Perks Of Being A Wallflower Conflicts

Conflicts, also known as disputes, quarrels, or squabbles, are at the center of every single book you will read. The book, Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Steven Chbosky, is about a high school freshman, named Charlie, that is trying to deal with the normal pressures of everyday life. Perks of Being a Wallflower is a book that is full of conflicts, both internal and external ones. Two of the main conflicts in the book are Charlie vs. Himself and Charlie vs. Society. Both of these conflicts further the plot, portray an overall theme of the novel and reveal one of Charlie’s character traits. As a teenager, I know that I can be my biggest enemy. In Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie also knows this. Charlie is usually the one telling himself
Society. From first-hand experience, I know that in a small town it is important to be known for something, whether that something is sports, academics, or just being a friendly person. Charlie’s brother was a college football player, his sister was her class’ valedictorian, but the problem with Charlie is that he was none of these things. He was just a wallflower, as mediocre as they come. There is nothing wrong with this, except in the small town where he lived, he was overlooked by most people. This lead to Charlie having to find his place in the world, rather than having it found for him. This furthers the plot by having Charlie meet new friends, experience new things, and become a different person. Charlie’s new friends, Sam and Patrick, are wallflowers just like Charlie. This shows him that he can make it through four years of high school while being a wallflower. Charlie experiences new things, that aren’t necessarily good for him, in the forms of drugs and alcohol. However, some of the things Charlie experiences did help to bring him out the shell that he lived most of his life in, such as starring in the Rocky Picture Horror Show. The theme in Perks of Being a Wallflower that this conflict shows is the theme of friendship. Who knows what would have become of Charlie if it were not for Sam and Patrick? Charlie even says before he becomes friends with Sam and Patrick, “It would be very nice to have a friend again.” However, once he meets Sam and Patrick, Charlie becomes much more outgoing and begins to do things besides reading and writing. A character trait that is revealed about Charlie through this conflict is that he is slightly depressed. If it were not for his friends, Charlie may have wound up in an even darker place than he ended up