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Wallingford, Connecticut Censorship Case

In November of 2015, a parent in the community of Wallingford, Connecticut filed a complaint about Perks of Being a Wallflower, which was being read by his son in his freshman English class. The parent, Jean-Pierre Bolat, filed the complaint with Rosemary Duthie, principal of Sheehan High School, where Bolat’s son attended school, on the ground of the book’s descriptions of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual assault, and the use of drugs and alcohol. Bolat was particularly disturbed by the instance of date rape (in the book, Charlie witnesses a drunk couple engage in oral sex after the girl repeatedly says no in the back room of a party). Three months after Bolat filed the complaint, he was made a member of the local school board. In January of that year, Bolat sent a letter regarding the book to assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction Shawn Parkhurst, and also gave his reasons before a panel of local educators and librarians for wanting the book removed. They decided to keep the book in the curriculum. Bolat then had this decision appealed to School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo, who decided to remove the book from the curriculum, but allowed the book to remain available in school libraries to be read independently (Censorship Dateline). In a letter to parents and faculty in Wallingford, Menzo said the following: “A misunderstanding exists concerning the school district's recent review of the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Wallingford Public School District did not remove students' access to the book; but rather, made a decision concerning the manner in which the book would be used by the school district following a request for review by a parent" (“Coming of age novel focus of Wallingford school review”).

This decision was criticized by groups such as the American Library Association and the National Council Against Censorship, as well as members of the Wallingford community such as Deborah Caldwell Stone, deputy director of the library association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (“Groups come to defense of removed book”), and Susan Gomes, assistant professor of social work at Southern Connecticut State University and former chairwoman of the English Department at Lyman Hall High School (“Banning books detrimental to students, Wallingford residents told”). After the book was removed from the curriculum in February, Holly Lafond, another local parent whose daughter was a freshman at Lyman High School, where the book was also banned, filed a request with the school board for the book to be reinstated. Ultimately, this request would be successful, and the book would be returned to the curriculum of the two schools at the beginning of the next year (“Committee returns 'Perks' to curriculum”). There is also a policy put in place by the Board of Education that gives parents the option to have their child be given an alternate assignment, should they find a book to be unsuitable or inappropriate (“A consensus on texts, but still criticism”).

Differences Between the Book and the Film

Though the film was written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, author of the novel, there are a number of notable differences between the book and the movie. First and foremost, a number of characters that go unnamed in the novel have been given names, including Charlie’s sister and brother, whom the film names Candace and Chris, respectively. Additionally, the sister’s boyfriend, whose name is never mentioned in the book, is named Derek for the movie (derisively called “Ponytail Derek” by Patrick). Additionally, Charlie’s last name is revealed in the film to be “Kelmeckis,” while his English teacher, who is only ever referred to in the novel as “Bill,” first introduces himself to the class as “Mr. Anderson.” Though he still maintains a close relationship with Charlie in the film as he does in the novel, he does not encourage Charlie to call him by his first name as he does in the book (Chbosky 9), nor does any character refer to him as “Bill.”

A number of scenes present in the book are also absent in the movie adaptation. In the novel, Charlie and his family sit down and watch the final episode of M*A*S*H together, and Charlie catches his father crying in the kitchen (16-17). This scene is not present in the film, nor is the scene in which a young Charlie witnesses an instance of date rape during a party thrown by his brother (31). Likewise, the subplot of Charlie’s sister becoming pregnant and requiring Charlie to drive her to an abortion clinic has been excised (116-122). Towards the end of the novel, Charlie has lunch at Bill’s town house and meets his girlfriend (179-182). It is here that Charlie tells Bill, “You’re the best teacher I ever had” (182). In the film, this scene is removed entirely, and instead Charlie tells Bill this on the last day of school.

In the film, Charlie helps Sam study for her SATs so that she can improve her scores and go to Penn State. This does not happen in the book.

The “tunnel song” in the novel is identified as “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac (39). In the film, the song that plays in this scene is “Heroes” by David Bowie.

Works Cited

"Censorship Dateline." Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom 64.3 (2015): 89-71. Web.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. New York: Pocket, 1999. Print.

Luther Turmelle, New Haven Register. "Banning Books Detrimental to Students, Wallingford

Residents Told." New Haven Register (CT)Oct 06 2015. Web.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Dir. Stephen Chbosky. Perf. Logan Lerman, Emma Watson,

and Ezra Miller. Roadshow, 2013.

Vo, Eric. "Coming of Age Novel Focus of Wallingford School Review." Associated Press

State Wire: Connecticut (CT) Apr 12 2015. Web.

---. "Committee Returns 'Perks' to Curriculum." Record-Journal (Meriden, CT): A01. Apr 25

2015. Web.

---. "A Consensus on Texts, but Still Criticism." Record-Journal (Meriden, CT): A01. Aug

20 2015. Web.

---. "Groups Come to Defense of Removed Book." Record-Journal (Meriden, CT): A01. Mar 20

2015. Web.

Final Draft

Wallingford, Connecticut Censorship Case

In November of 2015, a parent in the community of Wallingford, Connecticut filed a complaint against The Perks of Being a Wallflower, on the grounds that it was inappropriate to be read by his son in a freshman English class. The parent, Jean-Pierre Bolat, filed the complaint with the principal of Sheehan High School, Rosemary Duthie, citing the book’s descriptions of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual assault, and the use of drugs and alcohol. Bolat was particularly disturbed by the instance of date rape described in the novel(in the book, Charlie witnesses a drunk couple engage in oral sex after the girl repeatedly says no in the back room of a party). Three months after Bolat filed the complaint, he was appointed as a member of the local school board. In January of that year, Bolat made a second objection to the book in a letter to assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Shawn Parkhurst. His campaign against the inclusion of The Perks of Being a Wallflower in the schools curriculum continued as he also gave his reasons for wanting the book removedbefore a panel of local educators and librarians. They ultimately decided to keep the book in the curriculum. Bolat then had this decision appealed to School Superintendent, Salvatore Menzo, who decided to remove the book from the curriculum, but allowed the book to remain available in school libraries to be read independently (Censorship Dateline). In a letter to parents and faculty in the district, Menzo said the following: “A misunderstanding exists concerning the school district's recent review of the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Wallingford Public School District did not remove students' access to the book; but rather, made a decision concerning the manner in which the book would be used by the school district following a request for review by a parent" (“Coming of age novel focus of Wallingford school review”).

Menzo's decision was criticized by groups such as the American Library Association and the National Council Against Censorship, as well as individuals such as Deborah Caldwell Stone, deputy director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (“Groups come to defense of removed book”), and Susan Gomes, former chairwoman of the English Department at Lyman Hall High School, where the book was also banned (“Banning books detrimental to students, Wallingford residents told”). After the book was removed from the curriculum in February, Holly Lafond, a local parent whose daughter was a freshman at Lyman, filed a request with the school board for the book to be reinstated. When asked to comment, Lafond said, "He took my daughter's choice away; she didn't have the opportunity to read the book. She didn't have the opportunity to read it or the choice to not read it because it was taken out of the curriculum all together [sic]." Ultimately, her request to have the book reinstated would be successful, and the book would be returned to the curriculum of the two schools at the beginning of the next year (“Committee returns 'Perks' to curriculum”). Additionally, the concerns of parents like Bolat regarding the controversial themes have been addressed by a Board of Education policy that gives parents the option to have their child be given an alternate assignment, should they find a book to be unsuitable or inappropriate (“A consensus on texts, but still criticism”).

Differences Between the Book and the Film

Though the film adaptation was written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, author of the novel, there are a number of differences between the two. Multiple characters who go unnamed in the novel have been given names, including Charlie’s sister and brother, whom the film names Candace and Chris, respectively, and the sister’s boyfriend, who is named Derek for the movie (derisively called “Ponytail Derek” by Patrick). Additionally, Charlie’s last name is revealed in the film to be “Kelmeckis,” while his English teacher, who is only ever referred to in the novel as “Bill,” first introduces himself to the class as “Mr. Anderson.” Though he still maintains a close relationship with Charlie in the film as he does in the novel, Mr. Anderson does not encourage Charlie to call him by his first name as he does in the book (Chbosky 9), nor does any character refer to him as Bill. A number of scenes present in the book are also absent in the movie. In the novel, Charlie and his family sit down and watch the final episode of M*A*S*H together, and Charlie catches his father crying in the kitchen (16-17). This scene is not present in the film, nor is the scene in which a young Charlie witnesses an instance of date rape during a party thrown by his brother (31). Likewise, the subplot of Charlie’s sister becoming pregnant and requiring Charlie to drive her to an abortion clinic has been excised (116-122). Towards the end of the novel, Charlie has lunch at Bill’s townhouse and meets his girlfriend (179-182). It is here that Charlie tells Bill, “You’re the best teacher I ever had” (182). In the film, this scene is removed entirely, and instead Charlie tells Bill this on the last day of school. Also, in the film, Charlie helps Sam study for her SATs so that she can improve her scores and go to Penn State. This does not happen in the book. Finally, the “tunnel song” in the novel is identified as “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac (39). In the film, however, the song that plays in this scene is “Heroes” by David Bowie.