The inability to conform in society can lead to unhappiness and the feeling of inequality within one’s environment. In T he Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and T he 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 …show more content…
Charlie and Holden both struggle immensely with fitting into people’s standards. This is hard for the two protagonists to deal with because they are non conformists and do not change to fit into society. The two feel trapped in a world where they will not be accepted for who they are and what they want to do. One cannot truly change who they are, so Charlie and Holden continue to be individuals. They struggle to form relationships in which they can be themselves. Although they go through many hardships throughout their teenage years, eventually they realize what is important to them, allowing them to form better relationships in the future. Charlie realizes that he needs to be more commanding in relationships and that he has to be himself. Furthermore, Holden realizes that he needs to appreciate people in his life because they have more value to him than he initially thinks. Holden and Charlie both need companionship and finally realize what it takes in order to achieve their goal. Throughout their journey of self realization, both Charlie and Holden go through many hardships with abiding to society’s social “norms”. However, being different from society allows Charlie and Holden to be able figure out what they
ambiguity of life. Holden develops a lot from being the cynical teen who tries to act
Both Holden and Charlie are full of self-loathing and depression, both experiencing the traumatic loss of a family member at a very young age. "I know he's dead! Don't you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can't I? Just because somebody's dead, you don't just stop liking them, for God's sake – especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that're alive and all.” (Salinger 222-223) In this quote Holden talks with his sister about the loss of his brother, Allie. Holden can't seem to move on ever since his brother's death. He needs to learn how to live his life in the present and not dwell on the past. Every day Holden relates everything he does and everything that happens back to Allie’s death. “Hey, Candace. I killed Aunt Helen, didn't I? She died getting my birthday present, so I guess I killed her right?
The Perks of a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a captivating novel that follows the transformation of a boy referred to as Charlie throughout his freshman year of high school. During the course of the book Charlie, his sister, and friends fall in and out of relationships. Each one of them is seeking the love and attention of another person, even without directly expressing their emotions. Love is a recurring theme in this book, even though it is shown in different ways.
characters, as the book progresses the reader is shown how he has been. through the tragic loss of his brother and suppresses any emotions he had about him, and how Holden really wants to fit in with the “Adult”. world” even if some of the things he is doing he disagrees with.
“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything” (Anonymous). Books are the most patient teachers there could exist in this world; they are the best sources of imagination ever created by humanity. That’s why books and movies are totally two different worlds. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is a very special and instructive book where is perfectly suited to the adolescence or teenage times. This specific book that was assigned for class reading was at first sight very ordinary and kind of a boring type, but as one reads on and on, one will realize that is a very realistic and educational type one. It is that one book that one will identify oneself in more than one occasion, where
...n the Rye. At the end of his journey Charlie shares a story that his doctor shared with him. The story is of an alcoholic father who has two sons. Both sons deal with the same abuses but one grows up to become carpenter who never touches alcohol whereas the other becomes an alcoholic just like his father. Both boys in this story learned something different from the same experiences. One son wrote his own destiny whereas the other decided his future was already written in stone for him. This story mirrors the lives of Holden and Charlie, and the lives of all individuals. There is not a single person in the world that has not had to face difficulties in their life but not everyone has let these hardships define their life or they will become. Happiness is not a gift, it is a choice. One must learn from the events of the past and not simply decide to live in the past.
...e go throughout the society following every rule and lives a life full of mundane activities. Holden realizes that there are no rules to life—you can go whatever you see fit. Everyone else wanted to be confined, labled, marked but holden did not necessarily want to stic out but he did not want to be the sane as everyone else. Moralality is anthhing you empower to be your compass of judgement—it so happened that Holden chose himself not adults, not society, not social class. He live beyond the confines that gives labels and he created a melting pot. he saw logos and he did everything in his ability to bring it down—he wanted it te balanced although he had many contradictions, he knew that life spent in the shadows of society was equivalent to a drone—death even. Many times he risked his own welfare for the dismantle of the hierarchy.
Everybody wants to be accepted, yet society is not so forgiving. It bends you and changes you until you are like everyone else. Society depends on conformity and it forces it upon people. In Emerson's Self Reliance, he says "Society is a joint stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. " People are willing to sacrifice their own hopes and freedoms just to get the bread to survive.
In J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, the main character Holden Caufield believes that innocence is corrupted by society. He exposes his self-inflicted emotional struggles as he is reminiscing the past. For Holden, teenage adolescence is a complicated time for him, his teenage mentality in allows him to transition from the teenage era to the reality of an adult in the real world. As he is struggling to find his own meaning of life, he cares less about others and worries about how he can be a hero not only to himself but also to the innocent youth. As Holden is grasping the idea of growing up, he sets his priorities of where he belongs and how to establish it. As he talks about how ‘phony’ the outside world is, he has specific recollections that signify importance to his life and he uses these time and time again because these memories are ones that he wont ever let go of. The death of his younger brother Allie has had a major impact on him emotionally and mentally. The freedom of the ducks in Central Park symbolize his ‘get away’ from reality into his own world. His ideology of letting kids grow up and breaking the chain loose to discover for themselves portrays the carrousel and the gold ring. These are three major moments that will be explored to understand the life of Holden Caufield and his significant personal encounters as he transitions from adolescence into manhood.
In life there comes a time where you think that everyone wants to see you fail and are “phoney”. This particular time happens mostly in the teen stages of life as they are usually trying to find there identities. Holden Caufield, a teen was a high school student at a boy's high school called Pency Prep, which he got kicked out from. He feels as though he had fought the world and lost, everyone is against him, just out there to see him fail. After getting kicked out he journeys out to New york city where he faces some of the toughest times in his life surrounded by “phony” adults that Holden would never want to become.
Holden is not just abnormal, he has problems that other teenagers, including the students at Pencey, experience going through adolescence. An example of this is Holden's jealousy towards Stradlater when he finds out he is going on a date with Jane Gallagher, “Boy,was I getting nervous” (42). Every teenager has bouts of jealously especially about the opposite sex, and Holden is no different. Holden's rebellious nature, to an extent, is typical for a teenage boy. His rebellious nature of smoking when it is not allowed, “You weren't allowed to smoke in the dorm...I went right on smoking like a madman.” (41-42). Holden is also anxious about change, which again to an extent is normal, “Do you happen to know where they go, the ducks...”(60), and he has the right to be; change,especially during adolescence, is a terrifying but exciting ride into the unknown, and similar to other adolescents Holden is afraid but intrigued about the unknown.
At the beginning of his story, Holden is a student at Pencey Prep School. Having been expelled for failing four out of his five classes, Holden leaves school and spends 72 hours in New York City before returning home. There, Holden encounters new ideas, people, and experiences. Holden's psychological battle within himself serves as the tool that uncovers the coming-of-age novel's underlying themes of teen angst, depression, and the disingenuous nature of society. The novel tackles issues of blatant profanity, teenage sex, and other erratic behavior.
Holden Caulfield can be analyzed through his thoughts, actions and circumstances which surround his everyday life. Holden acts like a careless teenager. Holden has been to several prep-schools, all of which he got kicked out of for failing classes. After being kicked out of the latest, Pency Prep, he went off to New York on his own. Holden seems to have a motivation problem which apparently affects his reasoning. The basis of his reasoning comes from his thoughts. Holden thinks the world is full of a bunch of phonies. All his toughs about people he meets are negative. The only good thoughts he has are about his sister Phoebe and his dead brother Alley. Holden, perhaps, wishes that everyone, including himself, should be like his brother and sister. That is to be intelligent, real and loving. Holden’s problem is with his heart. It was broken when his brother died. Now Holden goes around the world as his fake self, wearing his mask. Holden is looking for love, peace and understanding. He is scared to love because he is afraid he might lose it like he did with his brother. That is the reason for Holden's love of the museum, he feels safe because it never changes it always stays the same. Holden is troubled with the pain of death, it effects every aspect of his life causing him to not care about the future, himself or anyone, except Phoebe and Alley.
Nevertheless, the once feared nightmare develops into a reality for the majority of adults. Yet, like many teens, Holden tries to fight the inevitable at all costs. Although he loves learning he doesn’t lust the responsibilities he is facing existing high school. He begs Sally a female, he doesn’t respect, to accompany him in a run-away and have a fresh start. Therefore, escaping all the impending responsibilities and he doesn’t want his children to face the same reality. But she insisted that they couldn’t, not yet. Holden then responds with “It wouldn’t be the same at all,” conveying they would already be entrapped in the cycle and too late to get away. This rejection, he faced also spiraled him to additional confused and depression, gaining resentment to not just adulthood but to everyone, leads him to feel more alone in the
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