The Perks Of Being A Wallflower By Steven Chbosky

Bullies, sexuality, mental illness, peer pressure. These are some of the difficulties teenagers experience throughout their high school career. The novel, The Perks of being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky demonstrates the emotional impact teenagers experience during their high school career. Chbosky illustrates how teens struggle to find their true identity throughout their teenage years. The narrator, Charlie, a fifteen-year-old boy struggling to cope with bullies, his sexuality, mental illness, and the influence of drugs and sex, struggles with the social and psychological trauma, which negatively impacts his relationships and behaviour.

Charlie is an innocent freshman who is betrayed and attacked by bullies on his first week of high school. …show more content…
As a result, he has a difficult time making new friends. One could argue that this might be the leading cause of his self-destruction. For instance, his relationship with Mary Elizabeth is a prime example of Charlie’s self-destruction. He was not happy with the relationship and did not voice his opinion. Despite his efforts trying to hide his feelings, Charlie’s emotions get the best of him causing feelings of anger and frustration to come forth. Charlie also has an aggressive personality that gets him into trouble. He explains that it dates back to when he was a child. He reminisces on his memories playing sports, which brought on his aggressive behaviour. “I used to play sports when I was little, and I was actually very good, but the problem was that it would make me too aggressive, so the doctors told my mom I would have to stop” (Chbosky 52). Not only was Charlie’s aggressive behaviour present as a child, it was also shown during the first week of high school. When a bully confronts and harasses Charlie, he is unsure why. He describes his reaction towards the situation in his diary. “I just don’t understand why Sean wanted to hurt me. I didn’t do anything to him. I am very small. That’s true. But I guess Sean didn’t know I could fight. The truth is I could have hurt him a lot worse. And maybe I should have” (Chbosky 7-8). This is an example of Charlie’s passive aggressive …show more content…
The events that took place through the course of the novel play a huge role in the development of Charlie as a character. The novel illustrates the impact that bullying, sex, mental illness, and the influence of drugs and alcohol can have on the social and psychological influence of ones overall well-being. Without these events, the novel would have taken a completely different course of action reflecting the psychological and social impact high school has on