Critical Analysis Of Perks Of Being A Wallflower

‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ follows shy and kind-natured Charlie Kelmeckis (Logan Lerman- Percy Jackson, The Butterfly Effect) as he enters high school alone, after the recent loss of his middle school best friend to suicide. Charlie gets befriended by seniors Sam (Emma Watson- Harry Potter-Beauty and the Beast) and Patrick (Ezra Miller- Justice League, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and finally feels accepted.

Charlie changes a lot throughout the book and gets a girlfriend along the way. Charlie shows the most courage

Conformity is a dominating theme from start to finish and seen in several of the characters, but Charlie falls victim to this often. Beginning with him meeting Sam and Patrick, it can be said that he never says no to anything, he just goes along with it to stay friends. Two prime examples of this are: the drugs/drinking and the relationship that Mary Elizabeth forced onto Charlie. The first example is the drugs and the drinking; perceived as conformity, since they did not force either of the items down his throat. Identification is changing personal beliefs to be like the influencer, which is a primary motivator for Charlie’s actions. Charlie is compliant when Mary Elizabeth forces a relationship onto him, which is another example of conformity. Compliance motivates by either a reward or a punishment and in this case, both motivate Charlie. He states in the movie that he just accepted being her boyfriend

In the movie, the only time you see Charlie crying is at the end, when he blacks out and attempts to commit suicide.

Throughout the novel Charlie’s personality and intelligence level changes a lot. In the beginning Charlie is happy, has friends, he’s retarded, and can’t remember a lot of things. “I fergot his last name because I dont remebir so good.” (Keyes 2),

Charlie was a man that did not know how to stand up for himself. He allowed his peers to bully him, and treat him like he is worthless. Charlie thinks that if he allows people to laugh at him, and tease him, they will become his friend. He thinks “Its easy to make frends if you let

The Perks of being a Wildflower movie is a great demonstration on adolescence and childhood development as it portrays how much we as humans are effected by our early childhood years and how we struggle to make sense of life while navigating through adolescence. We are molded by our environment, but also shaped by the neglect or abuse we suffer as children. The traumatic experiences are life altering and if not dealt with can have dramatic outcomes for our future. The movie has a great story line and walks the audience through the character and identity development of an adolescence. Dissecting Charlies character will be helpful in understanding that part of a human’s life and development.

For my diagnosis, I diagnose Charlie with having clinical depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The reason I believe that Charlie has depression and PTSD is because he had exhibits symptoms and certain behaviors throughout the film. According to Mayo Clinic (n.d.), Depression can be defined as one who has persistent sadness or anhedonia with an addition of other symptoms that can affect the person’s thoughts and behaviors. Mayo Clinic (n.d.) also lists a few signs/symptoms of this mood disorder which applies in Charlie’s case. Symptoms of depression can include suicidal thoughts, lack of energy, sadness, loss of interest, feeling guilty/worthless, anxiety, slow movements/speaking, and sleep disturbances (Mayo Clinic,

Many interactions were changed between him and his sister, dubbed Candace in the movie. In the book of Perks of Being a Wallflower Charlie's sister becomes pregnant. Charlie is the only one who she confides in and he takes her to a clinic to get an abortion. Sharing this secret really characterized the relationship between the two in the book but was left out of the movie. The movie did add however a different moment between the two of them, except the roles were reversed and Charlie was the one in need.

After falling out with his friends because of his mistake with Mary Elizabeth, Charlie became even more depressed than he was before Sam and Patrick. He turned to smoking as a way to grieve at the loss of his friends and the loss of his previous life. Charlie becomes ever out of it. When his sister needs him to drive her to the abortion clinic, he feels important and depended on and as he reported this was the first he felt needed. This repercussion with his sister helped him

Charlie is very far from what most people call normal: he is shy, introverted, awkward, independent, paranoid, confused, respectable and kind; showing many examples of this throughout the book. He keeps to himself for the most part and is constantly in his own head. Aside from the many negative traits he also has many attributes: he is a loyal friend and listens to the people he talks to, he is a caring person and comforts those in need. However he has his flaws as well: Charlie can get very angry and upset at others which causes him to lash out with violence or sadness, he is extremely sensitive, crying frequently and constantly questioning himself. Several of his peers labeled him as nerd or a weirdo, which damaged

Charlie Kelmeckis is described as a “wallflower.” He is socially awkward and likes to keep to himself. He also really enjoys reading and writing. Charlie cares deeply for others, but has a lot of guilt about past events. For example, Charlie believes that the death of his Aunt Helen is his fault, because she was killed in a car accident on an errand to get Charlie a birthday gift. Charlie has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, and Depression. His mental instability was mostly caused by being sexually abused by his Aunt Helen before the age of seven. Charlie experiences flashbacks of his Aunt over the course of the movie, but all are portrayed in a positive light.

     I think that The Perks of Being a Wallflower is exceptional in its class of literary works mainly because Chbosky chose to push the limits of teen fiction. Most young adult writers are afraid to further explore the world of drugs, sexuality, and depression in too much detail. What most writers fail to realize is that high school vividly explains all those things. Young readers are ready for a book that seems to understand that too. Chobosky did a wonderful job at developing and defining each character. He made them seem real, which helps readers relate. Although many may think that the number of controversial issues discussed in the book makes it negative, the book is really about finding yourself in the midst of chaos and peer pressure. Charlie eventually

Charlie begins to hang out with Sam and Patrick and is getting in the routine of going to football games and then going out afterwards to celebrate. Afterwhile he catches feelings for Sam and the way he expresses them further deepens our understanding of his depression. Instead of going with the flow and not telling her about the dreams he had about her, he professes his love for her in the form of sharing his dreams and telling her just how he feels. Perhaps, this isn’t all his fault because when Sam tells him that she’s too old for him, he becomes obsessed with his love for her and can’t stop thinking about how perfect she is in his eyes. The only thing this confession has done for him is make his feelings grow and send him in a downward spiral of

In the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the main character, Charlie, struggles with depression and anxiety as a result of his post traumatic stress disorder. Charlie enters freshman year and has a difficult time meeting people, but a group of seniors become his friends and help him learn more about himself and the world. They take him to parties and give him the high school experience he always wanted.