Are We All Introverted?

During our discussion of summer reading books, a book called The Perks of Being a Wallflower came up. This narrative was brought up in relation to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Having read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime during summer, I was able to see how these two books are incredibly integrated within each other.
In both of these novels, the main character is somewhat of a recluse or “wallflower”. They are very introverted and self-sufficient protagonists. The reader is introduced to more of their inner thoughts than their relationship and interactions with other characters. With this method, a deeper understanding of the idiosyncrasies that plague these two characters allows the reader to latch on to their innocence and naivety. Having most recently read The Perks of Being a Wallflower, certain excerpts from this book are still fresh in my mind.
The main character of the narrative, Charlie, forms a deep relationship with his freshman English teacher. The English teacher understands Charlie and gives him advice on a consistent basis. At one point in the book, after the teacher realized that Charlie is an “over analyzer”, he gives him a suggestion to clear his over-crowded mind. The teacher tells Charlie that thinking and analyzing is an excuse to avoid human interaction. This instantly stunned me. I am a deep thinker and I often find myself thinking and analyzing instead of interacting. I do not believe that I make a conscious decision to think in order to avoid conversation, but that is often the outcome. I, also, do not consider myself a wallflower, but I see myself mirrored in many of Charlie’s actions. His teacher tells Charlie what he cannot always observe life from the sidelines and that Charlie must “view life from the dance floor” from time to time. Charlie finds that he is more of an extrovert than he could have ever imagined, but his inner thoughts are in a constant flow. He thinks before he acts, because when he does not, he often makes irreversible mistakes. I find that, for me, this is the case on numerous occasions. I am so used to over-analyzing situations, that when I do not, I feel out of control, just as Charlie did, and act on an impulse. I think that this is a self-imposed destruction because I later convince myself that if I had thought about my words before I acted on them, I could have avoided the uncomfortable situation entirely.
As I noted, I do not view myself as a wallflower. I see myself as an even mixture between an extrovert and an introvert. The Perks of Being a Wallflower points out that if a character is extremely well developed and his inner thoughts are made known to the reader, then anyone can find a tad of himself or herself in that character. (482)