Laughing Through Pain: Meme Humor and Emotional Coping in The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Abstract

This paper explores the connection among humor, trauma, and emotional coping among younger generations in the context of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The study explains that humor is not just for amusement; it is a psychological coping mechanism that provides humans with a means to socially interact with emotional discomfort. Meme humour, irony, sarcasm and self-deprecation are all common tools of the trade for Generation Z in contemporary digital culture when it comes to topics of anxiety, depression, loneliness and trauma. In the way that Gen Z communicates online, there are emotional strategies that can be seen in literary narratives on the themes of adolescent alienation and psychological struggle. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Charlie's narration, social interactions, emotional control and humorous observations in this novel serve as a means of coping, emotional management and identity formation. The article also delves into the relationship between emotional coping as it is represented in the literature and today's meme culture, claiming that humour is now a shared language for vulnerability in digital society.