Maturing in The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Essay Example

A Study of Maturing in the Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a novel that shows how a person named Charlie grows and gains the power to realize one’s true self and be mature enough to have enough willpower to pursue one’s happiness. Charlie has a difficult time dealing with various aspects of life as a freshman in high school. There are so many examples to show the difficulty Charlie faces in dealing with various conflicting emotions, especially because many of the experiences are new to him, including alcohol and sex.

The beginning of the novel shows a very innocent and highly sensitive Charlie, who knows very little about the realities around him. Charlie does not hesitate to cry loudly and gives a bad time to the people around him when a classmate named Michael commits suicide though he admits that his sadness is more because of the lack of knowledge regarding the reason for the suicide and because of the real loss and pain he feels.

There are many instances in the initial parts of the novel where the protagonist has the habit of crying, clearly exhibiting the highly sensitive nature he possesses. This naivety of Charles is evident in the novel through many examples. For example, when Sam, who Charlie considers as the prettiest girl in the world, says that she loves him, he fails to realize what she means and he just takes it “in a friendly way”.

Further, when Sam asks him if he has the experience of a kiss with a girl ever, Charles still fails to understand what Sam wants from him and exhibits his inability to understand and come to terms with the way the world around him functions. This inability is visible in yet another area where Charlie believes that his sister's boyfriend is a very gentleman who cannot be cruel.

Even when Charlie notices that his sister is beaten by him, Charlie is unable to understand the reasons and agrees to be silent about it. Another similar instance is the way Charlie takes the brownie at a party where friends including Patrick and Sam, are present. He notices that the brownie has a weird taste but he remains totally unaware of the possibility of having pot in that.

Similarly, one can see that Charlie has a difficult time dealing with many important aspects, including his sexuality, and fails to accept or express it in the right context. His response to Sam's question of whether he has ever had a kiss with a girl is a "quite" no, and he even fails to understand her feelings towards her and why she talks about the kiss. Similarly, Charlie just sits in the background and observes others dance in couples and just wonders as to what is going on in their minds. This clearly shows the inability of Charlie to understand how people feel and behave at his age.

Another important point about Charlie, as seen at the beginning of the novel, is his inability to assert himself. One such example is when Charlie notices his sister Candace being hardly hit by her boyfriend. Though he finds it inappropriate and something to be reported to his parents, he fails to do so as his sister tells him not to tell anyone. Similarly, when Patrick continues giving him a long kiss in an inappropriate way, Charlie understands the difference but fails to resist as Charlie does not like to hurt others, including Patrick.

In many instances, instead of performing what he wishes to do, he goes on thinking for a long time and decides to take any action that does not hurt others instead of one that pleases him. For example, in a challenge, Charlie decides to kiss Sam instead of Mary Elizabeth though Mary Elizabeth is his girlfriend. He believes it is important, to tell the truth than acting appropriately for the time. Moreover, Charlie notices that Patrick is gay and that Patrick has a relationship with Brad. However, as Patrick tells him not to disclose it to anyone, he considers it important to avoid revealing the secret of Patrick.

Charlie, the protagonist, suffers the inability to understand how others are from their looks, as a freshman. For example, at many places, he points out that his sister’s boyfriend is a nice fellow who could only make mixtapes with themes, and he is surprised when he sees the boy hitting his sister.

This inability is expressed by Charlie in his interaction with Sam as well. Though she expresses her attraction towards him in many places, he fails to understand the same and takes it the “friend way”. Therefore, as he considers the possibility of dating Sam, his opinion is that she is older than him and that it is not fair to make Sam drive the car as he is underage.

In the same way, though Mary Elizabeth is deeply in love with Charlie, he has no feelings for Mary Elizabeth and wishes to be friends with her. However, he fails to disclose this to Mary Elizabeth and just continues bearing the burden of the relationship as he fails to perform as a true lover.

Similarly, he does not hesitate to engage in activities like smoking and missing classes for the company of Patrick and Sam because he is in constant effort to find social acceptance by making people, including Patrick, happy, which often involves failing to do what he really wishes.

In fact, his relationship with Mary Elizabeth is a failure because of his inability to function like a normal person with Mary Elizabeth because of his highly sensitive nature. Though Mary Elizabeth is very concerned about him, he finds this attitude by Mary Elizabeth suffocating. For example, in the telephone conversation with Mary Elizabeth, he ends up saying just “yes” and “no,” causing disappointment to Mary Elizabeth. Similarly, his sexuality fails with Mary Elizabeth, thus, damaging the relationship.

However, changes appear in Charlie’s attitude as the novel progresses. Through life experiences, he gains more insight into managing varying emotions like sexuality and conflicts and deciding on what things best serve his wishes instead of engaging in things that please others. A typical example of this situation is the time when Sam talks to him on her decision to leave Craig. When she asks him what he wants to do, he manages to figure that he should actually do what he loves and that if Sam does not like what he does, she will express it. Thus, Charlie manages to be an independent person who is not too sensitive towards the feelings of others and one who fails to acknowledge one’s own emotions.

This emotional maturing in The Perks of Being a Wallflower Charlie gains is evident from his words that though we are unable to select the beginning, we can have an influence on the destiny. There are so many things within our control. And it is possible to feel better about the decisions we have taken (211). In addition, Charlie acknowledges the value of his interaction with people like Sam, Patrick, and Mary Elizabeth and believes it is these people who taught him how to be an independent person who is capable of protecting his interests like sexuality at the same time maintaining meaningful friendships and relationships in life. With this realization in life, one can see that Charlie is not that afraid of going to school as he enters the sophomore year and is happy with the things that he will be busy “participating” in.

To conclude, the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age story, showing how a boy grows with the help of various influences and interactions. This greatly realistic novel beautifully portrays how a sensitive person faces hardships in interacting with the world and what internal conflicts they feel as they face various life situations because of the difference in the way they perceive things. As Charlie is a sensitive person, there is a rollercoaster ride of emotions in his life, but with the help of people like Sam, Charlie manages to emerge a winner and gains the capability to make decisions balancing things like his own interests and social relationships.