Charlie Quotes

The most recent thing Charlie's sister said to him was "You've always been a freak" (1.8.58), but Charlie still defends her. Is that family? Or is that just Charlie?

Charlie just wrote Webster's next definition of "family."

Charlie feels like his grandfather had to make this choice, but do the two have to be mutually exclusive?

Charlie has the uncanny ability to be brutally honest when necessary, pretty much shutting up his entire family. Is he only able to be this upfront when dealing with his family?

Maybe this is why Charlie's father doesn't show affection: his dad isn't the most affectionate guy on the planet either. What will Charlie be like as an adult?

Charlie's family shows physical affection so rarely that two hugs in one day ends up getting an exclamation point. And exclamation points from Charlie are a big stinkin' deal.

Charlie's mom also has her own way of showing affection. There's a lot of non-verbal, non-physical communication going on in this family. And if it works, it works.

Charlie's family may not be affectionate, but at least they're supportive.

Charlie barely knows Susan, but her happiness, or lack of, affects Charlie emotionally. If Charlie is so empathic, why doesn't he ever do anything about it?

Early on, Charlie's writing comes across as pretty sterile, so we're surprised to hear this. The only emotion we've seen from him so far is lots and lots of crying, but that's more of a reaction than an emotion.

Birthdays and Christmas are usually associated with happy memories and excited anticipation, but Charlie has some pretty deep-seated anxieties about these special days. We don't really find out why until the end of the novel. (And you know we're not going to spoil it for you.)

These feelings are beyond sadness—they're approaching serious depression.

Charlie's talking about the poem he read to Patrick: "A Person, a Paper, a Promise." Even when he's fatalistically depressed, this kid never ceases to defend his emotions. Does he really believe what he's saying, or is he trying to convince himself?

Charlie spends a lot of time worrying about other people's low self-esteem. But what about his own?

Instead of trying to clarify to Mary Elizabeth who he really is—whoever that may be—Charlie just mopes about it. Passivity just seeps into every pore of his being.

Charlie's not the only sad one, of course. Patrick is using sex to get over Brad, but it's not quite working the way he intended. Is Stephen Chbosky trying to send a message here, or is he just telling it like it is?

One of the first things Charlie tries to figure out when he sees a person is if they're happy or sad—as though that's all that matters. Why is this so important to him?

We all know the type: the ones who treat sad people as very fragile beings that need to be protected and coddled. Charlie feels that he has to act in these people's best interests—which is great—but he just seems to make assumptions as to what those interests are.

After the revelation at the end of Perks, you might want to read it a second time, too. Trust us—you'll see a ton more the second time around.

Confession: the same thing happens to us. Our favorite books are The Giving Tree, The Road, and Invisible Man, but tomorrow? It's anyone's guess. And you know what? We're not complaining about a world where there are enough great books to keep changing our minds.