Perks Of Being A Wallflower Essay

1001 Words5 Pages

Many novels offer hidden in depth analysis of several sociological concepts. Some allow us, as readers, to realize these social norms and extremes and possibly pin point those in our own lives. One novel, written by Stephen Chbosky, which contains some sociological concepts, is The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The protagonist in the novel, Charlie, is exposed to many social extremes such as sexual interaction, love, gay bashing, and family influences.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a novel about society’s social norms versus the outsider, where the perks turn into conflict. With betrayal in mind, the protagonist’s social formation and its peculiarity starts to be become more clear. As a young child, Charlie admires his aunt prior to his realization …show more content…

As a result, she grew up damaged, avoiding men like her father and never was able to cope with the emotional damage. She also lacks in expression, never voices her own opinions unless it is a worthy case. When she met Charlie's father, she found support in him, he is a quiet man who opposed the physical nature of her father's characteristics. Charlie’s father is a quiet man but dominant in the family. He is the stereotypical father, one who voices his own opinion and is the head of the household without ever saying too much. Raised by his two parents, Charlie gained the submissive tendencies from his mother and the quiet, observational tendencies from his father. His siblings are similar, taking after their parents; his brother is a strong and quiet male who shares characteristics with their father, and his sister was hit by her boyfriend but continued the relationship. His sister, who begins to develop like Charlie into her own well defined person towards the end of the novel; rejected her abusive boyfriend, decided to keep her unwanted baby, and started reading feminist literature (Chbosky). The idea of submission is most likely an effect from Charlie's experience with his aunt. Not realizing the violation occurring at the time, he may have seen the molestation as an expression of platonic love, as a closeness he would never have with any of his parents or