The Three In Henry James's 'The Pupil'

Henry James's "The Pupil" introduces readers to three characters; Mrs.Moreen, Morgan Moreen, and Pemberton. Mrs.Moreen, the mother of Morgan, who seems to be very wealthy. Morgan is an eleven year old boy who is intelligent, disrespectful, and wants to be tutored to enhance his politeness. As for Pemberton, he is a young scholar in need of money who seems to be modest and feels as if his intellect is being challenged by a young boy who may be smarter than him. The relationship between the three is they each have the ability to use one another for their own beneficial reasons. The author uses a gawky tone and a third person limited point of view to express the relationships between the three characters. James uses a gawky tone to express

The relationship between the three is they each have the ability to use one another for their own beneficial reasons. For instance, in lines 12 through 16, the author explains how the little boy, Morgan, used what his mother said as an excuse to listen to the adults conversation; he returned to the room his mother and Pemberton awaited in empty handed, therefore, he was just being nosey. Pemberton, however, was using Mrs. Moreen for her pay due to his services. Throughout the entire passage Pemberton has moments where he contemplates asking about his salary upfront or at the last minute, because he didn’t want to seem as if it was just about the money he avoided asking at all. As for Morgan, he uses Pemberton to challenge his intellectual level: Pemberton is hired to ‘tutor’ Morgan, but little does he know Morgan is very intelligent. Consequently, he is testing Pemberton’s knowledge to see who knows more than the other. As read in lines 54 through 57 Pemberton begins feeling tense because Morgan may be smarter, so in this sense, Morgan is using Pemberton to satisfy his interests. James uses a third person limited point of view to draw attention to the relationships shared between the three