The novel, “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky is an eye-opening story about a high school student named Charlie who has to overcome the horrors of his best-friend’s suicide. In doing so, he befriends two senior students named Patrick and Sam. Patrick and Sam go to parties, do drugs, and lead Charlie down a bad path. Charlie, the Martyr; Patrick, the Warrior; and Sam, the Innocent; are all unique in their own ways, and these uniquenesses form their archetypal personalities. Charlie’s archetypal personality is a Martyr. Charlie sacrifices himself to save others. Charlie demonstrates that he sacrificed himself to save others when he fights off Patrick’s attackers and tells the leader of the group, “If you ever do this again, …show more content…
A warrior's physical health is enjoying team sports. “I listened to [Patrick] yell at the field. And I listened to his play-by-play analysis. And I figured out that this was a kid who knew football very well. He actually knew football as well as my brother” (Chbosky 19). This is an example of Patrick showing a warrior's physical health, because he is passionate about football. A warrior's response to the dragon is to slay. Patrick demonstrates this when he, “threw the first punch [at Brad]” (Chbosky 151). This is an example of Patrick slaying the dragon because he doesn’t hesitate to strike Brad when he is challenged by him. The warriors task is respect and assertiveness. Patrick shows this when he states, “Listen, you either call me Patrick, or you call me nothing” (Chbosky 13). This is an example of Patrick demanding respect and assertiveness because he settles for nothing less than what he …show more content…
The Innocent’s physical health is being youthful but frail. Sam demonstrates being youthful but frail when she says, “She was seven. And she told nobody about it except for Mary Elizabeth and then Patrick a year ago. She then started to cry” (Chbosky 70). This is an example of Sam being youthful but frail because she chooses to discuss her childhood, but emotionally breaks down while doing so. The Innocent’s motto is that life is joy. Sam demonstrates this in the pickup truck when she “screamed this really fun scream” (Chbosky 39) driving out of the tunnel. This is an example of Sam expressing joy because she screamed in excitement. The Innocent’s worst fear is exploitation. Sam demonstrates her fear of exploitation when she finds out, “Craig had been cheating on [her] ever since they started going out” (Chbosky 177) and she began “sobbing” (Chbosky 178). This quotation shows Sam’s worst fear is being exploited, because she reacts very emotionally to finding out she had
A child is known for having innocence, and bad experiences strip kids of it. In Sarah’s
Loss of Innocence is a classic theme in literature. Protagonists are forced into situations where they must sacrifice their goodness/what they believe. It is a theme that runs through both “ Young Goodman Brown” and “ The Most Dangerous Game”, though each of them happen in a different way.
The movie, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, released in 2012, is based on the book written by Stephen Chbosky, which was originally published in 1999. The book is all about the main character, Charlie, as he deals with his first year in high school, after the tragic death of his Aunt Helen. The movie opens with Charlie writing in a journal, which is a part of his therapy for the mental illness he suffers from on account of his Aunt 's death. The past year or so before this, Charlie had been suffering from memories and flashbacks of the way his Aunt died in a car accident. He is hopeful that high school will bring new things for him, but after the first day, is disappointed after the bullying and neglect he finds from other students. Things
Charlie’s character transition is an evidence of the saying, “Walk a mile in my shoes. See what I see, hear what I hear, feel what I feel, then maybe you’ll understand why I do what I do. Until then don’t judge me.” His journey with Kanalaaq showed him how important it is for people not to judge other for superficial
"All things truly wicked start from an innocence,” states Ernest Hemingway on his view of innocence. Innocence, what every youth possesses, is more accurately described as a state of unknowing but not ignorance- which connotation suggests a blissfully positive view of the world. Most youth are protected from the harsh realities of the adult world. Therefore they are able to maintain their state of innocence. While innocence normally wanes over time, sometimes innocence can be abruptly taken away. Some of the characters in Truman Capotes In Cold Blood lost their innocence due to the traumatic events they experienced in childhood and adulthood while some had none to begin with.
Loss of innocence can happen in many ways. Some losses are enormous and hugely impactful, like killing, while others are small and subtle like growing up. Innocence is lost in the most innocuous ways, most of which aren’t noticeable, which brings this paper to a closing question, something implied through both of these works; something to think about. Is every loss of innocence bad, or are they just stepping stones on the path to becoming an adult?
He doesn’t lack of encourage anymore, he has overcome his fear and despair. “I have to go. I have to disobey every impulse and leave her for Jasper Jones, for Jack Lionel, for this horrible mess.” We see a different Charlie from his determination. From escape to face up, he shows us more responsible. From helpless to assertive, he comes to realize what he really wants. He knows the dark side of human nature and this unfair and cold world. His innocent, his perfect world has been destroyed by those horrible things; because of these, he knows the part of real world, he knows how the ‘dark’ actually changes this world, his friends, his family, included
One way he has been showing courage the throughout the book was by keeping the secret of Laura Wishart, and not telling anyone. That alone takes a lot of courage to be able to keep that big of a secret hidden. Another thing that he does that displays courage is when at the start he went with Jasper Jones, and snuck out of his house “This is the first time I’ve ever dared to sneak away from home. The thrill of this, coupled with the fact that Jasper Jones needs my help, already fills the moment with something portentous.” (2, Silvey). The reason why that shows courage is because he would be helping someone who the whole town is against and sneaking out of his household with the cost of being caught after curfew! That is why that takes a lot of courage. Another way Charlie shows courage is by being able to talk to Eliza with the fact of knowing her sister is dead and not telling “Yeah. Well it's less suspicious than pretending to browse outside a bookstore. What's that supposed to mean? She shifts her weight into one leg and tilts her head.” (90, Silvey). Why this shows courage is because Charlie was able to manage a conversation with Eliza, who he liked, and was able to not tell anything about Laura. That takes a lot of courage. Charlie displays courage in. The book as well by standing up to her mother; “And I march off, with her close behind. I don't know what's wrong with me.” (96, Silvey). The reason why this shows courage was because he was able to express how he feels to his mom, which took a lot of
Almost in all sections of the book, Charlie has to display courage in some way or another. But what showed the most courage and what most people could never do, was when Charlie had to endure seeing Laura dead and hanging from the tree, and keep a secret that Laura's been murdered from everyone, including his own family. It was hard to even
There is a great deal of social interaction that can be used for psychological analysis in the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower directed by Stephen Chbosky. This movie holds a strong focal point regarding mental illness, coming of age, and acceptance. (Halfon, Malkovich, Smith & Chbosky, 2012) Social psychology concepts from the textbook Social Psychology and Human Nature: Brief Version will be used to describe some of the actions and cognitions of the characters. (Baumeister & Bushman, 2014) The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows the life of main character Charlie, a high school freshman who tries to find acceptance and validation of his troubles by the help of his peers. Charlie, as well as his friends, suffer from mental illness in several different ways. This movie shows how the characters overcome the fears they hold and develop into stronger individuals. The three people that Charlie interact with the most are Sam, her Step brother Patrick, and Mary Elizabeth. (Halfon,
“The third day- it was Wednesday of the first week- Charles bounced a see-saw on to the head of a little girl and made her bleed,” (1). In the short story “Charles” written by Shirley Jackson, Laurie, the main character of the story, is a young kindergartener who is able to run around causing trouble at school and at the same time, pretend that it is only another boy in his class that is making the trouble. “Charles” teaches you that parents do not know everything about their child even though the child lives in the same house as them. Laurie’s parents do not know what he is like at school. Laurie is flamboyant, and arrogant yet creative and those characteristics make him the perfect troublemaker.
Psychologist Carl Jung proposed that humankind has a collective unconscious, which is manifested in myths and dreams, which harbors themes and images that all humans inherit. Carl Jung’s proposal about the collective unconscious is expressed when archetypal and mythological criticism applies to literary works (Archetypal Criticism). Neverwhere is a novel written by Neil Gaiman, which is heavily influenced by archetypal and mythological concepts. Neverwhere is the story of a young man who tries to help an injured girl named Door on the street, when he soon realizes that this is no ordinary person that he has come across and he has to go into the underworld to get her help. Richard goes to get her help from a man in the underworld named Marquis
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age film that chronicles the life of a boy named Charlie. Charlie is 15 years old and has just begun his first year of high school. He will give a detailed account of the joys and pains of his freshman year in high school. He begins by writing letters to an unknown stranger, but then, you realize that stranger is you. Through these Charlie tells his story from his perspective. He will experience many highs and lows related to the adolescence phase. The highlights of the paper will focus on the biological/physical, psychological, social, spiritual, cultural issues, as well as his strengths and challenges.
In the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower the audience learns a great deal about, Charlie, the main character’s life and how his past traumas affect him psychologically (Chbosky, 2012). Charlie is a 15-year-old boy who is coping with his best friend’s suicide, in addition to struggling with Posttraumic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Chbosky, 2012). When Charlie was younger, his favorite Aunt, Helen, raped him, although he did not seem to fully understand that until he was hospitalized (Chbosky, 2012). However, Charlie was not hospitalized until right after he learned his best friend, Michael, committed suicide. Charlie is also shy, therefore has difficulties making friends. At the beginning of the movie, Charlie is writing to a new friend and
The perks of being a wallflowers is about Charlie, a 15 year old freshman student that is about to start his high school year. He lives with his parents and older sister. Charlie has as an older brother too, but he lives away because he is attending college. As the movie starts goes, it is implied that when Charlie was a kid he was molested by his aunt, who later dies in a car accident on Christmas Eve, (which is also Charlie’s birthday). His family seems to have a strong bond, they each follow a role, and they support each other. During some scenes in the movie, Charlie seems to be having internalizing problems. As the movie progressed, it is revealed that Charlie had a friend that committed suicide, and this event made Charlie to feel sorrowful. When he enters high school, Charlie appears to be very concern of what others may think about him, as well as