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Sexual Abuse In Perks Of Being A Wallflower

737 Words3 Pages

Not everyone has been abused in their life, but the impact of abuse on victims can last a lifetime. Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines abuse as a corrupt practice or custom. One in every one hundred children were abused or neglected in 2012, according to Dr. Vincent Iannelli from verywell.com. Most of the main characters in the novel have been abused in some way. This includes sexual, physical, and mental abuse. One theme in the novel, Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, is abuse. The theme describes the cycle of sexual abuse between Charlie and his aunt, Helen, and narrates Charlie's emotional effects from it. Some characters in the story have revealed they had been abused in the past, and others were abused on the spot. For …show more content…

Then, it gets worse and worse every time there is an interaction between the two. Charlie said Aunt Helen was his favorite relative. One reason why was because she would be the only one that sent him two gifts for his birthday and for Christmas. This relationship he had with Aunt Helen continued on for the most part. It got to the point where Aunt Helen sexually abuses Charlie. Aunt Helen groomed Charlie throughout the relationship and continues like a cycle. First, Aunt Helen may talk about certain topics wth Charlie. Second, Charlie is molested by his aunt. Third, his aunt is the only relative of his that gives him two gifts for Christmas. Fourth, Charlie acts like the abuse never even happened because of the compassion from Aunt Helen. And the process restarts from that. Charlie couldn't find a way out of the relationship because he kept receiving gifts, acted like nothing happened, and showed compassion toward Aunt …show more content…

She molested him when they were watching television and that "dream" remained in his mind for a while. He acted like Aunt Helen never even touched because she was his favorite relative. After the death of his aunt, he still felt abused and thought he could have saved her life. The bottom line is Charlie never wanted to believe that Aunt Helen was an abusive relative and the gifts were only meant to keep his secret quiet between them. Most victims of abuse have to live with their psychological horrors from abuse their entire life. Some get better by facing the issue and talking about it with a therapist. Others try to hide and won't come out about it for

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