Peer Group Belonging: Article Analysis

Perks of Being a Wallflower is a novel written by Steven Chbosky that addresses the adolescence years of life and how to deal with the different aspects of it. Aspects include finding one’s self, whether that be on an individual basis or in a societal way such as friends and family, learning how to deal with negative situations and lastly, maturity. Chbosky created a piece of work that nearly everyone can relate to at some point of their life. Although I may have not endured the same situations as the main character Charlie, I have had the same aspects affect me in some way. I feel as if I am a wallflower too.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower also shows the importance of family and friends in a young adults’ life. The juxtaposition of Charlie when he is well connected with friends and when he is isolated shows how important his support system was. Charlie often goes back to the idea of being infinite. “Sam…Started laughing. Patrick started laughing.

Peer participation is a double problematic, and it encompasses the rebuff of normal, altruistic peers and at that point the addition of an adolescent to a peer cluster of abnormal, rebellious peers; nonetheless, numerous influences, comprising of juvenile violence, societal removal, and the absence of communication abilities can subsidize peer rebuff, even in kindergarten (Holmes, Slaughter, & Kashani, 2001). The Holmes, Slaughter, & Kashani, (2001) study proposes that Peer rebuff at age ten; consequently, a mixture of educational failing and unfortunate parent supervising could lead to friendship with a disruptive peer cluster at age twelve. Connection to an abnormal peer cluster is linked with a surge in drug abuse and additional abnormal performance; furthermore, the effect of abnormal peer groups may be more apparent in a later start of conduct disorder (Holmes, Slaughter, & Kashani, 2001). Family influences are connected to the growth of conduct disorder, unpredictable management intermingled with punitive retribution, huge household proportions, and parent rebuff, unpredictable parents, and a boozing dad are all risk factors for conduct disorder (Holmes, Slaughter, & Kashani,

The period of adolescence is crucial in the development of identity and social integration, and for many teens can be very trying. From the moment children begin attending programs such as daycare and elementary schooling, they are transferred from an environment that no longer exclusively contains their parents, to one where they are integrated with other children who are similar in age; also known as peers. In the United States, adolescents spend twice the amount of time within peer groups from a day to day basis than with their parents (Dijkstra & Veenstra 2011). The socialization that occurs within these peer groups plays a large role in influencing the behaviors of adolescents during this developmental period; whether reinforcing positive behaviors such as academic achievement or encouraging questionable behavior and delinquency. The importance of peer groups in contemporary society is accurately represented in the 2004 movie Mean Girls, adapted from self-help book The Queen Bee’s and Wannabees, depicting the life of a young adolescent who struggles to prove herself worthy of being accepted by the dominant social group. Whether it is deciding on identifying with the ‘Brains’ or choosing to imitate the ‘Cheerleaders’ in hopes of obtaining status, overall adolescent behavior is greatly influenced by their peer groups.

Question 1: According to Erickson people want to belong (Oswalt, 2010, p.1). In my interview my interviewee pointed out that a lot of people only fall for peer pressure because they want a sense of belonging, no one likes to feel left out. If no one else will provide these individuals with attention, then who else are they to turn to? They turn to bad for their answer rather than waiting for someone to show love and compassion. Erickson also points out that there is a crisis or a task at each stage in life (Oswalt, 2010, p.1). As Angela Oswald points out in her article “…youth must determine how to develop and to maintain close friendships outside the family…” (Oswalt, 2010, p.1). What she is talking about is part of Erickson’s second stage

Lutwak, N., Panish, J., & Ferrari, J. (2003). Shame and guilt: Characterological vs. behavioral self-blame and their

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a novel about coming of age that is seen through the perspective of Charlie, a young ‘wallflower’ that is starting high school and experiences the troublesome teenage life filled with drugs, sexuality and love. Charlie writes this book in a series of letters to an anonymous person. Charlie is the main protagonist of the story who is apprehensive and a kind-hearted boy however he has many problems happening in his life that he doesn’t like to concern others with “I just don’t want you to worry about me, or think you’ve met me, or waste your time anymore”. I admire Charlie because he is very considerate of others and although he is shy he overcomes this fear when he tries to find friends and step out of his comfort zone” Normally I am very shy, but (Patrick) seemed like the kind of guy you could just walk up to at a football game even though you were three years younger and not popular”. In return Charlie is rewarded with his first real friend at high school. I also admire Charlie for his mature attitude towards finding new friends and moving on from the death of his friend Michael. Charlie really needed to start interacting more with people, during the story we find out that Charlie misses having a friend and that being alone can be difficult and cause negative effects “It would be very nice to have a friend again. I would like that even more than a date”. I think

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story which is told through a series of letters written by Charlie, a freshman in high school. (Chbosky, 2012) In the letters he tells about what his day was like, his feelings and his thoughts about his life. Charlie does not know the person he is writing to, and the person’s identity is never revealed. At school, Charlie finds it hard to make friends and he does not feel like he fits in. This is mostly because of his troubled past and he is still trying to cope with the recent suicide of his best friend, Michael. In addition, his beloved Aunt Helen died at his seventh birthday when she went out to buy Charlie a birthday present and he constantly

The order in which this thesis is organized is presented in this section. This thesis is divided into five main section: the first chapter as the Introduction; the second chapter as the Literature review; the third chapter as the Research Methodology; the fourth chapter as the Data Analysis and Recommendation; the fifth and last part as the Conclusion – all together amounting to five

No matter where one goes on this dismal chunk of rock, one will probably encounter an outsider. In high school lunchrooms there is always at least one poor, sad teenager who has the unlucky seat next to the trash can. In parks and school playgrounds there is always that one melancholy kid that provides a stark contrast from the joyful shouts and screams coming from the other playing children. The experience of being an outsider is an inescapable universal condition that can be caused through social class, appearance, or other factors.

Emotional Instability can develop into a mental illness and is most often caused by a traumatic event early in life. This can result in an individual growing up to have drastic mood swings without reason. Examples of these mood swings are lashing out, dangerous and reckless behavior, crying randomly, isolating oneself from society, and experimenting with alcohol and drugs. Stephen Chbosky’s novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, follows a socially awkward boy named Charlie entering high school after his only companion, Michael, commits suicide. Under those circumstances, it is evident that this experience has impacted Charlie because he often becomes overly aggressive or breaks down crying for no reason.

Humans have a natural need to fit in. For teenagers, fitting in is even more important than it was when they were little kids and more than it will ever be when they grow up to become working adults with careers and children. In the world of high school, the social food chain is a vicious occurrence. To a lot of people, not fitting in means that you are not liked, that you are uncool and that you don’t belong. Nobody wants to feel like they don’t belong, especially teenagers. Teenagers are growing humans who are exploring their own identities and becoming their own person, so they feel a stronger need to fit in with friends who give them approval and a “home” outside of their family. This gives them a sense of reassurance and protection. Moreover,

Growing up, the most important social groups were my school friends an family members. I often picked up on behaviors from my friends that I was not taught in my home, and when I was with my friends I felt like I had more self control because

In study after study, peer pressure is associated in adolescents of all ethnic and racial backgrounds with at-risk behaviors such as cigarette smoking, truancy, drug use, sexual activity, fighting, shoplifting, and daredevil stunts. Again, peer group values and attitudes influence more strongly than do family values the level of teenage alcohol use. The more accepting peers are of risky behavior, and the more they participate in that behavior, the more likely a person is to do the same thing.

This research paper is organized into five sections. Section one fill cover the introduction which will address a general overview of available remedies concerning the research topic. Section two will highlight the literature review of this research paper; section three will highlight the methodology that will be used for this study in terms of the sample and sampling plan. Section four will highlight the sources of data; this highlights the sources that the researcher used in gathering information concerning the research topic. Section five will highlight the discussion of regression while section six will highlight the conclusion of this study in terms of suggested areas of future research and the limitations of the study.