Characteristics Of The Brain In The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

1644 Words4 Pages

The darkness of the night, the light of the moon; these are the metaphors of the brain. The darkness refers to all of the negative experiences and stress the brain endures. While the moon light refers to the experiences we love to undergo and pray they never cease. No one can choose what things their brain can reject and take in. If that were the case we wouldn’t have the need for psychologist and social workers and others in this line of work. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age film that exhibits these roller coaster characteristics of how the brain can be in an individual. It chronicles the life of a boy named Charlie. Charlie is 15 years old and has just begun his first year of high school. He will give a detailed account …show more content…

All youth experience the developmental changes that come with it, but the time of the change varies from individual to individual. Charlie is 15 year old boy and is at a crucial point in his life right now. At this age boys are experiencing changes associated with puberty. In puberty the endocrine and neurological systems change, thus, affecting an adolescent’s brain development and physical growth. The reproductive systems are maturing and the brain is continuing to develop. In the brain there is oil that is associated with sleep, appetite, energy, alertness, and mood, called serotonin. Serotonin works like the “oil in a car” (Carver). The more you use a car the more oil it requires and if over used it dries up. Well that is exactly what is happening to Charlie as he is trying to repress certain memories he is stressing his brain …show more content…

His social awkwardness is partially due to the death of his best friend Michael. The summer before High School started Michael committed suicide. Dealing with this trauma was no easy feat for Charlie. As a result, he withdrew from the world around him. Upon entering High School Charlie was weary of his surroundings. He asked his sister at lunch if he can sit with her and her boyfriend; but she said no. He proceeded to reach out to a girl whom was in Middle School with him during lunch; but she acted as if she did not know him. He was left feeling isolated and

Show More
Related

  • Charlie was Better off Before the Operation in Flowers for Algernon

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before Charlie had the operation preformed on him, he had friends at the bakery he worked at. They were not really his friends because they always made jokes about Charlie, but he was not smart enough to realize it. As he gets smarter he loses his friends because they think he is just trying to act smart.

    Read More

  • One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Psychological Analysis

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a movie that portrays a life story of a criminal named McMurphy who is sent to a mental institution because he believes that he himself is insane. While McMurphy is in the mental ward, he encounters other patients and changes their perception of the “real” world. Before McMurphy came to the mental ward, it was a place filled with strict rules and orders that patients had to follow; these rules were created by the head nurse, Nurse Ratched. However, once McMurphy was in the ward, everything, including the atmosphere, changed. He was the first patient to disobey Nurse Ratched. Unlike other patients who continuously obeyed Nurse Ratched, McMurphy and another patient named Charlie Cheswick decided to rebel

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Desotypes In Perks Of Being A Wallflower

    2084 Words  | 5 Pages

    Have you ever walked in snow? Well, you probably have. Then, have you realized how hard it is to walk in the path formed when it is icy and slippery? When this is the case, we chose not to walk on the icy track. Instead we walk on either side of it. One side is soft, nothing happens when you fall and even when you move rapidly on it. Many people chose to walk on this side, thus its sheer white color leaves its place to black. Very similarly, one of the two sides of the society is the black area as known as phonies. Many people are phonies even though they might have never chosen nor intended to be one. Unlike the easily-dirt-showing type of side, we shovel snow to the second side. As time passes it gets

    Read More

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movie, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, released in 2012, is based on the book written by Stephen Chbosky, which was originally published in 1999. The book is all about the main character, Charlie, as he deals with his first year in high school, after the tragic death of his Aunt Helen. The movie opens with Charlie writing in a journal, which is a part of his therapy for the mental illness he suffers from on account of his Aunt 's death. The past year or so before this, Charlie had been suffering from memories and flashbacks of the way his Aunt died in a car accident. He is hopeful that high school will bring new things for him, but after the first day, is disappointed after the bullying and neglect he finds from other students. Things

    Read More

  • Blackness in Macbeth

    2749 Words  | 6 Pages

    Mr. Kenneth Muir, in his introduction to the play - which does not, by the way, interpret it simply from this point of view - aptly describes the cumulative effect of the imagery: "The contrast between light and darkness [suggested by the imagery] is part of a general antithesis between good and evil, devils and angels, evil and grace, hell and heaven . . . (67-68)

    Read More

  • CBT in Stephen Chbosky's 'Perks of Being a Wallflower'

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower the audience learns a great deal about, Charlie, the main character’s life and how his past traumas affect him psychologically (Chbosky, 2012). Charlie is a 15-year-old boy who is coping with his best friend’s suicide, in addition to struggling with Posttraumic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Chbosky, 2012). When Charlie was younger, his favorite Aunt, Helen, raped him, although he did not seem to fully understand that until he was hospitalized (Chbosky, 2012). However, Charlie was not hospitalized until right after he learned his best friend, Michael, committed suicide. Charlie is also shy, therefore has difficulties making friends. At the beginning of the movie, Charlie is writing to a new friend and

    Read More

  • Examples Of Social Psychology In The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

    1934 Words  | 4 Pages

    In one scene, Mr. Anderson is asked by Charlie why people stay with others who are wrong for them, speaking of Sam and her boyfriend, and he responds with his famous quote, “We accept the love we think we deserve.” That statement is very powerful and makes a lot of sense in the world of psychology. It is shown that many of the characters in the film accepted the love they thought they deserved whether it be Sam with her boyfriend, Patrick with Brad, or even Charlie with Mary Elizabeth. However, with the ability of change, they all stood up for themselves and one another and started to embrace pure love and friendship and accepted nothing that defies that. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a very emotional and influential movie that could easily be used for a psychological analysis. (Halfon, Malkovich, Smith & Chbosky,

    Read More

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Identity Analysis

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    Charlie struggles with apparent mental illness throughout his letters, but he never explicitly addresses this problem. His friends make him realize that he is different and it is okay to be different from everyone else. This change in perspective gives Charlie new opportunities to experience life from a side he was unfamiliar with. Without these new friends, Charlie would have never dared to try on the things he has. His friends have helped him develop from an antisocial wallflower to an adventurous young man who is both brave and loyal. Transitioning shapes how the individual enters into the workforce, live independently and gain some control over their future

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: Charlie from 'Perks of Being a Wallflower'

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    He was so closed off from the rest of the world and he felt isolated and alone. The family participated in religious services a few times during the movie, and even Charlie took communion. He was no stranger to the world of spirituality. Even though he participated in religious ceremonies with his family, when he met his friends he finally realized the meaning and purpose of his life. Eventually, Charlie started to participate in life and not just watch others live. As a result, he was released from the shell that kept him trapped inside. At this point, it was clear to Charlie that there was something more to him. He was alive. This becomes clear in the tunnel scene at the end of the movie when he states, “I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song and that drive with people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear, we are

    Read More

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Movie Analysis

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Perks of Being a Wallflower was brought to screen in 2012 by author and director Stephen Chbosky. The movie is about a 15 year old adolescent named Charlie who is beginning high school with a little more baggage than the normal freshman. The viewer quickly discovers that Charlie’s best friend, Michael, committed suicide during May of their 8th grade school year and the viewer later learns that Charlie’s aunt Helen molested him as a child. Charlie begins school determined to make some new friends and is befriended by step siblings Patrick and Sam during the first week of school. The movie spans for Charlie’s entire freshman year and shows the struggles he has with relationships, bullying, risky behaviors, as well remnants from his past trauma. He has a lot in common with Sam and falls in love with her, but accidentally ends up in a relationship with another one of the members of their clique, Mary Elizabeth. His relationship with her ends poorly and he is exiled from the clique for a few weeks. Upon the school year ending, Charlie is faced with the harsh reality that his group of friends, including his love Sam, are all seniors and are all going on to college. Charlie has a mental breakdown, but is able to reconcile many of his past struggles with the help of a doctor and the support from his parents and siblings. The movie ends with Sam and Patrick coming

    Read More

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Response Essay

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Perks of Being a Wallflower finishes with Charlie attending graduation for all of his friends. Charlie gets very emotional because he must say goodbye to Patrick and Sam. After helping Sam pack for college Charlie discovers some useful advice from her. Sam tells Charlie that he needs to start demanding for what he wants and needs. After realizing this Charlie kisses Sam like he has wanted to since the day he met her. The kissing escalates and Charlie feels uncomfortable so he tells her to stop. That night Charlie sleeps over at Sam’s and he dreams about his Aunt Helen. Upon waking, he realizes the reason he couldn't connect in an intimate way with Sam is because his Aunt Helen touched him the way Sam did. The second Sam touched him he connected the dots that this feeling was

    Read More

  • Acute Depression In It's Kind Of A Funny Story

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    “ Although stress exists at every stage of human development, adolescence can be especially stressful, due to the biological and social changes that accompany this developmental period” (Journal of Adolescence, 12 Nov. 2010). The teenage years are difficult for even the most stable-minded people, but in some situations the stress is overwhelming and demands medical attention. Craig’s stress develops into acute depression, and with the help of doctors and patients in Six North he learns to control it. He experiences what he calls a shift in his brain, a change in the way his mind works and feels. “It’s a huge thing, this Shift, just as big as I imagined. My brain doesn’t want to think anymore; all of a sudden it wants to do” (Vizzinni, 443). After five days at Six North, Craig’s depression is not cured, but it is managed, and he is ready to start

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: The Perks Of Being A Wallflowers

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Because of the parties he attends with his new friends he has tried using some drugs. These new friends help Charlie see things with a positive perspective, and to be confident in himself. When his friends move away, Charlie experience isolation and has a mental crisis that leads him to be internalized in a clinic.

    Read More

  • Perks Of Being A Wallflower Essay

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the name of the film suggests, Charlie is a "wallflower." For much of the film, he is socially isolated, his only friends being his English teacher and two eccentric seniors. Later in the film, the audience learns that Charlie's best friend committed suicide the previous summer, contributing to this isolation. Charlie also worries that none of the kids who knew him prior to high school would want to befriend him after he spent time in the hospital. Charlie also turns to drugs and alcohol at some points during the film, presumably both to escape his thoughts and for typical teenage reasons. Charlie's most profound enactment of avoidance symptoms occurs at the end of the film when he nearly commits suicide after realizing what his aunt had done to

    Read More

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Essay

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    Charlie is said to be strong despite his small build, this also being demonstrated early on when he defends himself against a bully on his first day of high school. He's highly emotional, and this comes into play several times. We first see Charlie's sensitive side when he tearfully confesses to Sam that he ''thought of her inappropriately'', utterly wracked with guilt. Charlie's confessing his sex dream to Sam –within a week of meeting her– also serves as a great example of his somewhat unintentionally frank and awkward behavior. Furthermore, earlier on in his letters, Charlie tends to give his classmates inadvertently offensive nicknames, such as ''Crazy Bridget''.

    Read More

More about Characteristics Of The Brain In The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Open Document