Perks Of Being A Wallflower Analysis

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the story of a unique high school student named Charlie and his journey of self-discovery throughout his freshman year. Charlie’s personality changes drastically from the beginning of the book to the end of it; and this is what I want to focus on. First I am going to detail Charlie’s personality at the beginning of the book and then use Erik Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development, Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development, Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and an article about adolescent bulling to analyze them. I will then use examples from the book and film to illustrate his growth in the respected areas. Through these major theories of psychology I will show Charlie’s evolution from a wallflower to a human being.

The Perks of being a Wildflower movie is a great demonstration on adolescence and childhood development as it portrays how much we as humans are effected by our early childhood years and how we struggle to make sense of life while navigating through adolescence. We are molded by our environment, but also shaped by the neglect or abuse we suffer as children. The traumatic experiences are life altering and if not dealt with can have dramatic outcomes for our future. The movie has a great story line and walks the audience through the character and identity development of an adolescence. Dissecting Charlies character will be helpful in understanding that part of a human’s life and development.

From the two novels, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, we have read thus far several connections can be made either between characters or between the storylines themselves. One of the more obvious connections is how trauma plays a significant role in the main characters lives. Both of these characters experienced significant trauma early on in life that impacted how they acted throughout the following story. Charlie was influenced in his social interactions by the trauma he underwent in regards to his Aunt Helen along with the death of his friend Michael. Holden has a similar experience with his younger brother Allie, who was also a significant person in the character's life who he then lost at a young age. This loss of a significant person in their lives leads to a trauma that is described through the NPR article by Laura Starecheski, “Take The ACE Quiz — And Learn What It Does And Doesn't Mean,” that the class read through. Paired with several other studies that have been conducted on trauma and the effects it has on adolescence by the CDC and other organizations, it is clear that Holden and Charlie were negatively affected by the trauma they endured. Holden and Charlie are more similar than they are different in many cases and the cementing piece is their reactions to the trauma they experienced. Both characters, Charlie and Holden, were impacted in a negative ways, either through human interactions being

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 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.

‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ follows shy and kind-natured Charlie Kelmeckis (Logan Lerman- Percy Jackson, The Butterfly Effect) as he enters high school alone, after the recent loss of his middle school best friend to suicide. Charlie gets befriended by seniors Sam (Emma Watson- Harry Potter-Beauty and the Beast) and Patrick (Ezra Miller- Justice League, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and finally feels accepted.

Sociology is the scientific study of being behavior in human groups (Schaefer). There are very many examples of sociology in the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but I view alienation, deviance, and gender roles to be the most prominent. This movie is about the struggles of a teenage boy named Charlie’s freshman year of high school. Charlie is seen as a social outcast and he just barely makes it through the year with the help of his best friends Sam and Patrick. Throughout the movie Charlie experiences most of the basic struggles of starting high school and some. This movie is very relateable since it gives a more realistic view of high school for some people. Charlie , and the audience, learns the importance of love and friendship in growing up in today’s society.

Although there are essentially two Holdens, there are still traits that remain the same. Throughout the story, Holden feels the need to explain and justify himself, as though people don’t believe him. Holden tells the story

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

Being socially inept at times, Charlie finds it hard to comprehend his love. This is how The Catcher in the Rye, is similar to Charlie. Both protagonists are unable to connect with others, such as women, and they both assume very comparable roles. Charlie and Holden, discover the ideology of

Through his loneliness he has developed hatred towards adulthood, hence finds his transition so harsh. Holden always isolates himself from people, in general. He believes that he can ignore the phonies and stay pure and innocent like a kid, he will never have to step through maturity through his isolation. However, his loneliness has also caused a negative impact on his life, loneliness led him to being so self-absorbed that he does not realize that, growing up is not bad as it may seem. In the beginning of the book when we are first introduced to Ackley, Holden is ignoring him, “‘Hi,’ I said, but I didn’t look up from my book.” (20) The main and only reason Holden became lonely was when Allie passed away. After Allie’s death, Holden realizes that once you grow up there are so many problems you encounter. So, why not stay as a child. Since, kids are known to be carefree about what’s going around in the world. Hence, loneliness plays a major role in Holden’s life, which keeps him from stepping through his growth and experiencing the outside

The Catcher and the Rye and the Perks of being a Wallflower are two separate stories both involving a teenage boy going through their first taste of freedom. They both have similar challenges and issues ahead of themselves but their personality differ greatly but both remain awkward in character. Holden considers himself a loner who doesn’t avidly try in school. While Charlie is the opposite of Holden, he has a small group of friends and he viewed upon as the teacher’s pet. Although both the Catcher and the Rye and the Perks of being a Wallflower take place during different time periods they both go through the untimely struggles of growing

Although depression may seem like an endless burden to bear, those suffering from the mental illness need to hold on to realize that they are not alone, and that depression does end. Through the use of a range of film techniques employed throughout the final scene of the film, Stephen Chbosky successfully weaves this idea into the closing sequence of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The comedy-drama coming-of-age film reflects on the trials and tribulations of adolescent life, as we join protagonist Charlie on his journey of development. As Charle is introduced as a socially awkward “wallflower” suffering severely from depression, the film techniques used during the ending scene show how Charlie has found his place in the world with friends

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

was at a party) and voiced that you think that your Aunt Helen's death was your fault. Knowing