Share your literary essay with the rest of the students that chose this short story. Take some time to read 2 or 3 other essays. Comment on them. Your comment should be about something you noticed them doing well from our lessons. For example, "You did a really good job explaining your evidence"
In the short story, “Charles” by shirley jackson. There's a small child named lori who is quite the troublemaker in kindergarten but instead of telling is parents of all the terrible things he does at school he makes up an excuse by saying all the bad things he done at school was actually a boy named charles. The author lesson of the story is to communicate more
ReplyDeleteThe character actions in ¨charles¨ is that lori´s parents judge ¨charles¨”for his terrible behaviour and being a bad influence. however after ptc they learned that there was no charles and that lori was the kid causing all the trouble. And before they knew they kept on responding ¨what did charles do now¨ while not knowing their child's ¨evil¨ side was charles making a ruckus at school
The main events in charles shows how charles actions cause people to judge him first of all charles gets spanked for being ¨fresh¨ and gets spanked again for hitting the teacher because he wanted to use different crayons. Instead of the crayons that the teacher gave him witch was quite the overreaction for ¨hitting the teacher¨
Although it could be argued that thee theme is *to communicate more* the text actually says *to not judge people*so the theme of the short story is most definitely *to communicate*because you dont know whats going on unless you communicate.
Finally the figurative language in charles show how the parents are judging charles for naughty behavior like ¨ what did charles do¨ or why did charles hit the teacher? Because they didn't know it was lori causing the trouble for a while so they were judging someone that doesn't exist for lori´s terrible behavior.
The theme is that not judging someone when you dont know them. The first way Shirley Jackson tells the theme in the story is by having Luire coming home and talking about charilles. And his parents are judging charlie's parents Luire talks more about charles and his parents want to meet charlie's parents another way Shirley Jackson show the them is by having the parents say (do you think kindergarten is too unsettling for laurie all this toughness and bad grammar and this charles boy sounds like such a bad influence) another way Shirley Jackson tells the theme is on page 77 they put in the story (i sat restlessly scanning each comfortable matronly face trying to determine which one hid the secret of charles.) then the mom goes and talk to the teacher and the teacher says (“We don’t have any Charles in the kindergarten.”) this could be interpreted as creating a theme of lying however it clearly created a theme of judging because the mother is judging the parents of the parents a different time when Luire came home he tells them that the teacher spanked a boy and his dad ask what did he do and luire does not tell him but then his mom ask the same thing what did he do and luire still does not tell. and that is why the theme
ReplyDeleteHave you ever wanted to read a story with parents judging a child that does not exist. If so than charles is the story for that this story talks about a kid that tells his parents about this kid named charles and how bad he's being.
ReplyDeleteShirley Jackson is saying that judgment turns you away from the truth.
The first place that shows this is in the middle of the story when lories mother says that she wants to see charles mother and ask her what happened with charles. This show judgment because they are judging charles.
Before she went to the parent teacher conference the dad said that he wants to have a good look at charles mothers face. Although it could be argued that the theme is honesty the text actually says judgment. So the theme of this short story is most definitely judgment because it shows judgment by the parents wanting to look at charles mothers face
In fact when she went to the parent teacher conference she asked lories teacher, whats up with charles and then the teacher said that they don't have a charles in there class. This shows that charles is there son lorie and that means that they were judging charles so much that it keeps them away from the truth that charles is lorie.
This is why Shirley Jackson was saying that judgment keeps you away from the truth.
The theme of ‘Charles’ is don't judge people until you get to know them. “Charles” is a short story by Shirley Jackson about a kid named Laurie who went to school every day. He would come home and tell his parents about a boy named Charles who would do all of these naughty things. Laurie’s mom judges Charles and Charles’ parents every single day. At the end, they reveal that Laurie was actually Charles. Laurie’s parents didn’t know that they were Charles’ parents and that they were judging themselves. The author uses this story to teach us about judgement; you shouldn’t judge people before you get to know them.
ReplyDeleteSome events in the story include Laurie’s parents judging “Charles” every day. Laurie would come home from kindergarten every single day with another story of what “Charles” did. The family talks about Charles so often that he becomes a big joke in their family.
In the end of the story, Laurie’s mom goes to a parent-teacher conference and when the teacher says there is no Charles in the class. Suddenly Laurie’s parents go silent. The readers can infer that they are embarrassed that their child was acting like this and they didn’t even notice.
Some dialogue that relates to the theme of don't judge others until you get to know them, is when Laurie’s mom says to her husband, “Do you think kindergarten is too unsettling for Laurie? All this toughness, and bad grammar, and this Charles boy sounds like such a bad influence.” Laurie’s mom saying this is very rude towards “Charles” and “his parents.” She doesn’t know that she is judging herself.
This one is not dialogue but Laurie’s mom thought to herself: “I wanted passionately to meet Charles’s mother.” This could be interpreted as creating a theme of bad parenting; however, it clearly created a theme of judgement because this thought seems rude and judgmental.
“Laurie usually adjusts very quickly,’ Laurie’s mom tells the teacher. “I suppose this time it’s Charles’s influence.” It comes off as judgement because she automatically assumed it was Charles’ fault that her kid was out of line.
There is figurative language in Charles. There was a lot of repetition when Laurie would come home EVERY DAY with a new story about “Charles.” Almost every time Laurie is talking about Charles, the mother says “What did he do?” This isn’t explicitly judging, but when she wants to know what this 5-year-old did every day, it seems like a microaggression.
The theme of “Charles“ is don't judge others until you meet them. This is first seen when the author used plot events. Every time Laurie came home with a story about Charles, his mom judged Charles. Next, the theme was created when the author used dialogue. Laurie’s mom would talk about Charles’ parents negatively to her husband. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when there was a lot of repetition in the story. Every single day Laurie’s mom would judge Charles until it became a joke with the family. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Charles” is don’t judge people until you get to know them.
i like how you used text evidence
DeleteI like the way you placed everything and how it looks the counter argument is the best at your work this is so cool.
DeletePart 1
ReplyDelete“Charles” is a short story by Shirley Jackson that takes place in the 1950s in England. The short story is in the perspective of a boy named Laurie's mother, Laurie comes home from school every day talking about a boy named Charles and all the bad things he does in school. Eventually around the end of the story Laurie’s mother finds out that Charles doesn’t actually exist;
The character actions in “Charles” show how the parents judge Charles and his parents before they ever meet them. When Laurie first comes home and talks about Charles and what he was doing at school. An example of Laurie’s bad behavior is on the second day when Laurie calls his dad dumb and they just ignore it.
After around 3 weeks into kindergarten and Laurie coming home and talking about all the bad stuff Charles has done, the family refers to things that aren’t very good like the baby crying all day is a Charles, or when Laurie did a Charles when he filled his wagon full of mud and pulled it through the kitchen.
At the end of the story Laurie’s mother goes to a parent teacher conference because she wanted to find out who Charles’s mother is, but when she gets there and she is looking around for Charles’s mother she doesn’t find anyone who looks like what she imagined. After the conference she goes and talks to Charles's teacher, while she's talking to the teacher, she brings up Charles. Laurie’s mom then finds out there is no Charles.
This dialogue helps show judgement: “How was school today?” I asked, elaborately casual. “All right,” he said. “Did you learn anything?” his father asked. Laurie regarded his father coldly. “I didn’t learn nothing,” he said “Anything,” I said. Didn’t learn anything” “The teacher spanked a boy, though,” Laurie said, address his bread and butter. “For being fresh,” he added, with his mouth full.“What did he do” I asked. “Who was it?” Laurie thought. “It was Charles,” He said. “He was fresh. The teacher spanked him and made him stand in a corner. He was awfully fresh,” “What did he do?” I asked again, but Laurie slid off his chair, took a cookie, and left, while his father was still saying “see here, young man.” It shows judgment by showing that Laurie’s mother is ignoring Lauries bad behavior and is just focused on Charles and his bad behavior/not judging her son and judging someone else's son.
“We had a little trouble adjusting, the first week or so,” she said primly, “but now he’s a fine little helper. With the occasional lapses, of course.” “Laurie usually adjusts very quickly,” I said. “I suppose this time it’s Charles’s influence.” “Charles?” “Yes,” I said, laughing, “you must have your hands full in that kindergarten, with Charles.” Charles?” she said. “We don’t have any Charles in the kindergarten.” Laurie’s mother was so focused on finding out who Charles and his mother were that she never asked Laurie what he did in school and if she did ask she probably would've figured out that Laurie is Charles.
In “Charles” one of the figurative languages in the story is repetition, they show repetition on the first page of the story. Laurie keeps repeating that Charles is “So fresh” and is not answering his mom. In around the middle of the story Laurie is talking about how Charles kicked a teacher and while Laurie was talking he said he was “Fresh”.
I like the word choice and dialogue from the story
DeleteYou did a good job choosing your dialogue.
Delete(part one) “Charles”, is a short story by Shirley Jackson that takes place in mid-century England. Laurie is going to kindergarten for the first time and everyday he comes back saying that a boy named Charles is misbehaving. This goes on for weeks and the parents are worried that Charles is a bad influence on Laurie. However, when Laurie’s mother is talking to his teacher during parent teacher conferences, Laurie’s mom learns that there is no Charles in the kindergarten. This teaches a lesson, lack of trust; you can’t always trust the information that someone spreads.
ReplyDeletePlot events in Charles, support the reason why you can’t always trust the information that somebody spreads. In the beginning of the story, Laurie exclaims how a kid was misbehaving and got spanked by the teacher. Once he was asked who did it, he was thinking of a name to give to cover himself up and came up with Charles. In the middle of the story, Laurie came home late for getting in trouble, but to cover himself up he lied by saying Charles did something bad again and it kept all the kids in the class from leaving school on time. At the end of the story, Laurie’s parents go to a parent teacher conference. Laurie’s mom is waiting for Charles’s mother but doesn’t find her. She then goes to Laurie’s teacher and has a chat with her. Once Laurie’s mom mentions Charles, the teacher informs her that there is no Charles in the kindergarten.
Dialogue is another piece of text evidence in the story that supports the theme. First of all, when Laurie tells his parents about the kid who got spanked, he got asked who it was. When Laurie was asked the question, Laurie was thinking of a name to give this made up kid. The author makes this clear by writing, “Who was it?” Laurie thought. “It was Charles,” he said.” Another place where the author uses dialogue to show the theme is at the end. At the end of the story, Laurie’s mother is having a discussion with Lauries teacher. Laurie’s teacher says that he had trouble adjusting for the first week. Following up, Laurie’s mother says it’s caused by Charles’s influence. But at the end, she learns that there is no Charles in the classroom. The author expresses this by putting dialogue such as, “you must have your hands full in that kindergarten, with Charles.” “Charles?” she said. “We don’t have any Charles in the kindergarten.” This shows that dialogue supports the theme.
Nice Grammar and Figurative Language
DeleteNice Grammar and Figurative Language
DeleteNice dialogue here
DeletePart 2
ReplyDeleteAnother part of figurative language in “Charles” is imagery, they use imagery all throughout the story, they show Laurie’s bad behavior through imagery, also him ignoring his dad or making fun of his dad.. Laurie’s parents ignore all of Laurie’s bad behavior and that could be why he is misbehaving in school.
This could be interpreted as creating a theme of make sure your children behave;however, it clearly created a theme of don’t be too judgemental because the plot events, dialogue, and figurative language all support that.
Clearly, the theme of “Charles“ is don’t be too judgemental to someone you’ve never met. This is first seen when the author used Plot events. Throughout the entire story it shows Laurie’s parents being judgemental to everyone else. Next, the theme was created when the author used Dialogue. The author shows it through dialogue by reinforcing the Figurative Language. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when the author used repetition and imagery. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Charles“ is don’t be too judgemental to someone you’ve never met.
I like that you used figurative language, you are soooooo cool can I have your autograph.
Delete(part two) A final piece of the text that supports that you can’t always trust the information someone spreads in the story, is figurative language. One aspect of figurative language in the story is repetition. Repetition makes its way throughout the story. When Charles is first introduced, Laurie keeps calling him “fresh”. Since the word fresh could indicate that somebody is rude, this matches the description of Laurie. Which follows through into the next reason for figurative language, imagery. When his mom is describing him at the beginning of the story, she exclaims that he has changed a lot, going from somebody sweet, to someone who has a punk type of style and someone who misbehaves. Which pairs up with the word, “fresh”.
ReplyDeleteOne more element of figurative language in the story is symbolism. Since Charles is seen to be fake at the end of the story, this can lead people to believe that the theme is to not be too judgemental; however, it is more supported to believe that the theme is to not always trust someone as Charles is something that symbolizes lack of trust and lies.
Clearly, the theme of “Charles” is that you can’t always trust the information someone spreads. This is first seen when the author used plot events. At the end of the story we learn that Charles isn’t a real person. Next, the theme was created when the author used dialogue. They used dialogue and showed that Laurie had to think of a fake name so he wouldn’t get in trouble. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when the imagery is shown when Laurie is being described, which matches with the repetition. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Charles“ is that you can’t always trust the information someone spreads.
ReplyDeletePart 1: ¨Charles¨ is a short story by Shirley Jackson, in the story it talks about a boy named Laurie. Laurie recently started kindergarten and met this boy Charles, and he does some of the most outrageous things to his teacher and classmates. Laurie comes home every day and tells his parents all the stories he has of Charles. Charles soon becomes a popular name in their household, and Laurie's parents start judging how they think Charles' parents are like. Laurie's mom goes to a meeting for the school, and finds out that there is no Charles, and that the person doing all those actions is actually their son. The author uses this to teach us lessons about judgment; when you judge people you lose track of what's really happening.
Laurie was trying to convince his parents that he was being good at school. This is shown by him coming home the same way and saying the same things every day about what Charles did. This made his parents believe him even more because he never stopped, so he had a story every day to back up the lie. For this reason, everyday was the exact same for him so he didn't have to try and make the lie built around it. Laurie was continuously hurting the teacher and other kids. He talked to his parents like he was a victim in the situation, so his parents believed him more.
Laurie's parents don't know how their kid really acts when the parents aren't around. The first way this is shown is by the interaction with Laurie's mom and the teacher. First off she responded with ¨good heavens,¨ after she found out that Laurie did all of those things. She really thought that her kid was an angel, and they seem like Laurie's family is more focused on Charles than their own kid. She had no clue that her kid would ever think of acting like that. Laurie's parents trusted what Laurie was telling them. Clearly they were being blind towards Lauries actions, and chose to believe what a little kid was telling them. We know this when dad says ¨Ask her what happened to Charles,¨ ¨ I'd like to know,¨ They really When the teacher said that they are all so interested in Laurie, that should have been their first idea that Laurie was being bad.
Part 2: Things he did to cover up what he doing to his classmates and teacher seem really like he liked how he was acting and didn't see anything wrong with it. In return, his parents took it the wrong way and started judging Charles. Laurie made up the character Charles to make it seem like it wasn't him, and could turn it around on somebody else. He made it sound believable when he brought in the other character, and he clearly got the trust of his parents making it that much easier. Another thing he did to make his parents think he was a sweet angel was him putting the blame onto others. First off when he brought in Charles, it gave him the option to put the blame onto something, and not himself. This is shown by how she started talking to kindergarten teacher about ¨Charles,¨ when in reality it was her own kid all along. When the teacher said that they don't have a Charles in their grade, and the story ended there I'm guessing the mom finally got the point.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it could be argued that the theme is honesty, the text actually says that the parents were judging ¨charles¨ and his family. So the theme of this short story is most definitely judgment, because they chose to judge first before even knowing the kid, or if he was real.
Clearly, the theme of the story ¨Charles¨ is judgement. This is first seen when the author used Laurie´s parents judging the boy Charles. Laurie always came home telling his parents about all the stuff Charles did that day, and his parents judged the boy for his actions and his parents for raising him. Next, the theme was created when the author used Laurie´s parents and made them be blind sided to their kids actions. Laurie's parents were really blind sided to Laurie´s actions because they were more worried about Charles than their own kid. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when Laurie repeatedly came home saying the same thing in the same way about Charles being bad again. As a result, it is evident that the theme of the story “ Charles¨ is Judgement.
Good counter argument.
DeleteCharles¨ is a short story by Shirley Jackson that takes place in 1950 England. About a kid name Laurie thats in kindergarten he come home with stories every day about this naughty kid in his class named charles. His parents look forward to the stories and start thinking about how bad his parents must be. When they go to parent teacher night they figure out that Laurie is actually Charles. The author uses this to teach us lesson about judging; to show that When your being judgemental you miss the truth from your own life.
ReplyDeleteThe Character actions in ¨Charles¨ show how Laurie was charles showing how that they missed the details. First, when Laurie was whispering words into his fathers ear and being a bad student. This is shown by him giggling when he said it in his father's ear. It shows that he thought it was funny to say and make people say bad words. Secondly he when his father asked him who it was he started thinking about what to say to his father .This shows that an obvious sign that laurie is charles from the way that he stopped to think. Because laurie stopped to think his parents missed the sign that he was. Finally, when he started using bad grammar and being rude to his parents. Your can see that in the authors description, ¨do you think kindergarten is too unsettling for Laurie? All this toughness, and bad grammar, and this Charles boy sounds like such a bad influence.¨Clearly the actions of the characters throughout the short story showed that Laurie and his parents show that When your being judgemental you miss the truth from your own life.
The Dialogue in Charles shows that when your being judgemental you miss the truth from your own life and the parents miss how Laurie is Charles. First, when They had their first conversion about charles he started avoiding the situation eventually walking away from the situation. Secondly, His father thinks that charles is only plotting. You can see that in the authors description, ¨Wait and see my husband said cynically. When you´ve got a Charles to deal with, this may mean he's only plotting.” the way his parents started to judge Charles about how bad he is they miss the signs. Lastly when laurie's parents went to the parent teacher
Part 1
ReplyDelete“Charles” is a short story by Shirley Jackson that takes place in the country of England and a little boy named Laurie who goes to kindergarten. Laurie comes every day to tell his parents about Charles, a bad kid at his school. His stories about Charles keep getting worse and worse to the point where his mom thinks that he isn’t ready for kindergarten. She finds out there was no Charles and that it was Laurie who was doing all of the bad things he said. The author uses this to teach us that if you're judgemental, you’ll become blind to what is going on in your life.
The plot events: dialogue: and figurative language in “Charles” show that if you’re super judgemental, you’ll lose sight of what’s going on in life. First of all at the beginning of the story when Laurie comes home from kindergarten and tells his parents about what Charles did, he doesn’t finish the story and just runs away. This is because his father seemed angry because he said, “See here, young man!” when he ran off. This could be interpreted as creating a theme of being judgemental; however, it clearly created a theme of honesty because Laurie runs off like his parents think he’s lying about the story about Charles. That’s also why he didn’t finish it. I feel like this is also where the theme starts because Laurie feels super judgmental about his parents and he doesn’t want to be judged at the moment. Also at the PTA meeting in the middle of the story, Laurie remarks in a sassy way when his mother starts asking questions about Charles and what he does. His mom asks a question and Laurie always answers “Naaah” and comes up with a lie to get out of it. That’s because he doesn’t want his mom to know that Charles is all a lie. Finally, Laurie tells his mom that Charles did a lot of good things in school that day like giving the teacher an apple and passing out crayons, and his mom is in complete disbelief and starts stuttering and says “Charles? You mean Charles?” He did that because he wants to throw his mom off the trail about Charles.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteThe dialogue in the story could also represent the theme. First off, Laurie’s tone in the story sounds sarcastic and he sounds very secretive throughout the story, especially in the scenes where mom asks questions on what Charles did in school. This is because he comes up with lies to make sure that his mom doesn’t catch on that he is the one doing this bad stuff. I think the author did this to Laurie because they want to show him as a bak kid without being all up in your face about it. Also in one scene, Laurie’s mom and dad discuss if they think that kindergarten is too much for Laurie. The mom is like “Do you think that kindergarten is too unsettling for Laurie?” However, his dad doesn’t seem to be worried. That’s because they haven’t actually met Charles yet. Laurie’s mom also has a very worrisome tone in the story like the scenes where her and the dad discuss about Laurie, and the scenes where the mom is interested in what Charles did in school. That’s because she never expected a bad kid like Charles would do good deeds for no reason.
There’s also plenty of figurative language throughout the story. For one, there is plenty of repetition. Laurie keeps telling his parents what Charles did in school that day, and this pretty much happens throughout the whole story. He does this because he doesn’t want his parents to judge him. There is also plenty of imagery as well. The way that Laurie describes in full detail about what Charles did each day really put an image into my mind. Like “Today Charles hit a teacher” , put an image in my head imagining that Charles kicked the teacher, and there are many other examples in the story. I feel like this creates the theme of being judgemental because these are tactics that you would use if you were trying to be deceptive and lie to someone. I just want to know why the author added the figurative language and tweaked them in a different way that it is usually done.
Clearly, the theme of “Charles” is about being judgemental. This is first seen when the author used the events in the story. What happened was that Charles had done so many bad things that it got to the point where Laurie’s mom would like to actually see him in person. Next, the theme was created when the author used dialogue. The way they use a lot of strong and emotional tones and punctuation in the story really gives off the feeling of being judgemental. Finally, the author used figurative language to create the theme. Readers saw this when Laurie kept talking about Charles and what he did which shows off both repetition and imagery. As a result, it is evident that the theme of “Charles" is about being judgemental.
Part 1
ReplyDelete“Charles” is a short story by Shirley Jackson that takes place in the 1950’s in England, during the first few weeks of school. In the story a kindergartener named Laurie comes home from school everyday with stories about a naughty kid in his class named Charles. The theme started to show on the first day when he came back from school. His family has lots of fun laughing at these stories everyday that they eventually start to wonder what his parents would be like, and this leads to them judging Charles' parents very harshly. Laurie’s mom is really excited for the PTA meeting to finally meet Charles' mom, but when talking to the teacher she learns that there isn’t anyone named Charles in the class. And that her own son was the naughty one all the stories were about. The author uses this to teach us lessons about being judgemental; when you are being judgemental you miss the truth from your own life.
The dialogue in “Charles” shows how the parents let their judgement blind them from the truth. One spot in the story that really shows judgement is when Laurie’s parents are having a conversation on whether kindergarten is too unsettling for Laurie. The mom says, “Do you think kindergarten is too unsettling for Laurie? All this toughness and bad grammar, and this Charles boy sounds like such a bad influence.” They wonder how bad of an influence Charles is because they don’t want to blame Laurie when really he is the bad influence for all of the other kids.
Another spot is later in the story when the mom says how Charles was starting to be an institution in their family. She claims how whenever something bad happens they instantly blame it on Charles when they haven’t even met this kid. This shows the parents are missing the reality because if they knew it was their son they wouldn’t bring him up everytime something goes wrong.
Then another spot that shows the judgement being passed is when Laurie’s dad doesn’t believe that Charles can be good. “Wait and see,’ my husband said cynically. ‘When you’ve got a Charles to deal with, this may mean he’s only plotting.’” I wonder if he had to deal with really naughty kids when he was little? This shows how hard the dad is judging Charles, he doesn’t believe that he can be good. He wouldn’t think the same about his own kid.
Finally at the very end of the story after the PTA meeting when Laurie’s mom is talking to his teacher. She says no one in the class is named Charles. This allowed Laurie’s mom to realize maybe she had missed something. Clearly the dialogue in “Charles” shows that the parents let their judgment blind them from the truth.
There are also many spots in “Charles” that use character actions to show how the parents let their judgement blind them from the truth. One spot is in the beginning of the story when Laurie had to think of a name for Charles. “What did he do?’ I asked. ‘Who was it?’ Laurie thought. ‘It was Charles.’” This was a major part of the story because it was the parents' first time hearing about him. They didn’t question the pause as he was making up a name. I think that it was smart of Laurie to not give the name of any of his actual classmates so that no one would get in trouble who didn’t deserve it if his parents went to another family before the teacher.
ReplyDeletePart 2
A second spot is when Laurie was home late from school because everyone stayed to watch Charles. I cannot believe his parents didn’t question this. “Charles yelled so in school they sent a boy in from first grade to tell the teacher she had to make Charles keep quiet, and so Charles had to stay after school. And so all the children stayed to watch him.” Why would everyone stay? The parents completely missed that if everyone had to stay it wouldn’t be a punishment for Charles but for everyone. This could be interpreted as creating a theme of the importance of honesty; however, it clearly created a theme of being judgemental because the parents didn’t stop to think for a moment that maybe something didn’t line up here, they immediately started judging Charles.
Finally the last major point is when the teacher says they don’t have a Charle’s. At the PTA meeting when talking to Laurie’s teacher she says that there isn’t a kid in kindergarten named Charles, and the parents finally realize maybe not all their judgement was pointed in the right direction. When the mom learned that there wasn’t a kid named Charles she had to realize that she missed something. I wonder what was running through her head. If it wasn’t Charles what else was Laurie lying about. Clearly the Character actions in “Charles” shows that the parents let their judgment blind them from the truth.
There are many ways the author used figurative language to show how judgement can blind people from the truth. One spot is the repetition we see with the name Charles. “Even my husband, when he caught his elbow in the telephone cord and pulled telephone, ashtray, and a bowl of flowers off the table, said, after a minute, ‘Looks like Charles.’” The name Charles was mentioned a lot in the story. The parents used Charles anytime someone was misbehaving, and Laurie talked about him everyday after school. The repetition helps show how hard the parents were judging, that they couldn’t not think of him.
Another spot we can see this is when Laurie rhymes to his dad. These rhymes aren’t very kind or respectful. And I believe the point of them was to show that Laurie isn’t the perfect kid they think he is. “Laurie said. ‘Look at my thumb. Gee you’re dumb.’”
Finally at the end of the story there is a lot of imagery during the PTA meeting. The author included this to show how tense Laurie’s mom was as she searched for Charle’s mom. She even went as far as to say none of the mother’s looked haggard enough to have a kid like Charles. She was judging all these mother’s very harshly, and missed that she was Charle’s mom. This shows that there are many ways the author used figurative language to show how judgement can blind people from the truth.
At the end of story during the PTA meeting Laurie's mom is judging all the parents. However when she talks to the teacher and realizes that there isn’t a Charles in her son's class, she wonders if everything her son told her is true. She realizes that all those stories were about Laurie, and that the parent she was judging was really herself. While judging Charles’s mom she had completely missed that the stories were about her own son. Shirley Jackson ends the story leaving the readers to wonder what will happen when Laurie’s mom gets home, and how she will punish him.
Very good cutie pie. I like the details and yeah
DeleteGood job with the evidence.
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