The things you can’t see are almost as scary as the things you try to ignore and push down. To others like Charlie, the main character in the novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, the information is laminated, reflected on, but never acted on. 

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” introduces Charlie as a young teenage boy in 1991 who needed someone to confide in. Believing they were a good person, Charlie chooses to confide in an anonymous pen pal named “friend”, Charlie tells them about his life navigating through high school, his home life and his mental health. Throughout his letters to “friend”, the audience learns what type of friend Charlie is. 

Being a part of someone’s community means many things, from baking cookies together to copying each other’s homework. Charlie does none of these things, instead he shows his love for his friends and family through acts of service and gifts that show how much he cares and knows them. Showing not only his love for those who have become an essential part of his community but also his own introspective and observant character. 

This down-to-earth novel does feature underage drug and alcohol usage. Drugs and alcohol are seen in small parties between friend groups, and stereotypical parties often seen in movies. The underage individuals of these parties can often be seen using drugs and alcohol, which Charlie himself uses.

Charlie began the use of drugs like LSD, Lysergic acid diethylamide, at a small New Year’s Eve party he was invited to. Charlie also uses marijuana, as well as alcohol, earlier in the book because he wanted to escape his own life and thoughts that stemmed from unresolved trauma that caused depression. 

Abuse is a theme in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” as it is seen throughout the book with multiple individuals, including Charlie, whose trauma is later better understood.

“I need to know someone out there listens and understands and doesn’t try to sleep with people even if they could have,” Charlie said.

This is needed to understand Charlie as the author later reveals that Charlie was sexually abused as a child by his aunt Helen, resulting in psychological issues that ultimately led Charlie to experience a severe mental breakdown, leading to his hospitalization. 

Charlie is a quiet individual who, for the most part, keeps to himself and is content to simply observe those around him. Although this gradually changes as he forges friendships with those he finds common ground with, while also strengthening his preexisting bonds.

The community that Charlie builds for himself teaches him many things, including the well-hidden LGBTQ+ community, which his friend Patrick is a part of. The community was hidden as the year was 1991 and homophobia was much more prevalent than it is today because, while it was a pivotal moment in time for LGBTQ+ rights, many still “faced violence within their communities,” That society is still overcoming today just as people like Charlie are fighting their mental health issues, drug abuse, and life as someone who is still trying to figure out where they belong in the world.