An estimated 62.9% of our population has received a mental health service in the past year. In the novel, Perks of Being A Wallflower and the movie Silver Linings Playbook the main characters’ mental health greatly impacts their ability to develop relationships. This is seen in their relationships with their love interests, friends, and family. Relationships are awkward and hard when mental illness is involved. It complicates things and makes communication difficult because they don’t have typical communication skills. In the novel, Perks of Being A Wallflower Charlie meets a girl named Sam and gains feelings for her. The issue is, due to Charlie’s mental state he isn’t able to create a relationship that society would consider “normal.” …show more content…
In the novel, Perks of Being A Wallflower Charlie becomes best friends with a guy named Patrick. In the movie Silver Linings Playbook. Ronnie and Pat are reunited when Pat is released from the mental hospital. As Pat is running past Ronnie’s house, Ronnie comes out and stops Pat. He hugs him and talks to him about coming over for dinner, and asks him questions but Ronnie is hesitant because he doesn’t exactly know how to treat Pat anymore. In the novel, Perks of Being A Wallflower Charlie is best friends with Patrick. There’s a night when Sam (Patrick’s sister) & Craig (Sam’s boyfriend) get into a huge argument, Patrick knows charlie doesn’t understand what is happening well, so he chooses to not discuss it with Charlie and just takes him home. Charlie goes to bed that night and all he thinks about is that Patrick never said he would call him tomorrow and gets upset about it. If mental illness wasn’t in his life he would be able to fully understand what was actually happening and that it wasn’t really anything hurtful what Patrick did. These two instances are an example of not having appropriate social skills in
Film portrayals of the mentally ill, have contributed to the stigma faced by people with these conditions. Films tend to create and reinforce the same certain stereotypes of the mentally ill. The film Silver Linings Playbook, is a refreshing departure from from this pattern. Exaggerated cinematic portrayals have largely bypassed mental illnesses , such as; Bipolar disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, etc. This film Silver LInings PLaybook, accurately depicts these common disorders among several characters in this film. The three main characters that blatantly show this depiction, are; Pat, Tiffany, and Pat’s best friend Danny Mcdaniels.
For my paper, I am diagnosing Charlie from the film, Perks of Being a Wallflower. Before I delve into Charlie’s diagnosis, I will provide some background information about his character. In the film, Charlie is a 15 year old boy who has recently started high school as a freshman. He lives with both parents, and his sister who is a couple years older than him. Charlie also has a brother who has gone away to college. In school, Charlie is seen to be good with academics, particularly in English, since he has an interest in writing. However, Charlie does not have any friends and his best friend had kill himself in the last year. Furthermore, Charlie is seen to be quite socially awkward around his peers and usually keeps to himself.
The short documentary Crooked Beauty, directed by Ken Paul Rosenthal, narrates Jacks Ashley McNamara’s experience in a psychiatric ward and how her time in the facility shapes her new appreciation for her mental illness. One controversial issue has been trying to identify the true cause of mental illness. On the one hand, most people may think mental illness is simply a biological disorder that can be cured with a combination of medication and doctors demanding appropriate behavior until it sticks in the patient’s mind. On the other, McNamara contends that mental illness is a misconception with a patient’s oversensitivity, where it is harder for the patient to ignore certain events than “normal” people, and their doctor’s textbook knowledge. In McNamara’s mental institution, the psychiatrists simply trap her in a padded room and prescribe many different pills to suppress her mental illness instead of embracing her differences or showing her how to use those differences to her advantage. In attempt to prevent those who are mentally ill from feeling the same anger and frustration she felt, she demands a change in the line psychiatric treatment when she says:
We get to know Charlie through letters he writes to the unnamed “friend”. Charlie has a lot of internal conflicts which he deals with every second of his life. He deals with his best friend’s death and his aunt’s death and his past with his aunt. These internal conflicts make him withdrawn. Moreover, Charlie has a need to tell someone about his life and thoughts, maybe to feel less lonely. In the very start of the story Charlie expresses: “I don’t want you to find me”, which emphasizes that he does not want a concrete person to help him, he only needs to let his thoughts out. Charlie is absolutely a dynamic and round character. He is an intelligent, observant high school freshman who hides his beautiful personality because of having dealt with a lot of trauma in his childhood. Through the relationships he develops over the course of the school year, Charlie suddenly comes out of his shell and grows as a person. For example, what he tells Sam who has also dealt with a troubled past: “Even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there”. However, it is not until the very end of the book that he uncovers the repressed memories of sexual abuse of his aunt that are at the foundation of his internal
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age film about a 15 year old boy, Charlie, who has been through much trauma. As a freshman Charlie is left with no friends, because of the suicide of his best friend Michael, but he has the support of an english teacher who inspires his dreams of becoming a writer. Eventually, step-siblings Sam and Patrick discover that Charlie is lonely and in need of a friend, so they take him under their wing. Sam, Patrick, and their group of friends have much wisdom about life, because they are older, much of which they share with Charlie. Under the wing of Sam and Patrick, Charlie becomes more excited about life. Although, he still struggles with the side effects of past traumas, and dreads the day his new friends leave for their lives after high school.
Charlie is the main character of Perks of Being a Wallflower, a book set in the early 1990s. Charlie taps readers into his sixteen-year old world, cueing us in on all the gritty details of his life. One aspect of it, however, requires inquisition. Charlie is surrounded by people--by friends and family--yet is alienated. Ironically, those who’re his friends have also been alienated by society. He also is unmotivated to do well socially, too. Charlie is seen to be very passive-aggressive, letting others have their way over his. He even lets himself deteriorate when he needs help. “So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be,” Charlie says on page 11. This quote proves Charlie’s feelings towards his own life, leaving one to assume his alienation is society’s fault. Why be motivated to fix your attitude when you will still be considered ‘abnormal’ by your peers. Furthermore, people in Charlie’s life know he’s different and aren’t afraid to remind him. “You're a freak, you know that? You've always been a freak. Everyone says so. They always have,” Charlie’s sister tells him on page 12. This quote shows people’s opinions on Charlie and perpetuates the fact that he’s alienated. Although, the reason for alienation is unknown and left for the readers to discover themselves. Is it his growing unmotivation that was ultimately his downfall? Or
He is functional, but moderately mentally disabled. Charlies main goal is to learn so he can be smart like everyone else. When he was suggested by his teacher for an operation that could make him smarter, he got excited because he actually had a chance. Before the surgery Charlie is completely innocent. Being innocent is defined as simple and naive. He has no experience because he has been under circumstances that did not allow him. He is a generally happy person that values companionship. Charlie sees the good in everybody and is nice to all, even when some are not particularly nice to him. Before the surgery Charlie is very ignorant to the jokes and slurs his “friends” express to him. He always enjoys going to work to see his friends because he likes how they joke around and laugh with him.
At the start of the novel charlie is just about to start his freshman year of highschool without any friends because his only friend michael killed himself but then at a football game he meets Sam and Patrick and make him a bit more sociable for example in a part of the novel he takes part in something called the rocky horror picture show in front of hundreds of people.By the end Charlie is now able to socialize and make more friends.This evidence shows how Perks of being a wallflower is partially about friendship and why it's important.Through socializing more and making new friends this shows that perks of being a wallflower teaches friendship and why it's important.
Relating back to trauma, a theory for who is phony verus who is not are the only people who experience trauma are non-phonies whereas people who don’t are phonies. Eventually Holden gets so lonely he asks a cab driver to get a drink with him. His isolation peaks while in New York City and he can’t go home too early. It leads to a breakdown of his mental and physical state where he gets tuberculosus. While in the medical facility to receive treatment he writes the story as a reflection of a rough isolated time in his life. In Charlie’s life told through letters in Perks of being a Wallflower, the reader learns at the end of the book how Charlie has been sexually harassed the whole book by his Aunt. In Charlie’s case he becomes a wallflower and takes in his surroundings alone. By definition a wallflower is a person who has no one to dance with or who feels shy, awkward, or excluded at a party. This defines Charlie well with the caveat that Charlie does have a few friends. Even to Charlie’s friends he is viewed upon as a wallflower, "He's a wallflower...You see things. you keep quiet about them. And you understand."(Perks p.37). Charlie not only is sexually harassed/assaulted he also
The setting of the novel greatly breads Charlie’s life. In the suburbs, everyone knows each other better than in the city. Therefore, when one person is beaten by a mental illness, it affects everyone in some way. When someone has a mental illness people do not talk about it, it is pushed away and hidden. No one really tries to help, but once the problem goes to extremes and someone commits suicide, no one is not talking about it. So when Charlie’s best and only friend stops coming to school and they announce that he has passed away, everyone is whispering about it and trying to find what really happened. Charlie found someone who knows the truth and got the true but devastating news “Dave with the awkward glasses told us that Michael
In the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the main character, Charlie, struggles with depression and anxiety as a result of his post traumatic stress disorder. Charlie enters freshman year and has a difficult time meeting people, but a group of seniors become his friends and help him learn more about himself and the world. They take him to parties and give him the high school experience he always wanted.
In the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the main character Charlie is on a journey with his mental health. There are many high and low points, but it is obvious that he has a serious mental illness. Throughout the movie, Charlie shows many symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is defined as “A disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.” by the National Institute of Mental Health, and can be diagnosed through the DSM-IV method. Firstly, there needs to be signs of deviant behaviour. During the movie there are multiple occasions where Charlie blacks out and loses his memory. Whether it was drug, rage or anxiety included, this is still considered both deviant behaviour and a symptom of PTSD. Secondly, there needs to be signs of maladaptive behaviour. At the beginning of the movie, we see Charlie writing letters to his deceased best friend about his negative thoughts and feelings. While it is good to express these thoughts and feelings, it is not normal to articulate them to a dead person. He also experiences multiple flashbacks to the trauma he experienced from his Aunt Helen. Flashbacks are one the most common symptoms of PTSD, and can also develop other mental illnesses such as depression if not correctly treated. Lastly, there needs to be signs of personal distress, which can be seen when charlie expresses quilt about his Aunt Helen’s death before he has a blackout in the snow. When his feelings
Charlie, the main character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, tells his story through a series of letters written over a span of one year, or Charlie’s freshman year of high school. Author Stephen Chbosky, tells the story of a young man trying to find his way and also trying to make friends in school. Along the way, Charlie has trials he must go through, and not everything results in a happy ending right away. Eventually, all is well in Charlie’s life, but he must struggle in order to finally be content and happy with his life. Charlie’s coming of age story is told through his trials of trying to fit in by going to parties, drinking and even doing drugs while many of his relationships are hurt in the process. Just as every other high school student, Charlie wants to feel like he belongs, even if that means becoming someone that he is not. Along the way, not only is Charlie hurt, but also his friends Sam and Patrick. The relationships with these two friends, and Charlie himself are tested by all of their actions and how they live their lives.
Mental illness is a health condition that affects an individual’s moods and thinking in a way that changes how that person relates to other people in society. The functioning of the affected person is also altered and usually results in the person failing to perform some of the daily activities that the person has previously engaged in. Mental illness can be considered a combination of both social and health complications, affecting the social life of the people who fall victim in many ways (Elliott & Huizinga, 2012). There are some health complications that are also experienced with mental disorders. It is also important to note that medical attention forms part of the therapies that try to correct or control this condition. More recently most concern has been on the fact that mental illness is a major social problem in the world (Gonzalez & Rosenheck, 2014).
In "The Perks..." there are a variety of personalities portrayed through the book. Charlie being the "wallflower" of the title, was different from most of the other students at his high school. He understood what most didn 't and didn 't judge anyone for who they are or what they were like; on the contrary, he actually thought about and sometimes asked why they decided to be that way, and there was nothing more to it. Through out the book, entirely composed of letters to an unnamed "friend", he explains how he met eccentric people, like Sam and her step-brother Patrick; two kids a few years older than the at the time freshman Charlie. Sam