¤ Between The Pages ¤ discussion

First of all, let's agree to draw the line at page 102, because it is the end of part 2.

Whenever I read a book that Iwant to think about, and possibly learn something from, I try to come up with questions to ask my self. So here are the questions that I came up with for the first part of the book:

1. What can we learn about Charlie from his relationship to his siblings?
2. Is there a relation between the books Charlie reads, and what he is going through?
3. What do you make of the poem that Charlie gives to Patrick for Christmas?
4. What can we learn about Charlie from his relationship to Sam and Patrick?

This is very much what I am thinking about right now. I'm not sure I can come up with a satisfactory answer for them right now.


So here is what I think about Charlie:
He is very relatable, at least as far as I can relate to an American high school kid, with me being 12-13 years older than Charlie, and having attended school in Germany. Charlie is a very cerebral person. He is emotionally withdrawn and when it comes to physical stuff he is hesitant, if not defensive. This is one of the details that, I believe, can be elaborated on, if we look at Charlies relationship to his brother. If we understand his sporty brother symbolically, we learn that Charlie is out of touch with the physical aspects of his body and desires (his brother is away for college). About the only thing Charlie learned from his brother is how to defend himself in a fight. Later in the book, we might even find more clues about why Charlie acts in a certain way.