Teenagers and adolescents often feel stranded and alienated as they are growing up and wish to relate to others who are experiencing similar struggles. Because teenagers feel this way, they often read books with protagonists who are close to their own age, who also struggle to find their place in the world. Though society has changed drastically since 1951, when The Catcher in the Rye was published by J.D. Salinger, and even since 1999, when The Perks of Being a Wallflower was published by Stephen Chbosky, both books are still widely read today because adolescents can relate to them. These novels, often depicted as coming of age books, famous for their troubled protagonists who have mental health disorders, differentiate from each other despite their numerous similarities.
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Both characters have had a family member perish. The deaths of their loved ones cause Holden and Charlie to feel that they must protect their family and those close to them. Though this makes the main characters appear as heroes at a glance, they are, in reality, putting themselves at risk because they constantly put others’ needs before their own, such as when his friend Sam tells Charlie that “[He] can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of [his own]” (Chbosky
Both characters have had a family member perish. The deaths of their loved ones cause Holden and Charlie to feel that they must protect their family and those close to them. Though this makes the main characters appear as heroes at a glance, they are, in reality, putting themselves at risk because they constantly put others’ needs before their own, such as when his friend Sam tells Charlie that “[He] can’t just sit there and put everybody’s lives ahead of [his own]” (Chbosky