Charlie
Charlie is the main character in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. He is a very quiet boy. He keeps things to himself, and is always thinking. He watches people and studies them, but he's not judgmental. Charlie doesn't make friends easily, which is very hard for him. Charlie has anger management problems. He keeps everything inside of him, and it will eventually boil over, and he gets angry. The best word to describe Charlie is emotionally unstable. Towards the end of the book, Chbosky explains why Charlie is awkward and has anger problems. His Aunt Helen died when Charlie was 7 years old. Aunt Helen was Charlies favorite person in the world. On the day of his birthday Aunt Helen went out to buy him a second present, she got in a car crash and died. Charlie took all the guilt and put it on himself. But what concludes why Charlie is the way he is, is due to Aunt Helen molesting him when he was little. No one knew about this, and Charlie gets washed away after finding this out. It takes a long time and effort to rebuild his emotions, and himself.
Sam
Sam is the senior that Charlie is in love with. She is very kind, and not judgmental towards Charlie. Sam has a boyfriend who is in college, Craig. He ends up cheating on Sam since the beginning. When she finds this out she is broken. Charlie's sister said that Sam has low-self esteem. This is probably why Sam dates guys that aren't good for her, just to boost her self esteem. She used to be promiscuous with older men. She grew up doing the wrong things, after her father's friend molested her. This could have led to the way her self esteem is. Sam is probably the character that cares for Charlie the most. When Charlie has his breakdown, Sam comes back and visits him frequently. Sam and Charlie both had similar childhoods. Sam had her first kiss with her fathers friend, and Charlie had his with Aunt Helen. They both don't realize it when Sam wants Charlie's first kiss to be from someone that loves him.
Patrick
When Charlie first met Patrick, he knew him as Nothing. Nothing was Patrick's nickname. Patrick is usually always happy, unless something happens between his secret boyfriend and him. Yes, Patrick is gay. He has been seeing the quarterback of the football team, Brad. They have to sneak around so Brad's dad doesn't find out. What hurt Patrick the most was that Brad had to get drunk or stoned, to make love to Patrick. Later on Brad doesn't need to do this, and accepts himself. Until Brad's dad catches them. He beats Brad, and he and Patrick don't see each other anymore. This really messed up Patrick. After the breakup, Patrick went downhill from that point. Patrick uses drugs, drinking, and different guys, to numb himself from all the pain he's feeling. Patrick thinks he will be better once he goes off to college, but after a while of trying to numb himself, he gives up. In the end of the book, Charlie realizes that he was always there for Patrick, but Patrick never returned the favor.