Life is about overcoming obstacles and fears to become truly happy, a message that The Perks of Being a Wallflower teaches its readers as Charlie matures through the process of coming of age. . The story follows Charlie as he encounters drugs, sexuality, and friendship while struggling through his freshman year of high school. This involves meeting new people and going through conflicts he's never had to face before, like drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay In Stephen Chbosky's realistic coming-of-age novel, the protagonist, Charlie, moves from naivety to self-awareness and chastity in sexuality. At the beginning of the book, Charlie is both innocent and naive. An example of her innocence can be seen when Sam invites Charlie into her room to show him the typewriter she bought him for Christmas. Sam asks Charlie if he's ever kissed a girl: "[he] shook [his] no." It was so quiet. This proves how uncomfortable sexuality is for Charlie (70). His discomfort is also evident when he describes his uncomfortable perspective on school dances: "At school dances, [he] sits in the background...wondering how many couples will dance to their song... » Once again, this shows that he attends the balls alone (24). Charlie is also very naive at the beginning of the book. For example, when Candace is hit by her boyfriend, Charlie remains silent, despite the violent attack, because he wrongly believes that his friendship with his sister is more important than his well-being, because: "...he ended up strike violently. face... It wasn't at all like him to hit anyone. He was the boy who made mix tapes with hand-colored themes and covers until he hit my sister and stopped crying..." This is an example of naivety because Charlie doesn't realize how much how serious Candace's boyfriend's actions are and how nice someone can seem. the outside but are capable of much more (11). In a similar case, when Charlie attends his first party with Sam and Patrick "[he] ate the brownie, and it tasted a little weird, but it was still a brownie... But it wasn't a regular brownie. » He eats the brownies without knowing, or even considering, that they can be filled with pot (35). Charlie also faces conflict throughout the novel due to his new relationship with Mary Elizabeth and how his actions are influenced more by what he thinks others would like him to do, rather than what that he would like to do. Part of his conflict with Mary Elizabeth is demonstrated by the one-sidedness of his relationship. Namely, Charlie has difficulty participating meaningfully in any conversation with Mary Elizabeth. This gap is visible as the two attempt to have a phone conversation and "the only thing [he] could say was 'yes' or 'no'. Honestly, there was no room to say anything else… [he] hung up the phone, went to the bathroom, and when [he] came back, she was still talking. »(129). Additionally, Charlie and Mary Elizabeth have no mutual physical attraction. Mary Elizabeth is head over heels in love with Charlie, while Charlie would prefer to just be friends. This is problematic because Charlie is too shy to break up with the more dominant Mary Elizabeth, and it creates tension in their circle of friends, as Patrick and Sam think it would be unfair for Charlie to continue stringing Mary Elizabeth along. Charlie's inability to do thingsby itself contributes even more to his internal conflict. He does things to appease others, but never to make himself happy. An example of Charlie's inability to do things for himself is when he comforts the heartbroken Patrick. Patrick kisses him goodnight and continues to kiss Charlie even though Charlie derives no pleasure from the experience: "'Did you want him to kiss you?' »… “I was just trying to be a friend,” [he] said. » » Even though Charlie is not gay, he allowed Patrick to kiss him, as he did not want to upset Patrick further (201). Charlie again shows his desire for acceptance when he begins smoking and skipping classes only to make Sam and Patrick happy by spending more time with them, even though he knows that skipping school and smoking are behaviors unacceptable. Charlie has two revelations regarding his conflicts. A revelation occurs regarding his relationship with Mary Elizabeth during a game of truth or dare where Charlie is challenged by Patrick to kiss the prettiest girl in the room: "[he] knew that if [he] ] kissed Mary Elizabeth, [he] would be lying. to everyone. Including Sam. Including Patrick. Including Mary Elizabeth. And [he] couldn’t take it anymore…” Charlie discovers that faking his feelings for Mary Elizabeth helps no one, including himself (135). After this realization, he experiences catharsis by kissing Sam instead of Mary Elizabeth, thus recognizing his true feelings for Sam. Charlie's second revelation is based on his inability to do things for himself and occurs when Sam gives him a lesson about being more self-sufficient: "[he] thought [he] should just do what [he] wanted to do... What if [Sam] didn't like that, then she could just say it. This shows Charlie's progression toward self-sufficiency, as he does not care so much about how Sam would feel, but rather how he feels (202). The catharsis that follows is Charlie kissing Sam again, but this time it's more passionate. By the end of the novel, Charlie is more aware and experienced. An example of his new awareness comes when he reflects on his ability to control his destiny. He believes that: “…even though we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can always choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel good about them. This illustrates that life is not rainbows and daisies and that Charlie may not like the outcome of his actions/life. (211). Additionally, by the end of the book, he realizes how his experiences with Sam and Patrick have impacted his life and how he will be forever changed after meeting and interacting with them. They taught him many things, like how to be a good friend and think for himself. Additionally, Charlie has become much more experienced regarding his sexuality. This is seen when he lets his true feelings for Sam emerge. His sexual experiences culminated in a failed relationship with Mary Elizabeth, his first crush, his first kiss, and his attraction to Sam. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a personalized essay. awareness and confidence in his ability to control his future, including the relationships he engages in, demonstrate the maturity of his character throughout the novel. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky resonates with its readers and leaves them with an important message: embrace differences, because life is about overcoming fears and challenges to become as happy as possible. Works Cited Chbosky, S. (1999). The perks of Being a Wallflower. MTV Books. Corsaro, WA.