Why Is The Perks Of Being A Wallflower A Good Portrayal Of Abuse?

1974 Words8 Pages

Alexandra Hamici
Adèle Dostie
EAE-2DQ
June 20, 2023
Is The Perks of Being a Wallflower a good portrayal of abuse?
Abuse is an issue that affects a large amount of the human population. It can leave people with both physical and mental scars that affect them in more ways than one. Stephen Chbosky’s novel named “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” took this theme and delved into the many painful realities that most victims face into a piece of media, which usually does a bad job representing it. Does this book accurately depict the elements of abuse that it tries to portray? It definitely appears to be the case due to its depictions of the cycle of intergenerational abuse, the difficulty of victims leaving abusive relationships and the many effects of this ill treatment in characters, especially in the adolescents. The …show more content…

This action can have harmful effect on the human psyche such as emotional issues, PTSD, anxiety, anger, social issues, physical pains, depression, inappropriate attitudes and the use of violence to solve issues. “These conditions can continue into adulthood and leave you vulnerable to more mistreatment” (Timothy J. Legg). To try to feel better, people tend to try coping mechanisms. Examples of these can be doing a hobby, such as gardening or drawing or talking to someone that they trust. However, these can manifest into bad coping mechanisms, whose main purpose is to harm the victim. These include self harm, drugs, dependency on other people, negative talk, isolation, violence, eating issues and lack of sleep. Self inflicted harm is a common coping mechanism where they purposely hurt themselves with no suicidal intention. This includes cutting, biting, burning, pinching, hitting, scratching, etc… There are many reasons why someone could self-harm, such as wanting to draw blood, wanting to see scars, wanting to feel pain, which is a cry for