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I CHAPTER 5
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Charles
SHIRLEY JACKSON

&1 P REPARING TO R EAD

I Think Before You Read
Answer the following questions:
I What are your earliest memories of school?
2 Have you ever been in a class where one student frequently behaved
badly? What did he or she do?
3 How do teachers typically respond to bad behavior? How do other
students typically respond to a badly behaved student?

2 Picture Focus
With a partner, talk about the picture. What do you think is happening?

58 The Unexpected
3 Story Preview
Read the preview of the story and, with a partner, try to guess the meaning
of the words in bold print.

Laurie's mother, who is telling the story, has just sent her son to his first
day at kindergarten. She notices a change in him since he started school.
Laurie is no longer her sweet-voiced child. Now he is a tough character
who doesn't even say good-bye to her. He comes home every day for
lunch and reports all the bad things that a boy named Charles does in the
class. Charles, says Laurie, hit the teacher, kicked the teacher's friend, and
taught a little girl to say a bad word. The teacher spanked Charles and
made him stay in the classroom during recess, when the other children
went out to play. Laurie's mother is concerned that Charles's behavior
will be a bad influence on Laurie. She is looking forward to attending the
next PTA meeting where she can meet the teacher and Charles's mother.
· What she finds out is quite a surprise.

4 Words to Know
Fill in the blanks below with the bold words from the Story Preview above.
Then, with a partner, compare your answers.

Young children in kindergarten can affect the behavior of the entire

class. If a child does not follow the rules either in class or when playing
during _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , teachers are concerned. That child often acts
_ _ _ _ ___ and he or she can be a bad _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on the
other children. In the past, a child was sometimes _ _ _ _ _ _ _ when
he or she behaved badly at school, but hitting a child is no longer allowed.
Nowadays, parents and teachers usually talk about these problems at
_ _ __ _ _ _ meetings.

Chapter 5 Charles 59
5 Making Predictions
From the Story Preview, you know that Laurie's mother is worried about
Charles's bad behavior. Read the first three sentences of the story, and try
to predict what will happen. Which of the following predictions do you
think is most probable? Circle your choice or give an answer that you think
is better.
I Charles will do something bad to Laurie.
2 Laurie will be a good influence on Charles.

3 Charles will be asked to leave school.

4 Charles will make the teacher leave her job.
5 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ __ _ __

Journal Writing In your journal, explain why you chose your answer.

6 Idioms and Expressions

You will find these idioms and expressions in the story:

being fresh being impolite set out left the house to go

somewhere
full of news having many new
things to tell have your hands full have a lot
of problems with someone or
throw him out make him leave something

7 Literary Term: Characterization

Every story has characters that play a part in the action. Characterization
is how an author creates characters through physical descriptions, speech,
thoughts, actions, and observations from other characters. In the story
"Charles," the reader learns about a character that doesn't follow the rules
when starting kindergarten.

Focus As you read the story, think about how the author characterizes
Charles. What kind of boy is Charles? How would you describe his character?

60 The Unexpected
m TH E S TORY

About the Author

Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) was born in San Francisco, California, and
later moved to Rochester, New York. Jackson attended the University of
Rochester, where she began her writing career, and then later attended
Syracuse University. After graduation, she submitted stories to the
famous New Yorker magazine, which published most of her work.
Her fiction ranges from horror stories, like "The Lottery," to humorous
pieces, such as "Life Among the Savages," based on her large family
with many children. Jackson's experience as a parent probably inspired
the story you are about to read, entitled "Charles."

Charles
he day my son Laurie started kindergarten, he began wearing blue
T jeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the
older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era 1 of my life was ended, my
sweet-voiced nursery tot2 transformed into a tough character who forgot
s to stop at the corner and wave good-bye to me.
He came home the same way, the front door slamming open, his cap
on the floor, and in a rough voice shouted, "Isn't anybody here?"
At lunch he spoke insolently to his father, and spilled his baby
sister's milk.
10 "How was school today?" I asked.
"All right," he said.
"Did you learn anything?" his father asked.
He looked at his father coldly. "I didn't learn nothing," he said.
"Anything," I said. "Didn't learn anything."
1s "The teacher spanked a boy, though," Laurie said, looking at 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

1
era: a period of time
2
tot: a young child

Chapter 5 Charles 61
 . . . h ner He was awfully fresh."
spanked him and made him stand m t e cor . · . . .
20 "What did he do?" I asked again, but Laurie shd off his chair, took a
cookie, and left.
The next day Laurie remarked at lunch as soon as he sat do~n,
"Well, Charles was bad again today." He grinned enormously and said,
"Today Charles hit the teacher."
"Good heavens," I said. "I suppose he got
spanked again?"
Do you think "He sure did." Laurie said.
"Why did Charles hit the teacher?" I asked.
kindergarten is "Because she tried to make him color with
too upsetting red crayons," Laurie said. "Charles wanted to
color with green crayons so he hit the teacher
for Laurie? and she spanked him and said nobody could
play with Charles but everybody did."
The third day - it was Wednesday of the first week - Charles hit a
35 little girl, and the teacher made him stay inside during recess. Thursday
Charles had to stand in a corner during story-time because he kept
pounding3 his feet on the floor. Friday Charles wasn't allowed to write
on the blackboard because he threw chalk.
On Saturday I remarked to my husband, "Do you think kindergarten
40 is too upsetting for Laurie? All this toughness and bad grammar, and
this Charles boy sounds like such a bad influence?"
"It will be all right," my husband said. "There are bound to be people
like Charles in this world. He might as well meet them now as later."
On Monday, Laurie came home late, full of news. "Charles," he
45 shouted as he came up the hill. I was waiting anxiously on the front
steps. "Charles," Laurie yelled all the way up the hill. "Charles was
bad again."
"Corne right in," I said as soon as he came close enough. "Lunch
is ready."
so "You know what Charles did?" he said, following me through the
door. "Charles yelled so loud 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."
"What did he do?" I asked.
55 "He just sat there," Laurie said, climbing into his chair at the table.
Turning to his father, he said, "Hi, Pop."
"Charles had to stay after school today," I told my husband. "Everyone
stayed with him."
"What does this Charles look like?" my husband asked Laurie.
60 "What's his other name?"
"He's bigger than me," Laurie said, "and he doesn't have any
3poundtng: a repeated hitting action

62 The Unexpected
 rubbers, 4 and he doesn't even wear a jacket."
Monday night was the first Parent-Teachers meeting, and only the
fact that the baby had a cold kept me from going; I wanted so much
65 to meet Charles's mother. On Tuesday Laurie remarked suddenly, "Our
teacher had a friend come to see her in school today."
"Charles's mother?" my husband and I asked.
"No," said Laurie, "It was a man who came and made us do exercises;
we had to touch our toes. Look." He climbed down from his chair and
70 bent down and touched his toes. "Like this," he said. He got back into his
chair and said, picking up his fork, "Charles didn't even do exercises."
"Didn't Charles want to do exercises?" I asked.
"Naaah," Laurie said, "Charles was so fresh to the teacher's friend
he wasn't let do exercises."
75 "Fresh again?" I said.
"He kicked the teacher's friend," Laurie said. "The teacher's friend
told Charles to touch his toes the way I just did and Charles kicked him."
"What are they going to do about Charles, do you suppose?" Laurie's
father asked him.
80 Laurie shrugged. "Throw him out of school, I guess," he said.
Wednesday and Thursday were the same. Charles yelled during story
hour and hit a boy in the stomach and made him cry. Charles stayed
after school again and so did the other children.
With the third week of kindergarten Charles was an institution in
85 our house; the baby was being a Charles when she cried all afternoon;
Laurie was being a Charles when he filled his wagon full of mud and
pulled it through the kitchen; even my husband, when he caught his
elbow in the telephone cord and pulled the telephone and a bowl of
flowers off the table, said, after the first minute, "Looks like Charles."
90 During the third and fourth weeks, it looked like a change in Charles.
Laurie reported at lunch on Thursday of the third week, "Charles was
so good today the teacher gave him an apple."
"What?" I said, and my husband added, "You mean Charles?"
"Charles," Laurie said. "He gave the crayons around and he picked
95 up the books afterward and the teacher said he was her helper."
"What happened?" I asked incredulously.
"He was her helper, that's all," Laurie said.
"Can this be true about Charles?" I asked my husband that night.
"Can something like this happen?"
100 "Wait and see," my husband said. "When you've got a Charles to
deal with, this may mean he's only plotting."
He seemed to be wrong. For over a week Charles was the teacher's
helper; each day he handed things out and he picked things up; no one
had to stay after school.
4
rubbers: waterproof boots

Chapter 5 Charles 63
105 "The PTA meeting's next week again," I tol~ my husband one
evening, "I'm going to find Charles's mother there. . .. , .
"Ask her what happened to Charles," my husband said. Id hke
to know."
''I'd like to know myself," I said.
no On Friday of that week things were back to normal. "You know what
Charles did today?" Laurie said at the lunch table. "He told a little girl to
say a word and she said it and the teacher washed her mouth out with
soap and Charles laughed."
"What word?" his father asked unwisely, and Laurie said, 'TU have
m to whisper it to you, it's so bad." He got down off his chair and went
around to his father. His father bent his head down and Laurie whispered
joyfully. His father's eyes widened.
"Did Charles tell the little girl to say that?" he asked.
"She said it twice," Laurie answered. "Charles told her to say it twice."
120 "What happened to Charles?" my husband asked.
"Nothing," Laurie said. "He was passing out the crayons."
Monday morning Charles abandoned the little girl and said the evil
word himself three or four times, getting his mouth washed out with
soap each time. He also threw chalk.
12s My husband came to the door with me that evening as I set out for
the parent and teacher meeting. "Invite her over for a cup of tea after
the meeting," he said. "I want to get a look at her."
"If only she's there," I said hopefully.
"She'll be there," my husband said. "I don't see how they could hold
130 a PTA meeting without Charles's mother."
At the meeting I sat looking at each woman's face, trying to guess
which one was Charles's mother. None of them looked to me tired
enough. No one stood up at the meeting and apologized for the way her
son had been acting. No one mentioned Charles.
135 After the meeting I found Laurie's kindergarten teacher. We came up
to one another and smiled.
"I've been so anxious to meet you," I said. "I'm Laurie's mother."
"We're all so interested in Laurie," she said.
"Well, he certainly likes kindergarten," I said. "He talks about it all
140 the time."
"We had a little trouble adjusting the first week or so," she said, "but
now he's a fine little helper. With occasional problems, of course."
"Laurie usually adjusts very quickly," I said. "I suppose this time, it's
Charles's influence."
145 "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."

64 The Unexpected
[I UND ERSTANDING THE STORY

I Reading Comprehension
With a partner, answer these questions:
1 What are some of the bad things that Charles does in kindergarten?
2 What are some of the ways that the teacher punishes Charles?
3 How do Laurie's parents react to his stories about Charles?
4 Why does Laurie's mother want to attend the PTA meeting?
5 What is the surprise at the end of the story?

2 Guessing Meaning from Context

The words in the list are in the story. Find the words in the story and try to
understand their meanings. Choose the word from the following list that best
completes each sentence below. Do not use the same word more than once.

transformed remark incredulously abandoned

insolent anxiously plotting adjust

1 Laurie's parents listened intredu!ous/y

7
to his reports of Charles's
bad behavior.

2 We were _ _ _ _ _ _ waiting for a bus to get us home before the

rain started.

3 It is hard for people who live in a warm climate to _ _ _ _ _ _ to a

colder climate.

4 My brother _ _ _ _ _ _ his study of law to start a career as a writer.

5 Children will be suspended from school if they break the rules or if they
are _ _ _ _ _ _ to teachers.

6 The prisoner was _ _ _ _ __ a way to escape from jail.

7 People often _ _ _ _ _ _ on how similar the two brothers are.

8 The shy baby _ _ _ _ _ _ into a very friendly child.

Chapter 5 Charles 65
 3 Word Forms
Complete the chart by filling in the various forms of the following words
taken from "Charles." An x indicates that no form is possible. Use your
dictionary if you need help. Note: There may be more than one possible
word for the same part of speech.

X insolent insolently
;,

remark
X anxiously

adjust X

Work with a partner. Write sentences using a verb, a noun, an adjective,

and an adverb from the chart above.

4 Grammar: Articles with Count Nouns

Singular count nouns take a/an or the. Use a/an when information
about something is new.
Example:
I bought a dress yesterday.

Use the when information about something is already known.

Example:
I'm going to wear the dress this weekend.
(This is a dress we already know about, such as the one I bought
yesterday.)

When an author uses the the first time something is mentioned, the
author is suggesting that the reader already knows the information.
This is a literary technique for making a story more interesting.
Example:
I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door.

Plural nouns do not take any article when they refer to something that
is new information.

66 The Unexpected
 Example:
It was a man who came and made us do exercises.
(There is no article because this is the first time the reader hears
about exercises.)

Plural nouns take the when the objects mentioned are already known
about (or assumed to be known about).
Example:
He gave the crayons around and he picked up the books afterward.
(Crayons and books were already mentioned so the reader knows
that the children were using crayons and books in the classroom.)

Application Find the sentences below in the story. Explain why the
person or thing referred to in the bold words is something that the reader
knows about (if the is used), or something the reader does not know about
(if a/an or no article is used). Compare your work with a partner.

1 The teacher spanked a boy, though.

Tlti.s i.5 the first time the reader learns that there i.5 a hoy who j ol spanked
2 The teacher spanked him and made him stand in the comer.

3 He came home the same way, the front door slamming open ....

4 The third day - it was Wednesday of the first week . ...

5 "Our teacher had a friend come to see her in school today."

6 The PTA meeting's next week again.

Chapter 5 Charles 67
m THINKING CRITICALLY

I Discussing the Story

Discuss the following questions with a partner or in a group:
1 Why does the author use Laurie's mother as the narrator of the story? If
the story were told from the teacher's viewpoint, what would change?
2 How does Laurie describe Charles to his father? Why do you think he tells
him only about Charles's size and clothes?
3 What are some examples of humor from the story?
4 At any point in the story did you suspect that Charles is Laurie? When?

2 Making Inferences
Practice making inferences. Circle the letter of the answer that best
completes each of the following statements:
1 Laurie looked at his bread and butter when he first told his parents the
teacher had spanked a boy because
a his mouth was full of food.
b his father had corrected his bad grammar.
c he wanted to show disrespect toward his father.
d he wasn't telling his parents the whole truth.
2 On Monday of the second week, Laurie came home late because
a the teacher had punished him for yelling.
b all the children had to stay after school.
c everyone stayed at the school to watch Charles.
d he didn't want to go home and eat lunch.
3 Laurie whispers the bad word to his father joyfully because
a he was happy that he had learned this new word from Charles.
b he was able to say the bad word to his father without getting
into trouble.
c he was happy that Charles got into trouble for saying the bad word.
d he wanted his father to shout at him for saying the bad word.

68 The Unexpected
3 Analyzing the Story: Characterization
Look back at the Literary Term on page 60. The author hints at the surprise
ending through her characterization of Laurie and his mother. Look at the
phrases below about the characters' actions and feelings. Look back at
the story and find phrases about what Laurie says. Add them to the chart
below.

Laurie Laurie threw An era in Laurie-has

slammed the his Cf-Ion her !tfo is chan1ed
door. theffoor. over.

WHAT LAURIE LIED ABOUT WHAT LAuRIE Tow nm Thurn Aootrr

Pair Discussion With a partner, compare what you have written in your
charts. Correct any mistakes you find and discuss your ideas. Do you always
agree? If not, why not?

4 Writing
Choose one of the following writing assignments:
1 Write a summary of the story in two or three paragraphs. Be sure to
include all the major events.
2 Create a dialogue between Laurie's parents when his mother comes home
from the PTA meeting.
3 Pretend to be Laurie's teacher. Write your thoughts about Laurie's
behavior, and how you intend to deal with him.
4 Describe the little girl that Laurie told to say the bad word twice. Include
her reaction after she was punished by the teacher.
5 Create a scene when Laurie's mother first sees Laurie after the
PTA meeting.
6 Write the teacher's diary the day after the PTA meeting.

Chapter 5 Charles 69