Mary-Elizabeth’s type of songs. Just look at the number of sad love ballads on any teenager’s (including mine) iPod, and it’ll give you a look into how we-today’s teens prefer sad, yet real songs instead of the peppy beats we liked as kids. Mary is also such a feminist, it borders on obscene  She loves to talk round the clock  about her huge plans on college, her views on social issues (on which she stands by quite firmly) and how everything is “overrated” like many people today, who dismiss things if they are too mainstream and remotely popular (I’m looking at you, hipsters) It’s a wonder anyone manages to get in a word edgeways. And Charlie, guided by Sam, is her quiet spectator. She and Charlie and complete opposites, and the way she loves to control Charlie and very proudly presenting him as her boyfriend, we see a crack of insecurity in her tough-girl exterior. 

Mary as a character is someone who I didn’t identify with (I’m more of a Sam) or even like. I’ve seen so many people at school like her. Those who struggle, not to fit in, but to stand out. Those people who act differently against their nature just to make them known for being such a deviant.Personally, Chbosky did a great job of making minor characters like Mary, full, rounded characters (at least in my eyes) instead of giving her a one sided personality like many do. Most don’t realize how minor characters shape a character’s life. How would Harry be without Cho or McGonagall, Katniss be without her faithful sister Prim or Hazel without Issac? They are equally important to be given some sort of base as it is for the main characters.

One might stop to think after this book, what would happen to everyone. What would become of Charlie, Sam and Patrick? And well, what would become of Mary? I don’t really imagine her taking a stereotypical job like a doctor, a teacher, a businesswoman, although, she might “succumb”  to her nature and do just that. Based on what she is now, I predict she would be a head of something abstract like Saving the Blue Whales or something in the music or publishing industry. She is an intellectual however, so I wouldn’t be completely surprised if she heads a debate society/ club. But that’s for her, or rather Chbosky, to decide. If there is anything in Mary that influenced me it is probably her extremely opinionated mindset. I admire people who can stand up for themselves and express what they feel and argue for what they feel is right. I haven’t met a Mary Elizabeth ever, but I can certainly seen the chatterbox ability and the assertiveness in a a few of my friends quiet frequently. I can also say that for a while, I used to be a bit like her, struggling to be different and considering everything “too mainstream” and not doing things for the fear of what people would think. I’m glad I’m over that now

What do skeletons like on top of their mashed potatoes

Grave-y

See you whenever.

Blind-The Short Short Story Challenge

A personal creation for story writers everywhere. Pick an object closest to your right, and write a short story on it, no less than 200 words (hard to curb your imagination, I know.) You can write any type of story, as long as the object features in it and tag someone if you want (link their blog too). Get writing!

Object: Football

Story: Blind 

Adrenaline was pumping through me as I ran the length of the field, the football in my control. The crowd is cheering my name, the name of my team, and the scorned few are cheering the opposition on.  Today is my moment. That moment I lead my team to its first victory in years by kicking the final goal. I swerve around my attackers and navigate around the waiting defense. My heartbeat audible in my ears, I kick, without giving a second glance and it soars into the goal. My team screams with joy as I’m hoisted onto their shoulders and the audience is going wild. I’m crying tears of joy and then...

I wake up to darkness. This is not new to me; it is only something I see every day. No, I’m not part of a football team or a football fan or anything like it. Or have been. Or will ever be. The absence of light, of colour, of anything, in my life is not new to me.

I’m the only one with any memory of the world. But I have been made blind to it.

It's inspired by the Maze Runner trilogy and The Giver.

Tagged: Rutvi and Preetha

How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? (Dad's favourite joke)

One, but it depends on whether the light bulb wants to change.

See you whenever.

Procrastination, great decision and a few sad events

I have a paper and a couple of worksheets due in 12 hours and I'm blogging.
Hells yeah! It seems that I can only write when I have a deadline on my head.
I love, love, love to read (Really? You say as you flip through my book related posts) and I really like Astronomy too.
We have a club system in our school where we can only pick 1. I have solidly picked astronomy through my club years, but this year I picked Book club. I'm one of 3 kids and I can say this with only attending 3 classes that I love it.
I do miss going to overnights and doing cool projects (like projectors and human solar systems) but it's amazing sitting with a bunch of like minded people and an amazing teacher and talking about good books.
On sad news, Thursday was our French teacher's last day. I (a rare cryer) was weeping as she came for her last class and started talking about her memories.
She was that one teacher who made our shy class start speaking French, so well, that most of us can transition into slow French to bitch about someone.
She brought us cake and we sang her favourite song (Vous le copains). We also had a HUGE card and a long letter.
She was an epic teacher. Instead of doing paperwork, she made us sing French songs, watch Lion King in French and film a video on ANYTHING. We made one on school behavior, secretly filming in class. I mean which teacher does that? Everyone was so upset, we didn't even talk to non-Frenchies.
Have you guys read the Giver by Lois Lowry? It's my absolute favourites, the kind I reread almost every night. I love talking about whenever I can.
It's going to become a movie. And by God, the trailer is HORRENDOUS. It's worse that the Percy Jackson trailer. I feel like crying and I'm so conflicted on whether I want to watch it.
I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. It's really good. Every fangirl should read it and relate.
I opened this with a story idea that slipped out of my mind. It'll come back, they always do.
I used to be a doctor, but then I lost patients (patience)
See you whenever

Some light reading recommendations

It's raining, it's pouring
It's raining so much, it gets boring.

Wow, I'm a good poet.
It's been raining for a good hour and a half now and it's really put me off. I have to study for my impending exams but the constant pitter patter has driven me berserk. So I'm just lying down reading Every Day by David Levithan and blogging. It's a perfectly sweet book.
Granddad told me that this is the sign that sunshine will start (yay!) because I'm getting real tired of winter and it's billion layers.
What was the intention of this post again?
Oh yes. Book recommendations- light reading
1.Every Day by David Levithan
2. The Ocean At the End of the Lane-Neil Gaiman.
3. The Bone Season-Samantha Shannon. Okay, not really "light reading" but it's pretty good.
4. An Abundance of Katherines- John Green
5. The Secret Country-Jane Johnson
6. W.A.R.P-Eoin Colfer. A bit fast paced by a total laugh-a-chapter.
7. Boy meets Boy-David Levithan
8. The Secret Series- Pseudonymous Bosch. An amazing 5 book series which will leave you reeling. Again not "light" but so worth obsessing over. Fear not if it gets confusing. (Almost) Everything is cleared up in future books.
9. The Wish List- Eoin Colfer. Again, a bit fast paced, but funny as Hell. (You'll get the pun later.)
10. George's Universe series-Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Where I gained my love for Astronomy.

There you go. My top 10 books you should read if you want to "take a break". Really simple, really absorbing in a way that you don't feel loaded with information, and something that you should try out

Q: What did the grape say when the elephant sat on it?
A: Nothing, it just gave a little wine.

See you whenever.