The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Adolescent Development

Introduction

The novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower revolves around Charlie, a high school freshman who is hospitalized for the summer following the traumatic suicide of his best friend and the death of his Aunt Helen. Charlie's aunt died in a car crash when he was a young boy, and he blames himself for her death. Charlie matures physically, sexually, and emotionally over the course of the novel, changing from a wallflower — one who only watches passively without connecting with others — to a more active participant. When repressed memories of his sexual abuse as a child are revealed near the novel's end, it becomes evident that he is a troubled young person struggling to confront the traumas of his past. This paper identifies and analyzes the biological, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and social issues pertaining to Charlie and examines how these relate to theories of child and adolescent development.

Biological and Physical Issues Charlie Faces

One of the key biological issues Charlie faces is delayed development. As Highland (1979) points out, there is a certain level of social expectation associated with every stage of development. Adolescents, for instance, are expected to adequately express themselves and to exhibit a certain degree of self-awareness and social ability (Highland, 1979). This is not the case with Charlie — he has difficulty forming friendships and is mostly a passive observer, which leads him to be referred to as a wallflower. He also lacks the self-empowerment needed to manage stressors that a typical adolescent would be expected to handle, such as the death of a loved one. When his friends Sam and Patrick leave, for example, he lacks the internal strength to cope with those stressors and attempts suicide.

Beyond delayed development, Charlie also lacks the safety and warmth of feeling loved. His parents consistently idealize his brother, who is publicly celebrated for his football prowess. Charlie's brother is upheld as the hero of the household — the figure everyone admires and praises. As a result, Charlie finds himself constantly trying to prove his worth to his parents. He lacks the warmth of familial celebration, and his family members consider him mentally unstable. This is why Charlie gravitates toward his friends, whom he feels accept him for who he is.

Charlie also faces serious safety issues. He is molested by his aunt — a close family member — at a young age and no longer feels safe and secure around others. He also witnesses his sister's boyfriend, who appears sweet and kind, physically abuse, manipulate, and control her. Sam, the girl he is fond of, has herself been a victim of abuse in her childhood. His father also had to endure witnessing physical abuse inflicted on his mother and sister by an abusive man. At one point, Charlie watches a girl get date-raped at a party organized by his older brother. Surrounded by instances of physical and sexual abuse, Charlie feels deeply insecure and is unsure of whom to trust.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, physiological and safety needs at the base of the pyramid must be satisfied before an individual can address higher-level needs such as social belonging (Hakvoort, 2002). This helps explain why Charlie has such difficulty making friends at school. Warmth is a key physiological need, and lacking both warmth and a sense of safety leaves Charlie unable to form strong interpersonal relationships with peers (social needs) or to recognize and nurture his writing talent (self-actualization needs) (Hakvoort, 2002). This changes, however, when he develops close friendships with Sam, Patrick, and Bill — relationships from which he draws warmth and feels genuinely valued and cared for.

Psychological and Cognitive Issues Pertaining to Charlie

Charlie demonstrates several significant psychological issues. First, he displays profound guilt, blaming himself for the death of Aunt Helen. In the novel, Charlie reflects that his aunt died in a car crash while traveling to buy him a gift. He believes that had she not loved him so much, she would still be alive. Beyond guilt, Charlie also exhibits socially withdrawn behavior that leads to deep loneliness and a pervasive sense of being an outcast at school, as he is unable to form or maintain friendships. His situation improves when he meets Patrick and Sam and begins taking a more active role in social activities — such as playing Truth or Dare with his friend group. However, feelings of loneliness return once his friends leave, triggering suicidal ideation.

Charlie also exhibits irritable behavior characterized by angry outbursts with little provocation — he can be quiet one moment and physically confrontational the next, as when he attacks a peer who teases him. Additionally, Charlie experiences depressive symptoms evidenced by suicidal behavior, particularly when his friends depart. Through the support he receives from friends and family during his inpatient stay, he recovers and returns to everyday life (Brown & Hammer, 2015). Charlie demonstrates greater psychological well-being when his friendships are strongest. This, as Brown and Hammer (2015) note, underscores the importance of peer relationships in supporting the psychological well-being of adolescents.

More broadly, Charlie's behavior meets the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (APA, 2013). He was molested by his aunt and carries that trauma throughout his childhood and adolescence. Yet he is forced to repress his traumatic memories and negative emotions because he lacks a healthy model for addressing trauma. Charlie's repressive behavior can be explained through social learning theory. Most of the people in his life — including Sam, his parents, and his sister — are themselves victims of abuse and have come to accept it as normal (Grossman et al., 2006). According to social learning theory, individuals learn by observing and modeling the behavior of others (Hakvoort, 2002). By observing those around him and noting the apparent consequences of various responses, individuals learn to either avoid or imitate specific behaviors (Hakvoort, 2002). For Charlie, repressing traumatic experiences appears to be the only viable response, because it is the one modeled by everyone around him.

References

APA (2013). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

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