True Meaning The Meaning of Wallflower

45 Then, I started screaming at the guidance counselor that Michael could have talked to me. And I started crying even harder. He tried to calm me down by saying that he meant an adult like a teacher or a guidance counselor p. 4. Charlie also blames himself for what happen to Michael. He believes that Michael might not commit suicide if he is really there for his best friend. During his first year of high school, the other kids see him as a freak. They reject to be friends with him and leave Charlie alone. Some kids look at me strange in the hallways because I dont decorate my locker, and Im the one who beat up Sean and couldnt stop crying after he did it. I guess Im pretty emotional p. 8. Charlie realizes that the other kids see him in strange. He also realizes that he has difficulties in controlling his emotion. He could beat a boy and then cry hard after doing it. His middle school friend, Susan, also does not want to be friend with Charlie even though they go to the same high school. There is this one girl in my advanced english class named Susan. In middle school, Susan was very fun to be around. She liked movies, and her brother Frank made her tapes of this great music that she shared with us. But over the summer she had her braces taken off, and she got a little taller and prettier and grew breasts. Now, she acts a lot dumber in the hallways, especially when boys are around. And I think its sad because Susan doesnt look as happy. To tell you the truth, she doesnt like to admit shes in the advanced english class, and she doesnt like to say hi to me in the hall anymore p. 6. Susan does not want the other kids to know that they used to be friends in middle school. Susan pretends not to know Charlie and stop saying hello to him even though they are in the same class, a class where first year students don’t usually take. Charlie’s sister also mentions him as a freak. She gets mad at Charlie when he tells Bill who later tells their dad that his sister is dating an abusive boyfriend. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 46 Youre a freak, you know that? Youve always been a freak. Everyone says so. They always have. Im trying not to be. Then, I turned around and walked to my room and closed my door and put my head under my pillow and let the quiet put things where they are supposed to be p. 26. Both the molestation and the death of Charlie’s loved ones have left him a traumatic experience. His past has taken his childhood from him, making him trapped in his childish state when growing up. He has unstable emotion which is a compensation for his lost innocence of his childhood. People also call him as a freak. The confusion of understanding himself and the rejection from people around make him to build up a wall. He shuts himself from the society and prefers to block his past. He prefers to be alone and observe people instead of trying to deal with himself and his past. According to Maslow’s five stages of needs, the lower is the physiological needs. In Charlie’s case, Charlie’s physiological needs is adequately met. Physically, Charlie grows up healthily which proves that he has enough food to eat, enough water to drink and enough oxygen to breathe. Charlie does not have major difficulty in sleeping, eating or breathing. Experiencing no obstruction in his physiological needs, Charlie’s safety needs become dominant. However, his traumatic past has made the needs in this stage inadequately met. A lot of people call him a freak. Charlie always worries of fitting with others and prefers to observe them. Even though observing makes him feel safe, interacting with other people always makes him feel insecure. However, his safety needs is adequately fulfilled after meeting Sam and Patrick. Charlie feels safe when he is with them. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 47 The next need is Charlie’s love or belongingness needs. The needs in the previous stage, the safety needs, is not adequately met. Therefore, the love or belongingness needs is also obstructed. Charlie never has a lot of friends and the people he loves in his past are dead. Charlie never receives enough affection as he wants. However, when he meets Sam and Patrick, Charlie receives affection from them. Sam looked at me soft. And she hugged me. And I closed my eyes because I wanted to know nothing but her arms. And she kissed my cheek and whispered so nobody could hear. I love you. I knew that she meant it in a friend way, but I didnt care because it was the third time since my Aunt Helen died that I heard it from anyone. The other two times were from my mom p. 69. Charlie rarely receives the words “I love you”, which for Charlie it means affection from the people for him. Charlie is very happy when Sam gives him a kiss since after Aunt Helen died no one says it to him other than his mom. Charlie enjoys spending time with Sam and Patrick very much. He feels that he belongs somewhere when spending time with them. I remembered this one time that I never told anybody about. The time we were walking. Just the three of us. And I was in the middle. I dont remember where we were walking to or where we were walking from. I dont even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere p. 198. Charlie is very happy being able to walk with the m that he forgets from and to where they walk. Charlie’s hunger for a need to be a part of a group is fulfilled when he spends time with Sam and Patrick. He is able to give love to them as well as to receive love from them. Therefore, Charlie’s needs for love or belongingness is adequately met. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 48 Being able to adequately meet the love or belongingness needs, Charlie’s esteem needs become dominant. His traumatic past has made Charlie to be confused and unconfident of himself. Therefore, being encouraged to figure himself out is what he needs. The encouragement from the people around is needed in order for his esteem needs to be fulfilled enough. When he meets Bill, his English Advance teacher, Charlie receives encouragement and understanding about himself. Bill looked at me looking at people, and after class, he asked me what I was thinking about, and I told him. He listened, and he nodded and made affirmation sounds. When I had finished, his face changed into a serious talk face. Do you always think this much, Charlie? Is that bad? I just wanted someone to tell me the truth. Not necessarily. Its just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life. Is that bad? Yes p. 24. Charlie receives honesty from Bill about his habit of observing people. Observing might not be a bad thing but it might be Charlie’s excuse not to participate. Charlie starts understanding that it is one of his ways to shut him from interacting. Even though Bill does not force Charlie to break his habit of observing people, he agrees that not participating is bad. Through having conversation with Bill, Charlie receives help to understand himself. He is encouraged to participate more. Bill also encourages Charlie by giving more books to read. Then, Bill took this really long pause, and his voice sounded like my dad when he wants to have a big talk. Charlie, he said. Do you know why I gave you all that extra work? I shook my head no. That look on his face. It made me quiet. Charlie, do you know how smart you are? I just shook my head no again. He was talking for real. It was strange. 49 Charlie, youre one of the most gifted people Ive ever known. And I dont mean in terms of my other students. I mean in terms of anyone Ive ever met. Thats why I gave you the extra work. I was wondering if you were aware of that? I guess so. I dont know. I felt really strange. I didnt know where this was coming from. I just wrote some essays p. 181. Bill encourages Charlie by telling him that he is a gifted person. Bill helps Charlie to understand that his ability in reading and writing is above the average ability of kids of his age. It makes Charlie have a lot more confidence in him. Being friends with Sam and Patrick also makes Charlie more confident. He receives more confidence and encouragement throughout their friendship. When Sam packs her belongings to leave for college for the next morning, she has some conversation with Charlie. Sam tells Charlie that from that moment on she will figure out what she really wants and be her best self. So, tomorrow, Im leaving. And Im not going to let that happen again with anyone else. Im going to do what I want to do. Im going to be who I really am. And Im going to figure out what that is. But right now Im here with you. And I want to know where you are, what you need, and what you want to do” p. 202. Sam encourages Charlie to find out who he really is. Therefore, he can understand where he really stands and where to go from his position. Charlie is encouraged to understand himself and do what he wants to do, not what people want him to do. At the end of the novel, Charlie eventually figures out who he really is. He understands that he owns his own self and has the right to do what he really wants to do. Charlie accepts his past and not even blames them for creating who he is. Im not the way I am because of what I dreamt and remembered about my aunt Helen. Thats what I figured out when things got quiet. And I think thats very important to know. It made things feel clear and together. Dont get me wrong. I know what happened was important. And I needed to PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 50 remember it. But its like when my doctor told me the story of these two brothers whose dad was a bad alcoholic. One brother grew up to be a successful carpenter who never drank. The other brother ended up being a drinker as bad as his dad was. When they asked the first brother why he didnt drink, he said that after he saw what it did to his father, he could never bring himself to even try it. When they asked the other brother, he said that he guessed he learned how to drink on his fathers knee. So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe well never know most of them. But even if we dont have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them p. 211. But mostly, I was crying because I was suddenly very aware of the fact that it was me standing up in that tunnel with the wind over my face. Not caring if I saw downtown. Not even thinking about it. Because I was standing in the tunnel. And I was really there. And that was enough to make me feel infinite. Tomorrow, I start my sophomore year of high school. And believe it or not, Im really not that afraid of going. Im not sure if I will have the time to write any more letters because I might be too busy trying to participate p. 213. Charlie is no longer confused about himself. He knows something happens to him in his past and he does not reject that. After the encouragement from the people around him, he is able to understand where he stands and where to go. He accepts his past and is able to feel that he really owns himself. Charlie’s need for self- esteem which motivates him to strive for freedom is finally achieved. Charlie has figured out himself. He is not afraid of starting his sophomore high school since he knows where he stands and where he goes from there. The encouragement from people around him makes Charlie ’s safety needs adequately met. He feels infinite and is ready to move to the next stage of needs which is self-actualization where he unleashes his potentials. The true meaning of wallflower in Charlie is someone who needs encouragement to find his true self. His past has made him into someone who shuts himself from participating. Charlie needs the help from people around him PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 51 to be able to understand himself. Charlie finds his encouragement from being friends with Sam and Patrick. Being friends with Sam and Patrick makes Charlie experience the feeling of importance. Charlie also receives encouragement from Bill. Bill’s appreciation on Charlie’s ability in reading and writing also boost his esteem needs. It is added wit h the help of Charlie’s psychiatrist in figuring and accepting his past. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 52

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter consists of two parts which are conclusions and suggestions. Conclusions are related to the characteristics of Charlie, the literal meaning and the true meaning of wallflower which are discussed in chapter four. The suggestions consist of suggestions for future researcher and English teacher.

A. CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the problem formulations have been discussed in chapter four. In this chapter, the researcher concludes the findings into some paragraphs. The first finding is Charlie ’s characters. In the novel, Charlie is categorized as round character. It is because Charlie ’s characteristics cannot be described in a single sentence. He undergoes a change from having difficulty to understand himself to be really able to feel himself. In the beginning of the story he is afraid of starting his freshman year in high school and always worries about participating. However, in the end of the novel he states that he is no longer worry about starting high school. He also says that he will no longer write letters because he will be busy participating. Other than that, Charlie’s character is honest. One of the examples of Charlie’s honesty can be seen when Charlie meets Sam and Patrick for the first time. When having conversation with Sam and Patrick, Charlie answers Sam’s question honestly without keeping his image high in front of them. Charlie is also 53 a thoughtful person. He often thinks too much about how things work. It can be seen when Patrick shares his opinion to Charlie about how relationship between girls and guys goes and how girls think they can cha nge guys. After being told so, Charlie look at people holding hands in the hallways and wonders how it works. He also thinks whether they are as happy as they seem. Charlie is also intelligent. Charlie is able to take English Advanced Class when most of the students of his age take the lower level class. Charlie is also given a lot more books to read and more essays to write than the other students by Bill because Bill sees Charlie as a gifted person. Charlie as an intelligent person can be seen through his ability of reading and writing that is above the ability of the average students. Charlie is also an extrovert person. Even though he is very silent, he enjoys being surrounded by people. Charlie feels happy when he spends time together with Sam and Patrick instead of being alone. When doing The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Charlie also enjoys the character that he plays even though he has to wear a feather boa. He enjoys pretending singing and dancing in front of many people. He does not mind being the centre of attention. Charlie is also an emotionally unstable person. It can be shown when Charlie has a fight with another kid. Charlie manages to beat him up but then he is the one who cries. Charlie does not understand why he cries. He has difficulty in controlling his emotion. The second finding is the meaning of wallflower as seen in Charlie. In this study, the researcher explains the true meaning and the literal meaning of wallflower. The literal meaning of wallflower is an insecure person who often 54 observes people. Charlie often observes people and imagines how things work. He imagines how they feel and how they will react to different situation. He also feels insecure of himself. He does not recognize his ability. He also worries so much when his friends no longer come to school after they graduate. The true meaning of wallflower can be seen through Charlie’s motivation which works based on his needs. Charlie has difficulty in fulfilling his esteem needs. He has difficulty in understanding himself since he has unstable emotion and many call him as a freak. His dark past life also makes him suffer from traumatic experience which resulting him in shutting himself from participating. However, through his friendship with Sam and Patrick, Charlie receives encouragement to really understand where he stands and what he really wants in life. He also receives encouragement from Bill through their relation as a teacher and student, as well as with the help of his psychiatrist who help him in figuring out his past. Charlie finally accepts his past and is able to understand himself. His esteem needs is adequately met. He feels infinite and is ready to unleash his potential.

B. SUGGESTIONS

This part proposes suggestions for future researchers who are interested in the novel entitled The Perks of Being a Wallflower and suggestions for English teachers. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 55

1. Suggestions for Future Researcher

There are many aspects of this novel that can be analyzed. The analysis in this study is limited to the true meaning of wallflower as seen in Charlie. The researcher suggests that the future researcher conduct a study about an analysis of how Charlie’s childhood traumatic experience affects his teenage behaviour. The future researcher can also conduct an analysis on Charlie’s motivation to adapt himself to the social environment around him. 2. Suggestion for English Teacher The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a novel that can be one of the sources teach Book Report course. This novel deals with childhood and friendship which makes it very useful for students to learn. This novel can also be used as materials to teach Psikologi Remaja course since this novel deals with teenage life as well as human motivation and needs. 56 REFERENCES Ade, O. I. Okunoye, O. 2008. An introduction to literature and literature criticism. Lagos: National Open University of Nigeria. Abrams, M. H. 1999. A glossary of literary terms 7 th ed.. Massachusetts: Heinle Heinle Publishers. Allport, G. W. 1937. Personality: A psychological interpretation. New York: H. Holt and Company. Barnet, S., Burto, W. E., William, E. C. 1994. An introduction to the literature. Boston: Little Brown Bressler. Bollenbach, B. n.d.. How to avoid being a wallflower. Retrieved 11 May 2016, from http:30sleeps.comblog20070926avoid-being-a-wallflower Case, J., Marshall, D. 2009. Approaches in learning. New Jersey: Routledge. Chbosky, S. 2012. The perks of being a wallflower. New York: MTV Books Gallery Books. Dewey, R., Humber, W. J. 1957. Personality theories. New York: Sage. Freud, S. 1920. Beyond the pleasure principle. SE, 18: 1-64. Frederick, J. 1964. Adventures in fiction. New York: Hartcourt, Brace World. George, M. W. 2008. The elements of library research: What every students need to know. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Gradesaver LLC. n.d.. Biography of Stephen Chbosky. Retrieved 11 April 2016, from http:www.gradesaver.comauthorstephen-chbosky Harvey, J. H. 2002. Perspective on loss and trauma: Assaults on the self. California: Sage Publications, Inc. McLeod, S. 2007. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Retrieved 19 March 2016, from http:www.simplypsychology.orgmaslow.html McLeod, S. 2008. Theory of motivation. Retrieved 19 March 2016, from http:www.simplypsychology.orgpsychosexual.html McLeod, S. 2013. Sigmund Freud. Retrieved 2 March 2016, from http:www.simplypsychology.orgSigmund-Freud.html PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI