The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Part 3

by Stephen Chbosky
In letters addressed to an unnamed friend, Charlie describes his experiences as a high school freshman.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4–Epilogue
25 words 1950 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. administer
    bestow, as in small portions
    Love pats are soft punches of encouragement that are administered on the knee, shoulder, and arm.
  2. chic
    elegant and stylish
    My sister did help me trim it up a bit, and I was lucky because everyone in school including Sam and Patrick thought it looked cool.
    “Chic” was Patrick’s word.
  3. schizophrenic
    suffering from some form of psychotic disorder
    It was really bad because I remembered some of the schizophrenic kids in the hospital when I was little.
  4. mercilessly
    without pity
    And it didn’t help that this was the day after I noticed that all the kids were wearing their new Christmas clothes, so I decided to wear my new suit from Patrick to school, and was teased mercilessly for nine straight hours.
  5. breakthrough
    a productive insight
    I don’t know if it is important to tell you all this, but at the time, it felt like a “breakthrough.”
  6. context
    the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation
    Patrick said that the problem was that since everything has happened already, it makes it hard to break new ground. Nobody can be as big as the Beatles because the Beatles already gave it a “context.” The reason they were so big is that they had no one to compare themselves with, so the sky was the limit.
  7. established
    conforming with accepted standards
    They are both going to an Ivy League homecoming football game, and they have this debate. The older gentleman is established. The kid is “jaded.”
  8. jaded
    bored or apathetic after experiencing too much of something
    They are both going to an Ivy League homecoming football game, and they have this debate. The older gentleman is established. The kid is “jaded.”
    According to the debate, "jaded" and "established" would be nearly synonymous, but their tones differ because they apply to people at different stages of their life.
  9. idealist
    someone not guided by practical considerations
    Anyway, they have this discussion, and the kid is an idealist in a temporary way. He talks about his “restless generation” and things like that. And he says something like, “This is not a time for heroes because nobody will let that happen.”
  10. equivalent
    a person or thing comparable to another in value or measure
    It was especially fun to think that people all over the world were having similar conversations in their equivalent of the Big Boy.
  11. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    I would have told the table that, but they were really having fun being cynical, and I didn’t want to ruin it.
    Compare with "jaded" in this list. They are similar but a "jaded" outlook comes with overuse or overexposure, while a "cynical" disposition is generally negative toward others and is not always based on experience.
  12. pry
    be nosey
    He seemed sad when he said it, too, but I decided not to pry because I thought that would be too personal.
  13. bourgeoisie
    a socioeconomic group that is neither wealthy nor poor
    I learned a lot about “objectification,” Native Americans, and the bourgeoisie.
  14. sociology
    the study and classification of human societies
    Mary Elizabeth wants to go to Berkeley and get two degrees. One is for political science. The other is for sociology with a minor concentration in women’s studies.
  15. offensive
    causing anger or annoyance
    Girls are weird, and I don’t mean that offensively.
  16. articulate
    characterized by clear expressive language
    She kept saying it was an “articulate” film. So “articulate.” And I guess it was. The thing is, I didn’t know what it said even if it said it very well.
  17. import
    commodities bought from a foreign country
    She showed me the movie section and told me about all these cult filmmakers and people from France. Then, she took me down to the import section and told me about “real” alternative music.
  18. mantel
    a shelf that projects from the wall above a fireplace
    It had a fireplace with a mantel and golf trophies.
  19. expose
    make accessible to some action or influence
    And she says she wants to expose me to all these great things. And to tell you the truth, I don’t really want to be exposed to all these great things if it means that I’ll have to hear Mary Elizabeth talk about all the great things she exposed me to all the time.
  20. adroit
    quick or skillful or adept in action or thought
    When I left school that day, I didn’t go home because I just couldn’t talk to her on the phone, and my mother is not a very “adroit” liar about things like that.
  21. retrospect
    contemplation of things past
    That’s when I chose to be honest. In retrospect, I probably could not have picked a worse time.
  22. unbearable
    incapable of being put up with
    By the time I had knelt down in front of Sam and kissed her, the silence was unbearable.
  23. salvage
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm
    After the silence, Patrick did his best to salvage the evening.
  24. cocky
    overly self-confident or self-assertive
    Patrick just smiled cocky and said, “Of course.”
  25. passive
    lacking in energy or will
    I’d do anything to make it up to everyone. And to not have to see a psychiatrist, who explains to me about being “passive aggressive.”
    The term "passive aggressive" sounds like an oxymoron because it pairs two words that are usually opposite in meaning. A passive aggressive person is essentially aggressive, but like Charlie, he has learned to show his anger in less physical ways, such as sarcastic jokes, stubbornness, or deliberate failure to complete required tasks.
Created on Fri Mar 21 19:23:05 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Jun 14 16:41:55 EDT 2023)

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