Paranoia

Many of Charlie's thoughts and actions spur from a pervasive sense of paranoia. Charlie always feels as though someone is watching him, and, if fact, he sees a psychiatrist to help him get these impressions under control. In the early stages of the novel, almost every thought Charlie expresses is colored with the impression that someone is watching him. This turns out to be true, and the biggest irony is that even the therapist supposedly helping Charlie is guilty of helping the mafia, who need to make certain Charlie never comes in contact with the tape. Halfway through the novel, the theme of paranoia has been expanded upon to the point that not only was Charlie right to feel watched, he was not paranoid enough. Virtually everyone close to him, except for Jessica, was guilty of watching him to ensure that he never came across the...