The Evidence of Charlie's PTSD in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” By Stephen Chbosky. In Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, the main character, Charlie, exhibits symptoms of PTSD. We see hints of possible PTSD that Charlie has during the middle of the story, and begin to get more confirmation and clues when nearing the end of the story. The clues to this PTSD in the middle of the story mention Charlie being uncomfortable in certain areas, to the end where this uneasiness within these areas are directly addressed. As we learn more about Charlie’s family and how he acts throughout the story, we can piece together how Charlie exhibits symptoms of PTSD. First off, we have to look at what Charlie’s family’s life was like. We see that a lot of Charlie’s family’s upbringing …show more content…
We see one of these clues in Charlie and Sam’s intimate interactions: "Please don't feel bad." It was very nice," I said. I was starting to get really upset. You're not ready to go? she asked. I nodded. But that wasn't it. I didn't know what it was. (Pg. 246) We can tell from this that Charlie is experiencing something he doesn't know/understand. We can infer from this that Charlie may be blocking something out, which judging by the context, the thing being blocked out may be sexual assault. Further confirmation of this is what Charlie begins experiencing afterwards in his dream: "I can't do that anymore. I'm sorry," I said. “It's okay, Charlie. Just go to sleep," Sam said. But I wasn't talking to Sam anymore. I was talking to someone else. When I fell asleep, I had this dream. My brother, my sister, and I were watching television with my Aunt Helen. Everything was in slow motion. The sound was thick and clear. And she was doing what Sam was doing. (Pg. 248) This practically confirms that Aunt Helen molested Charlie, and was the reason for this unease in intimate moments/Charlie’s