35 Some kids look at me strange in the hallways because I dont decorate my
locker, and Im the one who beat up Sean and couldnt stop crying after he did it. I guess Im pretty emotional p. 8.
The two statements above show that Charlie is both aggressive and easy to cry. It happens when Sean gets into a fight with Charlie. Charlie learns how to fight from
his brother and somehow manages to beat up Sean. Sean is hurt while Charlie wins. However, right after that Charlie starts crying. He cannot control his
emotion. He cannot get a hold of himself and her sister must drive him home in the middle of her class.
According to Murphy 1972, Charlie’s unstable emotion can be seen
through his reaction and direct statement. Charlie has difficulties in controlling his emotion. He says that he is emotional. He also does not understand why he beats
up Sean and cannot stop crying after that.
B. The Meaning of Wallflower
In this part, the meaning of wallflower as seen in Charlie is analyzed. The meaning of wallflower is divided into two parts. F irst is the literal meaning. The
literal meaning of wallflower can be found explicitly in the novel. Second is the true meaning. The true meaning of wallflower can be found after reading the
novel for several times and understanding Charlie’s characteristics.
1. Literal Meaning
The literal meaning of wallflower in the novel is the meaning that can be found explicitly in the novel. The meaning of wallflower can be understood by
36 reading the novel since it is written in the novel. The researcher uses
psychological approach by Freud 2009 to analyze the word wallflower according to
Charlie’s characteristics. It is found that Charlie is an intelligent boy. He is gifted with the ability of reading and writing and able to take English
Advanced Class which is supposed to be for seniors. Charlie is also an extrovert boy because he enjoys being in the centre of attention and spending time with the
people he loves. Charlie gets his energy when spending time with the people he loves. However, he also always worries how to fit in with the other people. He is a
thoughtful boy who always tries to figure out how everything works and avoid participating. From these characteristics, the literal meaning of wallflower as seen
in Charlie’s characteristics is analyzed. Freud 2009 states that personality has three structures which are the id,
the ego and the superego. The interactions among those three component parts of the mind resulted in human behaviour. The id is the basic instinct that a human
needs to fulfil. The human only knows how to fulfil it without considering the reality. While the ego helps a person to satisfy his needs through the reality. The
ego is partly conscious and partly unconscious. The ego operates according to the reality principle; it attempts to help the id to get what it desires by judging the
difference between real and imaginary. In Charlie’s case, Charlie’s id has desire to
figure out himself. He wants to know where he stands and what to do in life. However, he cannot fulfil it because his condition does not support him. His super
ego tells Charlie that something is wrong with him and there are things he should be afraid of. The instability of emotion he has makes him believe that he is a freak.
