Why did Michael kill himself in The Perks of Being a Wallflower?
Michael, who was Charlie's friend, had committed suicide (killed himself) but the reason behind it is never explicitly said in the novel. The school counselor guessed that he might have had "a problem at home" but nobody to talk to, so he felt desperate and lonely.
How did Michael's death affect Charlie?
In the letter that begins the book, Charlie describes what is was like at school after everyone found out about Michael's suicide, and the guidance counselors suggested that Michael had “problems at home.” Confronting the loss of his only friend prompts Charlie's exploration of his own mental health and home life ...
Does Charlie kill himself?
Answer and Explanation: Charlie does not commit suicide in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but death is a recurrent theme in the novel.
Where is Michael tonight Perks of Being a Wallflower?
Sam : Well, where is Michael tonight? Charlie : Oh, he shot himself last May.
Why does Charlie still love Aunt Helen?
Since Charlie represses the memories of his abuse for most of the novel, he generally thinks of Helen as the only person in his otherwise cold family to show Charlie affection, and he also loved that she gave him books to read.
What mental illnesses did Charlie have?
Return to The AAPP Perspective issue main page. After being hospitalized for the summer after his best friend commits suicide, Charlie who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is about to embark on his first year of high school.
What did Charlie's aunt do to him in Perks of Being a Wallflower?
What Charlie does not realize until the end of the book is that his Aunt Helen molested him when he was a child. We also find out that Charlie's Aunt Helen was molested by a family friend a long time ago. Because she never resolved her own abuse, she let that cycle of abuse continue and became an abuser herself.
Is The Perks of Being a Wallflower a true story?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is not a true story. It is classified as a novel, so it is, by definition, fictional. However, it was inspired by the author's actual experiences and people he knew while he grew up in Pittsburgh and attended high school there.
What is the point of the perks of being a wallflower?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower champions and celebrates inclusivity and tolerance by showing both how people can blossom when they are accepted for who they are and how painful life can be for people who are ignored or mistreated.
Is Charlie's dad abusive in Perks of Being a Wallflower?
Dad. Charlie's dad first comes across as cold, uncaring, and maybe even abusive. In his first letter, Charlie tells us that his dad slapped him after he made Aunt Helen cry. It's not until his second letter, almost two months later, that he says that his dad "felt terrible for doing it.
What does wallflower mean in slang?
SHY PERSONwallflower noun [C] (SHY PERSON) a shy person, especially a girl or woman, who is frightened to involve herself in social activities and does not attract much interest or attention: Sooner or later someone would take pity on the poor wallflower and ask her to dance. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.
Who was Charlie writing to?
Charlie writes the entire book as a series of letters to an anonymous “friend.” The reader never learns who this “friend” is, and the “friend” never writes back.
How does Charlie cope with his trauma?
Friendship. Charlie used friendship as a way to cope with his negative feelings. He was starting to feel like he was fitting in with a group of people who accepted him. He used that as a life vest for when things got tough.
What did Helen do to Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower?
Charlie concludes in his final letters in Perks that he was sexually abused in early childhood by his Aunt Helen, who is now deceased. Chbosky's decision to feature a male victim of sexual violence along with a female perpetrator erodes the persistent female victim / male offender paradigm.
Why does Charlie blame himself for his aunt's death?
He blames himself for his Aunt Helen's death because the last thing that she told him before her car crash was that she was going to go look for his birthday present. Charlie is able to twist his memories to feed his inner guilt, even if this guilt is irrational.
Who is Aunt Helen How has she impacted Charlie's life?
She took her sexual abuse out on Charlie, sexually molesting him and touching him while his sister was asleep, and telling him to be quiet was her way of telling him not to tell anybody about her touches.
What does Michael talk about Charlie?
In a deleted scene, Michael is shown talking to Charlie about Charlie's new radio set and about his eventual girlfriend, Susan.]
How does Charlie deal with his death?
Charlie: tries to deal with his death by going to see a therapist. Charlie breaks down when he finds out that Michael believed he had no one to talk to, saying 'he could have talked to me'.
Does Michael talk to Charlie about his girlfriend?
In a deleted scene, Michael is shown talking to Charlie about Charlie's new radio set and about his eventual girlfriend, Susan.]
How does Charlie come out of his shell?
Charlie comes out of his shell through the relationships he develops over the course of the school year, but it isn’t until the very end of the book that he uncovers the repressed memories of sexual abuse that are at the core of all the trauma he has been processing the whole time. Read an in-depth analysis of Charlie.
How is Charlie's story told?
The novel is told through a series of letters that Charlie is writing to an anonymous “friend,” and the whole story is narrated entirely through Charlie’s perspective. Charlie is a quiet, withdrawn, intelligent, observant high school freshman dealing with a lot of trauma in his childhood. Charlie comes out of his shell through ...
What is Charlie's sister's relationship with her sister?
High school senior who is in an abusive relationship. Charlie’s sister is very smart and does very well in school, yet she keeps herself trapped in an abusive relationship. When she gets pregnant, she asks Charlie to drive her to and from the abortion clinic.
What does Bob represent in Charlie and Charlie?
Bob goes to community college, and he represents what might happen to Charlie’s schoolmates if any one of them starts depending on drugs too heavily.
Who is Patrick in the movie Charlie?
A high school senior, Sam’s stepbrother, and one of Charlie’s best friends. Patrick is in a closeted relationship with Brad, the quarterback of the football team . Patrick accepts Charlie for all his quirks and makes him feel like he can be himself.
Who is Charlie's English teacher?
Charlie’s English teacher and mentor. Bill recognizes and nurtures Charlie’s talent for reading and writing. Bill is the most stable, reliable adult figure in Charlie’s life, and he helps Charlie develop self-confidence.
Who is Charlie's middle school friend?
Charlie’s middle-school friend who committed suicide. Michael only appears in a few flashbacks in the novel. Even though Charlie does not want to commit suicide, and he tries to take Michael as his example for what he will not do, he grows to understand how Michael could have gotten to such a depressed state of mind.
What is the theme of the Perks of Being a Wallflower?
Based on the 1999 young adult novel of the same name, The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows teenager Charlie (Logan Lerman) through his freshman year of high school and touches on serious subject matter like sexual abuse, depression, anxiety and bullying.
What happened to Charlie when he was woken up by the police?
Charlie blacks out by the time the police arrive and when he wakes up, he’s at the hospital. There, he and a psychiatrist work together to bring out Charlie’s repressed memories, which reveal that his aunt actually sexually abused him throughout his childhood. After working through his issues, Charlie is discharged and allowed to go home.
What happened to Charlie in the end of the school year?
Charlie's final and most serious breakdown comes towards the end of the school year. At a graduation party, Sam (Emma Watson) and Charlie make out, but Charlie becomes extremely uncomfortable when Sam puts her hand on his inner thigh. Although he brushes it off in the moment, it’s clearly a repressed memory that Charlie hasn’t come to terms with.
What is the running thread in Charlie's story?
However, a running thread throughout is Charlie's building anxiety, and while most of the story revolves around his freshman year, there is a pivotal incident from his past that continues to haunt him in ways he doesn’t even realize.
Is the Perks of Being a Wallflower on Netflix?
If you feel the need to regress to a simpler time when you could revel in the clichés of being an angsty teenager, you're in luck, because The Perks of Being a Wallflower is now streaming on Netflix. Based on the 1999 young adult novel of the same name, The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows teenager Charlie ...
