Writing gives Charlie control over the narrative of his life in the sense that the reader sees Charlie’s life events through his eyes, and Charlie decides which things to write about and which to omit. In this way, reading about others and writing about himself helps Charlie to discover his voice and identity, which gives him strength as he figures out how to navigate the escalating complexity of his adolescence.Ĭharlie writes letters to an anonymous addressee as a means of cathartically processing his emotions and controlling his own narrative, both of which are particularly important to him in the wake of his history of sexual abuse. Furthermore, Charlie’s letters give him a sense of control and a space to work out the things he has been unable to say out loud to another person. As Charlie reads and reflects on the books Bill gives him, he identifies with the various protagonists, and these stories influence his growth throughout the year. Charlie’s English teacher Bill recognizes his strong writing skills and encourages his love of reading and writing with extra assignments.
Writing things down in letters to a stranger seems to give Charlie the ability to better examine and process his experiences. By composing the novel as a series of letters written by Charlie, Chbosky emphasizes Charlie’s reliance on language to make sense of the world.
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