What Is the Most Important Theme for the Audience to Learn About in Looking for Alaska and the Perks of Being a Wallflower?

...

and when he arrives at Culver Creek, he is immediately captivated by Alaska. He wants to understand Alaska as he first sees her as a mystery herself. Alaska was a metaphor for a hurricane, she came all at once and then didn’t at all. She was obsessed with finding a way out of her labyrinth, creating a whirlwind of chaos everywhere she went but then once she found her way out of her labyrinth, she disappeared. Alaska’s mystery eventually led to her inevitable death as she shut out her friends therefore they couldn’t tell how upset she was and they “let her slip through their fingers” on the night of her death. But after her death, once Miles stops dehumanising Alaska, stops viewing her as a mystery, only then he begins to understand Alaska for who she truly was and not the façade she hid behind. After he started to understand Alaska, he soon stopped trying to find out how she died realising that some things were better left as ultimately it didn’t matter. He truly believes that in his labyrinth, her spirit will live on, and that is enough for him.

Another difference between the two books is that Perks of Being a Wallflower explores more into the theme of coming of age. Charlie’s development is a key feature in the storyline. Charlie’s suppressed memories of his past allow him to enter high school with a child-like view on the world yet deep down inside he has experienced more in his life time than more people five times his age have. Patrick and Sam help cultivate Charlie and help him grow but Patrick and Sam alone is not enough. Charlie must overcome difficulties of his own. He must control this festering dark aggression he harbours due to his past experiences and although this aggression may come in handy such as defending Patrick from bullies, Charlie must control it and in order to do that he must face his suppressed memories.

Throughout the book, Charlie must deal with the fact he was sexually abused by his aunt, the gender reverse of this situation makes it harder for Charlie to admit what happened as well as the fact he had idolised his aunt his whole life to realise what she had done was take advantage of his innocence. Charlie is also introduced to alcohol, drugs, smoking and so much more by Sam and Patrick of which Charlie chooses to participate in because if he feels he doesn’t, he might lose the only friends he has. All these factors lead to eventual break down of Charlie as he gets lost on his quest for adulthood. So although the books share similarities in their themes and character, they are also very different from one another and consult very different topics.

Looking For Alaska and The Perks of Being a Wallflower both compliment and contrast each other. When compared there is not one important theme that is prominent throughout the book but two in particular. The most important being the theme of intimacy, sex and love as well as the theme of friendship because they help delve into deeper, darker personal issues as well as relate realistically to the problems teenagers face today. This essay explored the similarity of the books through the themes of intimacy, sex and love as well as the theme of friendship. It also explored the differences between the books through the themes of mystery and the unknown and the theme of coming of age. The books Looking For Alaska and The Perks of Being a Wallflower both cover extremely important themes which relates to teenage angst as well as making the book more relatable to the audience. All of the themes are important for the audience to learn and none of them are more important than the other since the themes tie together and create an in-depth storyline as well as characters which helps readers relate more to the book. Teenagers are indestructible yet it’s not because they are fearless. It’s because they are an adaptable creature who will face some extreme issues while growing up both mentally and physically and yet can face them head on and come out still standing.