Charlie In The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

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Loneliness can affect adolescents in many different ways, but often leads to unhappiness and depression. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, both embody the struggles teens face with loneliness and growing up. Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, struggles with making friends because of his insecure personality. When Charlie's only friend from middle school, Michael, commits suicide, he is left without any friends. Charlie’s loneliness fluctuates from times where he is truly happy, to times where he is in physically ill from his loneliness. Much like Charlie, Holden in The Catcher in the Rye, has a unique personality that makes it hard for him to make friends. However, Holden …show more content…
Therefore, it is vital that they have someone to trust or relate to. However, Charlie and Holden do not have anyone that genuinely cares about them. They both struggle to find relationships that are both mutual, and meaningful, which causes them to become depressed. For example, Charlie’s English teacher Bill, “[wants Charlie] to know that [he is] very special...and the only reason [he is] telling [him] is that [he does not] know if anyone else ever [does],”(Chbosky 181) which is unfortunately true. For example, Charlie does not have a strong relationship with his family, and they show him little care and attention. For Christmas, he does not know what to get his own father, revealing what a miniscule relationship they have. While Charlie does have Sam and Patrick, whenever they are not around, like on Thanksgiving, he finds himself returning to a solitary state, and it causes him to become depressed. Since Charlie does not have a meaningful relationship with someone else, he feels the need to express his feelings in his journals. Moreover, Holden’s inability to attain a meaningful relationship also depresses him. For example, when Holden is in need of a person to talk to and trust, he goes to Mr. Antolini and spends the night at his house. However, Holden wakes up to Mr. Antolini rubbing his head and while leaving, “[he is] sweating. When something perverty like that happens, [he] …show more content…
Without caring friends and families, adolescents can become overwhelmed with stress, and end up making poor life choices. This is no exception to Charlie and Holden. They both experiment with drugs and alcohol, which are crippling to their health, and happiness. In Charlie’s case, after trying LSD, “[he does not] stop shivering until a long time after [his] mom and dad [drives him] home from the emergency room.”(Chbosky 96) According to Sam and Patrick, while on LSD, Charlie experiences a “bad trip”, which leads him to pass out and end up in the hospital. Besides the physical effects it had on him, like him cutting his hair off, it takes him a while to fully recover from his literal “trance”. In addition to LSD, Charlie also starts drinking, and smoking cigarettes and marijuana. Evidently, there is a direct relationship between Charlie’s stress and his drug use. Whenever, Charlie is feeling bad, or is under a lot of stress and anxiety, his drug use increases. For example, when Charlie is at the abortion clinic with his sister, and gets upset and worried, he goes into the car outside. When his sister finds him, “[he is] chain-smoking cigarettes and crying still.”(Chbosky 119) Furthermore, Holden also uses drugs as a way to alleviate his pain and stress. After Maurice and Sunny steal an extra five dollars from Holden, and leave his room, “[he sits] in the chair
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