The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Archetypes Essay

On average, one person commits suicide every 16.2 minutes. Nearly 30,000 Americans commit suicide every year. Shock, social isolation and feelings of guilt can be greater when it’s caused by suicide than when it 's caused by other types of death. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Charlie endures the fear of getting close to people after the suicide of his friend, Michael. We’ll explore Charlie’s archetypes, his fears, the defense mechanisms used, and Charlie’s dreams. Charlie Kelmeckis allows his archetypes to move him from the person he was, to the person he desires to be. Through the duration of the movie, and Charlie’s freshman year he varies from many archetypes. Charlie’s main archetype is the everyman, his desire being to belong. A couple of
Charlie reflects on Michael, his memory, “To dream that your memory is getting or has been erased means that you must let go of the past in order to move forward with your life. You are stuck in an unhealthy cycle” Charlie not being able to allow himself to move on and invite new people in his life leaves him in this cycle of loneliness he can no longer endure. He often states how he is longing for something that is infinite “Infinity in your dream represents time and longevity.” Meaning he desires something that will last for a long time. Towards the end of the movie, we see Charlie contemplating suicide. “The dream suggests that you are saying good-bye to one aspect of yourself and hello to a whole new you. It is symbolic of a personal transformation or a new stage in your life.” Charlie is saying good-bye to the part of himself that has been so fearful. He states, “I don 't know if I will have the time to write any more letters because I might be too busy trying to participate.” Once Charlie moves on from Michael’s death, it allows him to truly live