Themes of Abuse in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
In both the novel and the movie, the theme of abuse in The Perks of Being a Wallflower is very prevalent in the story. Both mediums follow Charlie who is entering his freshman year of high school. Charlie attends a football game alone and finds Patrick, a señor in his shop class, who invites him to sit with him. The two of them are joined by Sam, Patrick’s stepsister and Charlie is immediately drawn to her. When Charlie gets home that night, he witnesses his sister’s boyfriend hitting her, which Charlie is especially sensitive about since his Aunt Helen was also abused. His sister, Candace persuades him not to tell their parents. After attending a dance with Sam and Patrick he goes to a party with them and he meets their other friends and tells Sam that his best friend Michael shot himself before going upstairs to the bathroom, leaving Sam shocked. Upstairs, Charlie sees Patrick and Brad, the school's star football player, kissing. Patrick …show more content…
The novel was written in a journalistic style presenting each chapter as a letter or entry that Charlie has written about the events after they happen. The movie has very little voice-over narrative of said letters used more of a transition from one point in time to another in the story. It is because of the novels style that makes the movie the better presenter that the main theme in The Perks of Being a Wallflower is abuse. The movie does the better job in a variety of events/scenes including the scenes in which Charlie witnesses his sister Candace being hit by her boyfriend, Charlie’s flashbacks on his Aunt Helen, and the collective of scenes that eventually lead to the audience and Charlie learning that he had experienced his own form of abuse as a
In both the novel and the movie, the theme of abuse in The Perks of Being a Wallflower is very prevalent in the story. Both mediums follow Charlie who is entering his freshman year of high school. Charlie attends a football game alone and finds Patrick, a señor in his shop class, who invites him to sit with him. The two of them are joined by Sam, Patrick’s stepsister and Charlie is immediately drawn to her. When Charlie gets home that night, he witnesses his sister’s boyfriend hitting her, which Charlie is especially sensitive about since his Aunt Helen was also abused. His sister, Candace persuades him not to tell their parents. After attending a dance with Sam and Patrick he goes to a party with them and he meets their other friends and tells Sam that his best friend Michael shot himself before going upstairs to the bathroom, leaving Sam shocked. Upstairs, Charlie sees Patrick and Brad, the school's star football player, kissing. Patrick …show more content…
The novel was written in a journalistic style presenting each chapter as a letter or entry that Charlie has written about the events after they happen. The movie has very little voice-over narrative of said letters used more of a transition from one point in time to another in the story. It is because of the novels style that makes the movie the better presenter that the main theme in The Perks of Being a Wallflower is abuse. The movie does the better job in a variety of events/scenes including the scenes in which Charlie witnesses his sister Candace being hit by her boyfriend, Charlie’s flashbacks on his Aunt Helen, and the collective of scenes that eventually lead to the audience and Charlie learning that he had experienced his own form of abuse as a