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Theme Of Charles By Shirley Jackson

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The realistic fiction short story “Charles”, written by Shirley Jackson, is from the perspective of a mother of a kindergartener. Her son, Laurie, has come home every day talking about a boy in his class named Charles. According to Laurie, Charles causes trouble everyday and is often punished. When Laurie is not talking about Charles, he is causing trouble. His parents think this misbehavior is because of Charles’s influence. However, there’s something they do not know. Shirley Jackson creates the theme things might be different than what is expected in this short story by her intelligent use of word choice, and use of dialogue.
In the short story “Charles”, the theme “Things might be different than what is expected” appears many times. Near the beginning of the story, Laurie describes his first day of kindergarten to his parents during lunch and mentions a kid in his class misbehaving. His parents are curious as to who this kid is, and when they hear about Charles, believe their son’s story. During this scene of the story, the following quote is said. “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…”(Jackson, 73). Laurie’s parents do not seem to be skeptical or doubtful about Laurie’s story, which means they probably believe him. They ignore the fact that he had to think for a moment before saying who it was who caused the trouble. Laurie’s parents
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