Perks of Being a Wallflower and Bell Jar

I read Perks of Being a Wallflower recently and it was basically the same book as Bell Jar set 50 years ahead and with a male protagonist. In Perks, Charlie is a high school age kid who spends a great deal of the novel dealing with a mental breakdown not unlike Esther's. Perks is composed entirely of Charlie's letters to a random person, so like Bell Jar, it is in first person giving the reader a unique view into the mind of someone who is dealing with depression. I also found it interesting that both Charlie and Esther have similar views on society. Charlie watches his sister go through boyfriends (she's sort of like Doreen) and wonders why women stay with the men they do.

As a bit of a side note, Charlie's a reader and mentions a lot of the books we read/will read this year as well as some songs and movies. Here's a list from Wikipedia

Here's a link too because I can't get this whole copy/paste thing down:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Perks_of_Being_a_Wallflower

Charlie's lists

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Literature

In the novel, Charlie's teacher, Bill, assigns him various books to read. Charlie describes them all as his favorites.

▪   To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

▪   This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

▪   A Separate Peace by John Knowles

▪   Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

▪   The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

▪   The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

▪   On the Road by Jack Kerouac

▪   Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

▪   Walden by Henry David Thoreau

▪   Hamlet by William Shakespeare

▪   The Stranger by Albert Camus

▪   The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

The book also references a book of poems by E. E. Cummings, The Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts, a book by Anne Rice, and an autobiography of a woman who was a character in Reds, most likely Emma Goldman. The poem "A Person/A Paper/A Promise" by Dr. Earl Reum is also mentioned.

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Film and television

The novel references these films:

▪   Rocky Horror Picture Show

▪   It's a Wonderful Life

▪   The Producers

▪   Reds

▪   To Kill a Mockingbird

▪   The Graduate

▪   Harold and Maude

▪   My Life as a Dog

▪   Dead Poets Society

▪   The Unbelievable Truth

▪   Night of the Living Dead

▪   Hannah and Her Sisters

The novel references these television shows:

▪   Saturday Night Live

▪   Love Boat

▪   Fantasy Island

▪   M*A*S*H

▪   Gomer Pyle

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Music

The novel references these songs:

▪   "Where Eagles Dare" by The Misfits

▪   "Asleep" by The Smiths

▪   "Vapour Trail" by Ride

▪   "Scarborough Fair" by Simon and Garfunkel

▪   "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum

▪   "Time of No Reply" by Nick Drake

▪   "Dear Prudence" by The Beatles

▪   "Gypsy" by Suzanne Vega

▪   "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues

▪   "Daydream" by The Smashing Pumpkins

▪   "Dusk" by Genesis

▪   "MLK" by U2

▪   "Blackbird" by The Beatles

▪   "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac

▪   "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana

▪   "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" by Pink Floyd

▪   "Something" by The Beatles

▪   "School's Out" by Alice Cooper

▪   "Autumn Leaves" by Nat King Cole

▪   "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister

▪   "I'm Going Home" sung by Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Other music groups and artists are also mentioned without reference to a specific song, including Village People, Blondie, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, The Slits, and Billie Holiday.

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