The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Essay

Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, includes the topic of adolescent development, the book forces itself to thrive in conflict, and the idea of loving submission is present throughout the story as the discussion of modern issues becomes apparent. As expressed In the Perks of Being a Wallflower, “I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other”(Chbosky.)

Witnessing or experiencing traumatic events are normally followed by stress reactions, but when those reactions continue for longer than a month that is when an individual is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, typically referred to by its acronym PTSD. Traumatic events include sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, near death experiences and a variety of other traumatic events. PTSD is characterized by three main symptoms: re-experiencing the event, avoidance of triggers, and increased arousal (“Symptoms of PTSD”). The novel, Perks of Being a Wallflower, is written in diary format which allows the reader to be exposed to Charlie’s inner thoughts.

However, with changes in society it has come to describe those who suffer from pervasive lowering of mood preventing them from living a normal life. Conditions range from person to person. It may vary from mild, brief occasional dips in a person's mood to a severe lifelong persistence in extensive depressive episodes characterizing a person with intense feelings of self-worthlessness. Overall depression is a very common mental health disorder, however it is still highly misunderstood. This disorder is seen to be “one of the greatest, if not the greatest disease burden of the twenty first century”. (Mulholland.1) As this disorder brings distress to millions of households across the nation, it is frequently misdiagnosed or simply not seen as an issue of concern at all. Leading to “a great deal of suffering and a substantial number of deaths”. (Mulholland.1) Alas, the condition sadly evokes a lot of stigma. The lack of personal experience and knowledge residing with most people causes feelings of superiority in those who the condition does not affect. This causes tears in the social fabric and worsens things for those that do have

In the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie, an introverted boy, coping with the recent suicide of his friend, begins high school. He finds trouble making friends until he meets Patrick and Sam. As Charlie attempts to improve his social interaction, and cultivate a sense of self, he continuously experiences blackouts and triggers. Nearing the end of the film, Charlie has a mental breakdown, which leads to his hospitalization, and he uncovers his repressed memories of his Aunt Helen molesting him. Charlie shows symptoms and behavioral tendencies of post-traumatic stress disorder in addition to a comorbid diagnosis of depression and social anxiety.

Imagine receiving one’s first car or an acceptance letter to the best school in the state, or even simply having a birthday party. Now, on the contrary, imagine a close family member has just passed away, school is incredibly stressful, and, because of all this, a mental breakdown is on the horizon. From the most saturated moments to the ones that are decidedly grayscale, friends should be at the side of anyone experiencing these moments - which is nearly everyone. What if all those confidants vanished? This is what happened to charlie after his only friend, Michael, committed suicide. Then, he met step siblings Sam and Patrick, who filled his life with colors he hadn’t even known existed. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, the author emphasizes the theme that, no matter how cliché it is, friendship can often be the one thing that teaches a person what to do to save themselves.

The book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a book written about a boy, Charlie, and his struggle throughout his first year of highschool. Although, Charlie deals with more difficult obstacles throughout his first year of highschool, he discovers hope and his self worth. Charlie discovers his past along with how to cope while meeting real friends and being involved in real high school experiences.

The character I’m writing about is Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. When you look at Charlie’s health triangle it would be very unbalanced. The book doesn’t touch much on his physical health and his social health is not horrible, but his mental health is very poor. His mental health is bad because of all kinds of reasons, for example past abuse from his childhood, the use of drugs, and his best friend committing suicide the year before.

“We accept the love we think we deserve”(Chbosky). This quotation from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” shows how Charlie put up with people pushing him around. Over the course of the novel Charlie has been convinced by everyone around him that he is different. Due to a childhood trauma unbeknownst to everyone, Charlie was subconsciously changed. Most everyone has made it seem to Charlie that being different was a bad thing.

Have you ever lost someone in your life and didn’t know how to cope with the pain? In The Perks Of Being a Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky there are two families that have to cope with the pain of losing a loved one. Charlie’s family has to deal with the loss of Aunt Helen. She died in a car crash while going to get Charlie’s christmas present. The novel takes you through the hardship that Charlie goes through when he’s trying to cope with the pain of losing his Aunt. Then there is Michael’s death that took place when Charlie was in middle school. Michael had committed suicide by shooting himself. He didn’t even leave a not for Charlie as to why he decided to do this. Both Charlie and Michael’s family had to try and cope with this loss.

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, is about teenage freshmen in high school, Charlie. So far throughout the book, we see that Charlie is not the most popular kid in school, nor is he a "loser geek. " Charlie is more of the shy quiet boy who doesn't find the time to socialise and remains the intelligent invisible freshmen. However, we see all this escalate.

At school, Charlie finds a friend and mentor in his English teacher, Bill. He also overcomes his chronic shyness and approaches a classmate, Patrick, and his stepsister Sam, become two of Charlie's BFFs. Charlie’s new found friends – Sam, Patrick, Mary Elizabeth and Bob - aren't exactly popular and are outcasts themselves. They are all seniors and often hang out at the Big Boy except Bob who doesn't go to school.

Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower demonstrates how ‘Charlie’, the protagonist drives the narrative through his subconscious exploration of his own mother complex and masculine worth. He analyses his past and current personality in his letters to arrive at how his current attitudes, values and beliefs have been shaped through key events that have happened. As the story develops, it is clearly demonstrated through Charlies exploration that Chbosky utilises the theory of Freudian psycho-analytical criticism and masculine theory. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an American coming of age text; the protagonist, Charlie is starting the journey of high school. Charlie is a socially awkward boy who as the title says; is a wallflower.

The novel I read was “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Charlie, the main character, tells the story of his freshman year of high school. After the suicide of his friend Michael, he is left alone. Charlie grows up with older siblings who have a distant relationship, a more stoic and uncaring father, and a loving yet not always perceptive mother. In his times of need, he now has no one to go to.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is about a boy named Charlie. Charlie is a fifteen year old freshmen, who is going through a traumatic loss. The story starts with the news of Charlie’s best friend Michael committing suicide. Michael was basically Charlie’s only friend and losing him makes the beginning of freshmen year troublesome for Charlie. This is not Charlie’s first experience with loss.

The perks of being a wallflower The novel ”The perks of being a wallflower” is written by Stephen Chbosky and published by MTV Books. The edition I read has 213 pages and it’s written in the form of letters that Charlie, the main character, writes to a anonymous friend. The novel takes place in a Pittsburgh suburb in the early 1990s.