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.
BIOLOGICAL/PHYSICAL
Adolescence is one of the fastest phases of human development. All youth
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In adolescence social interactions are a very important part of young adult development. Within this transitional period the young adult experiences social changes even though such changes vary from youth to youth. In The Perks of being a wallflower Charlie was socially awkward, but intellectually he was a genius. He was faced with a few social extremes throughout the movie. For instance, His social awkwardness is partially due to the death of his best friend Michael. The summer before High School started Michael committed suicide. Dealing with this trauma was no easy feat for Charlie. As a result, he withdrew from the world around him. Upon entering High School Charlie was weary of his surroundings. He tried to reach out to a girl whom was in Middle School with him but she acted as if she did not know him. He was left feeling alone. As the movie went on he was exposed to yet another social …show more content…
He was so closed off from the rest of the world and he felt isolated and alone. The family participated in religious services a few times during the movie, and even Charlie took communion. He was no stranger to the world of spirituality. Even though he participated in religious ceremonies with his family, when he met his friends he finally realized the meaning and purpose of his life. Eventually, Charlie started to participate in life and not just watch others live. As a result, he was released from the shell that kept him trapped inside. At this point, it was clear to Charlie that there was something more to him. He was alive. This becomes clear in the tunnel scene at the end of the movie when he states, “I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song and that drive with people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear, we are
To begin with, he had to bear seeing a dead girl's body, and then having to keep it from everyone else. Of course, Charlie ends up liking Laura's sister Eliza, and has to talk to her without telling her the truth about Laura. On top of all of that, Charlie finds his mom cheating with another guy, and has to endure that and keep pushing through with his dad. Imagine what it was like for Charlie to go through all that? What would you do if you were in Charlie's position and had to go through all of the things that
Before Charlie had the operation preformed on him, he had friends at the bakery he worked at. They were not really his friends because they always made jokes about Charlie, but he was not smart enough to realize it. As he gets smarter he loses his friends because they think he is just trying to act smart.
Charlie was innocent, he didn’t have many social experiences. Think back when the first time Charlie saw Laura’s dead body. “Why would you bring me here? I shouldn’t be here. I have to go back home. You have to tell someone about this.” His anxious shows he didn’t want to participate this mess, in part, he’s smart enough to know it would be a trouble, but he’s also full of fear. After Jasper’s persuasion, Charlie decides to help him find the real murderer. Craig Silvey gives us a huge surprise at the beginning of the book, we might think it’s a story about children’s adventure. On the contrary, as things happened, we come to realize it is not just a simple story, it’s more about a horrific thing. When Charlie run into this horrific thing, he is feared. Maybe, it’s more appropriate to
Even though the story might seem ordinary at times, it allows you to look at the big picture, which is the most important aspect. The main character-Brent- displays characteristics that a lot of high school students can relate to; whether male or female. In his cross-country adventure through the U.S., exciting and unexpected moments never cease to amuse you. All kinds of people contribute to Brent’s change of attitude; one comment or story or facial expression at a time. And possibly the best part of it all is that you get all of this educational, amusing literature in only 133 pages.
One reason why Charlie is an interesting character is because he is a football genius. I swear he knows the tendencies, stats, and just about everything about every single player active or retired. He even knows more than most team owners, including Joe Warren, the owner of his favorite team the Los Angeles Bulldogs. Mr. Warren is also one of Charlie’s best friends. Charlie is the king of fantasy football. He seemingly always knows when a player might have a breakout year or a big season. Many of Charlie’s opponents are intrigued when he picks up Tom Pinkett, an old back-up quarterback. Joe Warren, also looking for a veteran quarterback for his Bulldogs, signs Tom to a contract. Tom ends up having a great start
We can all sympathize with Charlie on the surface, we have all made mistakes that we have to live with. Charlie is attempting to move forward with his life and erase the mistakes of his past. The ghosts of his past torment him repeatedly throughout the story, his child's guardians despise him and his old friends do not understand him.
People are built on the connections and will to love and be loved. All of the character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower strive to find and show this love each in their own unique way. The relationship the character longed for was not what it seemed, and the love they gave was never returned because
Have you ever felt like you were socially awkward? Well in the book of the perks of being a wallflower a kid named Charlie has a hard time knowing what to do to socialize, in the movie Mean Girls a girl named Katy comes from Africa and also doesn’t know what to do socially, so they both have similar social skills, both causing them to be social outcasts. In the book Charlie starts his freshmen year out friendless and he is not really sure on what he is to do to make a friend. But he meets Sam and Patrick and just goes with them because he felt comfortable around them. In the movie Mean Girls Katy arrives at school and also doesn’t know how to make friends but then Janis
Charlie struggles with apparent mental illness throughout his letters, but he never explicitly addresses this problem. His friends make him realize that he is different and it is okay to be different from everyone else. This change in perspective gives Charlie new opportunities to experience life from a side he was unfamiliar with. Without these new friends, Charlie would have never dared to try on the things he has. His friends have helped him develop from an antisocial wallflower to an adventurous young man who is both brave and loyal. Transitioning shapes how the individual enters into the workforce, live independently and gain some control over their future
For Charlie, Ignorance is bliss. He realizes that his so called ?friends? were just using him to entertain their perverse humor. Also, he was also fired from the job that he loved so much because his new intelligence made those around him feel inferior and scared. This sends Charlie into a short depression. His life was better before the experiment because he had a job he looked forward to and ?friends?.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower touches every imaginable thing a teenager faces during growing years. This is and will be an important novel in teen culture for a long time. The story shows that you may have gone through things, there may be drastic changes you face daily and it is painful and hard, but you can make it through. There is light at the end of the tunnel and our mistakes and flaws don’t define us. There is help for someone struggling and friends who will get you through.
C a t c h e r i n t h e R y e b y J . D . S a l i n g e r , b o t h C h a r l i e a n d H o l d e n h a v e d i f f i c u l t y f i t t i n g i n t o s o c i e t y because of their inability to do what is deemed “acceptable”. Charlie and Holden often feel like outsiders since they lack participation in popular activities. This causes the two to have trouble making friends and not have company. Not abiding by society’s standards restricts their ability to discuss thoughts and communicate with the people around them. The struggle of not conforming to society makes
Teenagers are faced with many life changing decisions everyday, whether it is to study for the upcoming test or to how to express their sexuality. In the The Perks of being a Wallflower these issues are faced by Charlie everyday. Stephen Chbosky, writes this book through the words of a 15 year old freshmen in high school. Charlie faces many crossroads throughout this story, but in the end he was able to learn from these struggles and become the man he has always wanted to be. Stephen Chbosky shows the struggles of being teenager through imagery and various life changing events.
A wallflower is someone who prefers to be on the outside of the crowd; someone who hears, sees, and understands things that nobody else does. Stephen Chbosky writes a powerful and intriguing novel showing that “… even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.” (Chbosky 211). The Perks of Being a Wallflower, published in1999 by Gallery Books, is simply extraordinary. Stephen Chbosky is a screenwriter, director, and novelist. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has also been made into a major motion picture staring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson; Stephen Chbosky was the screenwriter and director for this movie as well. The Perks of Being a Wallflower will show the reader what it is like to be a wallflower.
The mind of a teenager is a strange commodity, and even more strange is the thought process of a fifteen year old by the name of Charlie. Charlie has been through hell in his life, and throughout the book, The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, he suffers even more. He has grown up relatively normal until the day his Aunt Helen died. His life was no longer the same from then on out. He distanced himself and repeatedly put himself in the hospital.