Shirley Jackson - Charles (Overview)

Shirley Jackson is a genius. She had many problems to bargain with throughout her life together with it is perchance these real same problems that made her the author of great stories, memorable stories.

Snubbed past times her woman parent who wanted a slender, socialite, comme il faut daughter, she struggled amongst her ain demons equally good equally those her community nourished inwards her. Instead of your average American of the day, Jackson married Stanley Edgar Hyman inwards 1940, an American Jew whom the FBI had been investigating inwards the belatedly 1940s -1950s, suspecting him of beingness a Communist. In an era of antisemitism together with fearfulness of the Reds (cf. House Un-American Activities Committee together with McCarthyism), Jackson managed to force all the incorrect buttons inwards her New England community. She smoked together with drank heavily, was interested inwards witchcraft and voodoo, together with according to accounts, yelled at her children's teachers. Such an unconventional adult woman was unwelcome inwards a modest provincial town amongst everything that this mightiness entail. One hateful solar daytime on her means home, schoolchildren threw rocks at her, which some believe to live the inspiration for her sublime curt story "The Lottery".

Prescriptions of amphetamines for weight loss, barbiturates for her
agoraphobia inwards afterward life, her smoking together with drinking in improver to a torturous wedlock inwards which her husband's affairs amongst college students left her lonely together with unloved, looking after iv children, took their terms on a adult woman who had travel a recluse. She died at historic menstruum 48 of heart failure.

"Charles" is a real curt small story, notwithstanding it manages to state all that needs to live said inwards the infinite of approximately 1600 words. The following notes should assist students and teachers get a full general painting present of Shirley Jackson's narrative.

Read the story here.

Click the painting present for explanations of literary terms

Shirley Jackson – Charles

Biography

1916 – 1965, American author
known mainly for her horror stories
wrote half dozen novels, two memoirs, to a greater extent than than 200 curt stories
her most famous works: the 1954 novel The Haunting of Hill House, her much anthologized curt story “The Lottery” (first published 1948)
the Shirley Jackson Awards (established 2007) are presented each twelvemonth at the annual scientific discipline fiction convention Readercon together with are awarded to industrial plant of horror, psychological suspense together with nighttime fantasy

Characters

Laurie

kindergartner
intelligent, cunning, versatile
thrives on attending (parents’ together with classmates’)
adjusts to penalty past times making others misbehave
reverts to onetime bad demeanour to regain attention

Laurie’ mother

cannot reckon reality
doesn’t know her kid at all
busybody, dying for gossip: is “passionately” curious to run across Charles’s woman parent
limited noesis of people: can’t believe Charles’s alter of demeanour after he starts beingness teacher’s helper
sees picayune details (what sort of cake Laurie’s instructor had during 2^nd PTA meeting) but never of import things
believes she knows what Charles’s woman parent ought to await similar (haggard) or should guide keep done at the PTA coming together (stood upward to apologize)

Laurie’s father

acceptant of the situation
allows boy to speak back/make fun of him without whatever repercussions
condones Charles’s behavior

never discusses amongst Laurie why Charles’s demeanour is wrong

jokingly blames an accident which pulled phone, ashtray + vase off the tabular array on Charles

2^nd PTA meeting: tells married adult woman to honour out near what happened to Charles that made him alter his behavior
encourages repetition of bad demeanour (asks Laurie to tell him the bad word Charles made the missy state inwards class)
is curious near coming together Charles’s woman parent (wants his married adult woman to invite her over for tea)

Laurie’s babe sister

Laurie’s kindergarten teacher

form of penalty used = vehement (spanks)
tries dissimilar approach (makes Charles helper)
reverts to onetime punishment: washes girl’ sec + Charles’s oral cavity out amongst soap
tactfully tells Laurie’s woman parent near son’s behavior, non directly

Plot

mother sees her boy alter the hateful solar daytime he starts kindergarten (refuses to wearable overalls together with bibs; wears jeans amongst a belt + is a “swaggering character” who doesn’t moving ridge goodbye to her)
Laurie’s bad demeanour at home

slams door
shouts
talks insolently to his begetter at tabular array + openly makes fun of him
spills baby’s milk
speaks amongst his oral cavity full
leaves the tabular array without beingness asked to live excused
lies to parents

Charles’s schooldays

day 1 of school: is spanked together with sent to stand upward inwards the corner for beingness fresh
day 2: hits the instructor because she told him to color amongst ruddy crayons + he wanted green;, instructor spanks him + tells flat non to play amongst him but everyone does
day 3: hitting girl’s caput on a see-saw; instructor makes him remain within during recess
day 4: pounds feet on flooring during story-time; made to stand upward inwards the corner
day 5: throws chalk; is deprived of blackboard privileges
2nd week: yelled together with therefore was made to remain after schoolhouse
2^nd week: kicks gym instructor together with therefore non allowed to do gym exercises
2^nd week: yells during story-hour, hits man child inwards the stomach, stays inwards detention
becomes practiced piece he is teacher’s helper
reverts to bad demeanour earlier 2^nd PTA meeting: indirect malice → tells some other missy to state a bad word together with therefore missy is punished
one calendar week later, Charles says the bad word himself several times

parents speak over if kindergarten is equally good unsettling for Laurie because of Charles’s bad influence
mother misses starting fourth dimension parent-teacher conference because the babe is sick; sad she missed seeing Charles’s mother
by calendar week 3, all bad demeanour inwards the solid referred to equally a ‘Charles’
Charles’ sec reformation: has travel teacher’s helper
mother is incredulous at this news; begetter believes Charles is upward to something
next PTA coming together + lastly regain that at that spot is no Charles inwards the kindergarten

Themes

bullying
insolence inwards children: nature or nurture?
parenting
disciplinary methods together with their final result on character-building
society’s obsession amongst other people’s problems
faultfinding
conventional, provincial mindset
role of teachers equally educators

Point of View

first-person narrator (from the mother’s standpoint)
highly ironic ending due to selection of narrator

Questions for discussion

1) What makes Laurie/ Charles comport the means he does?

2) Why are Laurie’s parents unable to reckon who Charles actually is?

3) Is the instructor partly responsible for Charles’s behavior?

4) During the 2^nd PTA meeting, the instructor says that Laurie has occasional lapses of bad behavior. Do yous call back that inwards fourth dimension these volition travel along or volition his novel seat equally helper hateful these lapses volition eventually travel down?

5) Does Laurie’s woman parent empathise what has happened at the halt of the story? If so, volition she convey activity to rectify his demeanour or volition she remain incredulous?

6) What volition the father’s reaction live ane time his married adult woman tells him the tidings near Charles?

7) Will Laurie alter equally he matures?

8) Would the story vary greatly if it were told past times a dissimilar narrator?