The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Male or female, black or white, gay or straight, everybody matures in his or her lifetime. Brad, Calpurnia, and Wemmick experience defining moments including the psychological advancement in each characters’ behavior that reveals the effects of forcing people to conform to society’s expectations. In Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Brad is a gay adolescent who is required to betray his inner feelings and true self due to the threats from his father and the judgmental views of society. Brad changes his personality when he is at school around his peers, and when he is around his family. As the film advances, Brad becomes more open about his feelings towards his partner, Patrick, demonstrating that he is becoming stronger about
As a black woman who nannies white children, Calpurnia develops many similar characteristics of the stereotypical white woman. However, when she invites Scout and Jem to attend an all-African American church with her, the kids notice that she completely changes her way of speech and attitude. When Cal is at church, she is comfortable with herself and is at ease. In contrast, when she is working for the Finches, she acts proper and restricted. Similar to Brad, she is always hiding one side of her personality, depending on her surrounding community. Bringing Scout and Jem with her to the church was a turning point for Calpurnia because it shows that she gathered enough strength and courage to display another side of her life. Calpurnia has two places in two worlds, as the children discover. Calpurnia opens up to children because they resemble pure innocence, and would not judge her as adults would. This movement is a step towards maturity because Calpurnia is accepting the world and society she lives in, and decides that it is best she act proper around whites, and act as her true self around other blacks. Unlike Brad and Wemmick, Calpurnia clearly recognizes her change in behavior, yet adjusts to her community unconsciously. The members of the church and the whites outside of the church are unaware of the inconsistencies of Calpurnia’s
Wemmick tells himself that his philosophy is to separate those two factors, however subconsciously he is attempting to protect his family from the horrors that take place at his work. This essentially puts Wemmick’s family in a bubble, shielding them from the understanding of the world. The family does not realize how complicated Wemmick’s business of defending criminals and receiving money is. Once again, the societal pressures subconsciously forces Wemmick to attempt to protect his family, resulting in two personalities. Wemmick experiences a pivotal moment when he brings Pip home to The Aged, and they both explain to him their philosophy of keeping home and work separate. This is both ironic and a pivotal moment because Wemmick is involving a friend from work, with his family at home. Wemmick is not keeping the two separate, further showing a change in maturity. In Wemmick’s case, maturing isn’t always doing the opposite of a parent’s lifestyle, but it understanding and agreeing with the parents’ rationale. Attempting to keep Wemmick’s home life separate from his work represents how society’s standards shape his