Regardless of the time period or how communities may shift, teens still undergo the same changes and problems in life, as can be seen in both the book Perks of Being a Wallflower and the film The Breakfast Club. These issues, along with many others, can easily relate back to the typical teen’s life. Although there seem to be many issues nowadays, it is apparent that some are more problematic than others. One of the issues deals with the mental health epidemic. With many teens dealing with this, it is commonly shown amidst characters in books in films, including Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower, as well John Bender from the The Breakfast Club. Secondly, students and the characters in popular novels and films, like Charlie and John, …show more content…
Being stereotyped will not show how nice of a person you are, your intelligence, nor will it show the problems and difficulties that one may be buried under. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, none of the characters are necessarily similar to one another, but they still can be friendly to one another when they are in groups together. Charlie always had been considered a little kooky from some, but was also weighted as the “wallflower” and because of that, he could see beyond what anyone else could in the novel. He saw that not everyone was as happy as they had occurred to be and he could sense the problems the other characters went through especially with Sam, the girl he was in love with. Sam always had taken Charlie under her wing, directing him in the right way. She understood him, and for the most part the connection was mutual. One night Sam gently lead Charlie back to her bedroom to reveal a Christmas present she had for him. Not only did she reveal Charlie’s gift, but she also uttered the painful words that she had only a couple of times prior. Charlie remembered, “She told me about the first time she was kissed. She told me it was with one of her dad’s friends. She was seven… she started to cry.” (Chbosky. 70). Sam always portrayed herself as a happy go getter, but this time even though others would think differently about her, Charlie got to see the problems …show more content…
The issues encountered day to day truly are similar to other people’s lives. Currently, mental health is a realistic issue presented in most teenagers and young adults lives, as well as in many novels and movies, like seen in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Breakfast Club. Along with these wretched mental disabilities, come with teens being painfully alienated from others, just because they have contrasting views or seem to be a little odd. Despite teenager’s differences, whether it be because of their families, their mental health, or their friends, they still are very much alike and deal with much of life’s problems, day in and day out. Granting the book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the movie The Breakfast Club were published more than twenty years apart from one another, both display this frequently. To conclude, I would like to add a quote, “Each generation thinks it fights new battles. But the battles are the same. Only the people are different,” (Potok. 241). indicating that generations may pass, but the same problems are faced among teenagers, no matter
The article “A Letter To My Younger Self” written by Terrance Thomas is made to motivate readers, especially teenagers that share similar concerns and emotions as the author’s younger self. By writing a letter to his younger self, Terrance created a motivational and melancholic tone. The style of writing is, therefore, informal with a poetic touch to it. The article is written to motivate readers which results in it to have a motivational and melancholic tone. “Those moments of fear, inadequacy, and vulnerability that you have been running from, are the moments that will shape you.”.
Today, teenagers and adults share a multitude of problems such as losing a loved one, drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure that lead to depression and we need families to take notice and do something to stop teen depression. Works Cited Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye.
This film contains some classic examples of the kinds of real life issues adolescents deal with. Issues such as popularity, peer relationships, family/sibling relationships, sex, and struggles with identity are all addressed in this ninety-minute film.
Our daily lives emotionally affect us as individual persons in society. What happens in our daily life, changes our emotional life and changes our perspective towards life. Society has an impact on individual persons. According to The Catcher in The Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower; what happens to Holden and Charlie at school, at home and with their friend relationships affect them negatively and complicates their perspective towards life. Both Holden and Charlie are affected negatively by the society. Their emotional life is shaped by their social lives as like as ours.
Adolescence is the stage in life when you are no longer a child, but not yet an adult. There are many things that still need to be explored, learned and conquered. In the film Thirteen, the main character, Tracy Freeland, is just entering adolescence. While trying to conquer Erikson’s theory of Identity vs. Role confusion, Tracy is affected by many influences, including family and friends that hinder her development. Many concepts from what we have learned in class can be applied to this character from identity development, to depression, to adolescent sexuality and more. In this film Tracy is a prime example of an adolescent and much of what I have learned this year can be applied to her character.
People constantly overlook the severity of depression, more importantly, major teen depression, which presents a legitimate obstacle in society. The intensity of teen depression results from society’s general lack of acknowledgement of the rising affair. In 2012, “28.5% of teens were depressed” and 15.8% of teens contemplated the option of suicide (Vidourek 1 par. 1), due to their major depression going unnoticed or untreated for. Even teenagers themselves often ignore their depression or remain in denial because neither them nor anyone else recognizes the signs. “A sudden change in behavior is a main sign of someone being depressed, which could lead to having suicidal thoughts,” stated Pam Farkas, a clinical social worker in California (Aguilar 1 par. 8). The warning signs and risk factors of teen depression include behavioral issues, social withdrawal, and inadequate interest in activities (Adolescents and Clinical Depression 2 par. 3), yet the unawareness of these signs does not allow professional medical attention to intercede. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression, but treatments, such as psychotherapy, intervention programs, and antidepressants express ways to subdue this major problem. Knowledge of the increasing dilemma needs to circulate, in order to promote stable teen lives in the present and future world. Understanding major teen depression, the events and incidents that lead to depression, and how to overcome the problem will lead to a decrease in major teen depression and its growing issue in society.
While societal attitudes attitudes may change over time, the challenges associated with the transition from childhood to adulthood remain constant. The ideas of individuality, alienation and loss of innocence fortify the theme of coming of age across the texts The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Catcher in the Rye, a bildungsroman novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1951, focuses on teenager Holden Caulfield’s transition from childhood to adulthood in 1950’s America, whereas the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower directed by Stephen Chbosky in 2012 follows teenager Charlie experiencing a similar transition in 1990’s America. Despite their varying contexts, these ideas are presented in both texts through the use the
These teenagers don't like or respect their parents very much. One asks: "My God, are we gonna be like our parents?" Another in the group replies: "When you grow up, your heart dies." But the storm clouds over their lives are really the result of rigid high school caste systems.
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
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,
In adolescence social interactions are a very important part of young adult development. Within this transitional period the young adult experiences social changes even though such changes vary from youth to youth. In The Perks of being a wallflower Charlie was socially awkward, but intellectually he was a genius. He was faced with a few social extremes throughout the movie. For instance, 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 tried to reach out to a girl whom was in Middle School with him but she acted as if she did not know him. He was left feeling alone. As the movie went on he was exposed to yet another social
Being a teenager is quite an awkward time in a person’s life, it is like being a mutation, half-child and half-adult, losing innocence along the way. Around the age of 14 people hit high school and life begins to change for both males and females. Girls and boys officially start their journey into women and men, hitting many bumps and hurdles on the road to discover themselves. In the novels, Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, two very different boys begin the voyage into adulthood both making mistakes and facing obstacles along their way. Within these two stories the reader delves into the secrets of what exactly is ailing the minds of american males. In both novels, the boys face a
The perks of being a wallflowers is about Charlie, a 15 year old freshman student that is about to start his high school year. He lives with his parents and older sister. Charlie has as an older brother too, but he lives away because he is attending college. As the movie starts goes, it is implied that when Charlie was a kid he was molested by his aunt, who later dies in a car accident on Christmas Eve, (which is also Charlie’s birthday). His family seems to have a strong bond, they each follow a role, and they support each other. During some scenes in the movie, Charlie seems to be having internalizing problems. As the movie progressed, it is revealed that Charlie had a friend that committed suicide, and this event made Charlie to feel sorrowful. When he enters high school, Charlie appears to be very concern of what others may think about him, as well as
Before Miles went to his new school his father said, “No drugs. No drinking. No cigarettes.” (Green 10 pdf) Miles’ father warned him very heavily about not doing drugs, however, he did drugs in high school before. When Miles goes to high school, he gets lost in the world of peer pressure and he end up doing drugs, drinking alcohol and smoking. In the real world, many high school students tend to fall into the traps of peer pressure and they end up drinking and doing drugs illegally. This story captures the real life perspective of high school with peer pressure, stress and troubles, instead of the fake, “all smiles” perspective of high school that some movies, such as High School Musical, portrays. Additionally, the main character, Alaska, relates to the world because she is a girl that lives a hard life and is depressed on the inside, yet she still manages to have a smile on her face. Many people in the world are going through very hard times, however, they still manage to be happy or they try to give the appearance that they’re happy. Personally, I can relate to Alaska Young’s situation, after losing my grandma and uncle to illness a couple of months ago, I am faced with tremendous amounts of depression and deep sadness. However, on the outside, I tend to have a smile on my face and I don’t show others how I truly feel deep down on the inside. Alaska does this for a while and she slowly
The inability to conform in society can lead to unhappiness and the feeling of inequality