Open Prompt #4

1.      1971. The significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is so easy to discover. However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full significance of the title becomes apparent to the reader only gradually. Choose a work and show how the significance of their respective titles is developed through the authors' use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view.

The title of a novel is always one of the most significant factors that attracts the reader to begin reading its story. Unlike pieces with straightforward titles, books with meaningful names such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky allows the reader to continue towards an extra step in their reading process and interpret the connection between the title of the novel to the story itself. After finishing Chbosky's piece, the significance of the indication behind the title gradually becomes clearer to the reader and an ultimate metaphorical reference or connection can be determined through the title.  Through completing the story, it can be determined that The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not a novel about a flower that grows out of a wall, but is a metaphorical name of the main character, Charlie, and the role he plays as the “listener” for the people around him.             

Chbosky's epistolary novel opens with Charlie's first letter to a mysterious person he refers to as "friend." Through these letters, Charlie shares his point of view of the events that occurred during the past while also including updates on his present life as a freshman in high school.  His innocent sense towards these occurrences reveals his nature as an extremely lucid young teenager and also uncovers his personality as a quiet and thoughtful person who tends to blend in with the background.Instead of being the center of attention, Charlie portrays himself as the one who prefers to watch from an outside point of view which ultimately associates him to being a wallflower. 

The contrast between Charlie's personality traits and the other characters within the novel also reinforce the idea that Charlie is the wallflower referred to in the title. Wallflowers are seen to be uniquely beautiful and delicate, which is an exact match to Charlie's characteristics. Charlie's intelligence enables himself to see the good in all the people around him and he also speaks words from the heart. Unlike the other characters that he encounters, Charlie is unique through the fact that he is extremely sensitive and straightforward about his feelings which many of the characters are unable to relate to. Chbosky's way of portraying the contrasting characteristics places extreme emphasis on Charlie's embodiment of the wallflower.   
Although the novel never clearly states so, it can be seen that through his personality and unique way of associating with the people  that Charlie definitely holds the qualities of what someone calls a wallflower. Chbosky's novel may not have included an obvious title to decipher from the beginning of the read like The Adventures of Hucklberry Finn, but instead it contains elements that require a gradual understanding which eventually leads the reader to make a connection between Charlie and the title itself.