Perks Of Being A Wallflower Book Vs Movie Essay

In both the novel and film, Charlie is a victim of sexual abuse as a young boy. His aunt, who was sexually abused by her boyfriends and family friend, sought after a male who she knew could not hurt her. Her depression led her to find this comfort in Charlie, and she did what was once done to her. The novel and film both lead up to the heartbreaking realization. However, in the novel, some readers found it very unclear that Charlie was actually molested by his aunt (“The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Charlie's Sexual Abuse”). The author gave subtle hints as the novel progressed, but if a reader did not know signs to look out for, they would not notice that Charlie showed all the symptoms of being a victim of abuse. This intimate detail
is the key to Charlie’s erotic behavior, so it was portrayed much more clearly in the film.
Producers focused more vividly on the signs, whereas the novel, focused on Charlie’s emotional turmoil and journey. In the novel, depression is more individualized in to the stories of each character. Aunt Helen, Charlie, and Michael all experience depression differently, but the movie attempts to combine these into one mutual feeling all depressed people have. Viewers walked from the theater knowing that Charlie had been a victim of his aunt’s abuse. Another important detail of Charlie and Aunt Helen’s relationship was Aunt Helen’s attempted suicide. This is touched on more in the novel, but the film has a specific scene in which Charlie enters the kitchen to find his drunk aunt at the table. He glances down at her arms and sees two huge scars on her wrist. The filmmakers purposely included this scene because the scars on her wrists were a symbol of the scars of her past. In this instance, Aunt Helen’s physical scars are symbols of her emotional journey. Aunt Helen turned to drinking because she could not bear to remember her past abuses and abusers. Those men left an imprint behind on Aunt Helen, and she was never able to escape the memories. In this way Aunt Helen is very similar to Charlie, who cannot escape the haunting
memories of his abuse. However, by repeatedly showing her scars and inability to escape her problems, the film glorifies Aunt Helen’s depression and attempted and possible suicide. The filmmakers were more focused on creating Helen to be the villain who ruined Charlie, than showcasing her own struggles and emotional journey. The novel, in comparison, tells her individual story and focuses on her journey and the events that led to her self-harm and the abuse of Charlie.