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Perks Of Being A Wallflower Charlie Essay

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The character Charlie in Stephen Chbosky’s Perks of Being a Wallflower is an interesting one. Charlie is influenced by many people, and the plot is driven by his inner turmoil as a ‘wallflower’. One of his greatest influences is from his Aunt Helen. Chbosky is able to paint a strong picture by using Aunt Helen, even though she does not appear in his story at all. She can easily be credited as an underlying drive for the book’s plot. When Aunt Helen was younger, she was molested by a friend of the family. She suffered through many trials throughout her life, but her experiences with this man affected her the greatest. It is assumed (from scenes later on in the book) that she might've even molested Charlie when he was younger. She abuses his quiet demeanor, and Charlie does not remember this at all. She was killed in a car accident on christmas eve- Charlie’s 7th birthday, whilst getting a birthday present for him. Learning about her …show more content…

Chbosky used the character of Helen quite intricately. It is rare that a character has such strong influences from something if it is not actually there, even though this is a fairly common thing in our everyday lives. He uses Helen to evoke depression in Charlie, an already deep-thinking and quiet character. We watch him slowly spiral down, and he knows that it is not healthy to think the way he’s thinking. Saying things like, “Something's really wrong with me. And I don’t know what it is.” (137) throughout the story, getting more and more concentrated towards the end. Charlie engages in spirals of thought, often leading in him to abandon some letters, “I have to stop doing this, I am getting to sad.” (168) and his negative character development begins to be the driving plotline of this story. His life is beginning to be rich with situations, and it’s becoming obvious that his inner turmoil is the cause of all of his struggles. But what caused this inner

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