GR9 Short Story Unit Charles
By Shirley Jackson
Prepared by M. MacDonald BJH
Who is Charles? Explain how Charles became a household name at Laurie’s
home. Discuss at least two (2) specific details from the text.

Charles is Laurie the young boy in the story—the narrator’s son.

Laurie’s tales about Charles’s school behaviour became a
regular topic of discussion after school and at the supper table.

Details will vary: Here’s about one-week of poor behaviour in school.

Monday: Boy being spanked at school for being fresh— his name was Charles

Tuesday: Charles hit the teacher because the teacher wanted him to colour with red crayons,
Charles wanted to use green

Wednesday: Charles bounced a see-saw off the head of a little girl and made her head bleed—he
had to stay for recess

Thursday: Charles had to stand in corner for pounding his feet on the floor.

Friday: Charles threw chalk in the classroom

The cycle repeated the very next week.

Monday: Charles yelled so loud in class—a Grade one teacher sent a student to the classroom to
ask to keep Charles quiet. Charles had to stay after school.

Quote from text: By the third week, ―Charles was an institution
in our family‖ according to the narrator. Parent’s joked about bad
behaviours—which they dubbed as ―doing a Charles‖

Laurie’s parents were excited to meet the mother of this little
monster.
Who is Charles? Explain how Charles became a household name at Laurie’s
home. Discuss at least two (2) specific details from the text.
Opening sentences

Charles is Laurie the young boy in the story—the narrator’s son.

Laurie’s tales about Charles’s school behaviour became a
regular topic of discussion after school and at the supper table.
Supporting details

Monday: Boy being spanked at school for being fresh— his name
was Charles

Tuesday: Charles hit the teacher because the teacher wanted him to
colour with red crayons, Charles wanted to use green

Friday: Charles threw chalk in the classroom

Quote from text: By the third week, ―Charles was an institution in
our family‖ according to the narrator. Parent’s joked about bad
behaviours—which they dubbed as ―doing a Charles‖

Concluding sentence: Laurie’s parents were excited to meet the
mother of this little monster.
What is the narrative POV? Why did the author decide to tell this
story from a 1st person narrative point of view? Hint: surprise ending
and reliability

1st person narrative point of view

This narrative POV influences the reader’s understanding of
the events in the story.

We read about the narrator’s experiences and reactions to the
events in the story.

We may have missed Laurie’s bad behavior because the
narrator chose to ignore it—preferring to discuss Charles’s
actions.

Because of the author’s decision to write Charles from the
mother’s point of view, the reader was unable to see Laurie
in action at school .

The reader could only interpret Laurie’s behavior at home
through the narrator’s biased perspective. She’s doesn’t seem
to realize her own son is acting like Charles at home.

So in this case, the reader gets an unreliable one-side version
of the events of the story and this lack of information
results in the reader being surprised at the end of the
story.
What is the narrative POV? Why did the author decide to tell this
story from a 1st person narrative point of view? Hint: surprise ending
and reliability
Topic sentence: 1st person narrative point of view
Supporting details

This narrative POV influences the reader’s understanding of the events in the story.

We only read about the narrator’s experiences and reactions to the events in the story.

Because of this type of narration, we may have missed Laurie’s bad behavior because the
narrator chose to ignore most of it—preferring to discuss Charles’s actions.

Because of the author’s decision to write Charles from the mother’s point of view, the
reader was unable to see Laurie in action at school .

The reader could only interpret Laurie’s behavior at home through the narrator’s biased
perspective. She’s doesn’t seem to realize her own son is acting like Charles at home.
Concluding sentence

So in this case, the reader gets an unreliable one-side version of the events of the story
and this lack of information results in the reader being surprised at the end of the story.
Why did Laurie’s parents take so long to find out the truth about Charles?
Topic Sentence
 Parents are sometimes the last to recognize the truth about their
own children.
 In this story, both parents didn’t suspect that their child could
actually be Charles.
Supporting details

Parents in these situations are often in denial about their own kids.
They prefer to see their own kids as innocent and incapable of bad
behaviors and are usually shocked when faced with reality.

They often ignore the warning signs—like Laurie’s behavior in this
story. His behavior at home was not unlike the actions of Charles
in the classroom.
Laurie was saucy to his parents and acted inappropriately at home.
Laurie’s Parents also missed the first parent-teacher meeting.


Concluding sentence

The parents should have addressed Laurie’s behavior and
commented on the inappropriate behavior of Charles—instead of
making Charles a house celebrity.
Most of us are very surprised to learn the identity of Charles at the end of the story. However, the
author did planted clues foreshadowing the ending of the story. Re-read the story and look for at
least three (3) examples of foreshadowing that may have helped the reader prepare for the
ending.

Laurie’s inappropriate behavior throughout the
story foreshadows the ending.

Laurie’s hesitation when he identified Charles as
the boy who was spanked the first day of school
– Implies guilt and also foreshadows the lies about
school and his getting caught.

When Laurie arrived home late because of
Charles—all the children had to stay after
school—to watch him.

This lie shows a close connection between Charles and
Laurie—why would the teacher allow the other
students to stay after school and watch Charles—
Laurie was late because he was kept after school.

The end of the story Laurie is praised for being a
helper—Laurie told his mother Charles was the
class helper. Notice that Laurie’s behaviour improved
just before the second parent-teacher interview.
Most of us are very surprised to learn the identity of Charles at the end of the story. However, the
author did planted clues foreshadowing the ending of the story. Re-read the story and look for at
least three (3) examples of foreshadowing that may have helped the reader prepare for the
ending.
Define the term


Foreshadowing: a clue or hint about what will happen later in the
story.
The information teases readers and keeps them guessing about
what is going to happen.
Foreshadowing examples

Laurie’s inappropriate behavior throughout the story
foreshadows the ending.

Laurie’s hesitation when he identified Charles as the boy who
was spanked the first day of school – Implies guilt and also
foreshadows the lies about school and his getting caught.

When Laurie arrived home late because of Charles—all the
children had to stay after school—to watch him.

This lie shows a close connection between Charles and Laurie—
why would the teacher allow the other students to stay after
school and watch Charles—Laurie was late because he was kept
after school.
How does the author create suspense in this story?
Topic Sentence: Define the term
 Suspense: When the reader is uncertain about an outcome or decision in a narrative
Supporting details
 The reader’s curious about the final outcome of a situation. Who is Charles?

The reader may be worrying or wondering about what Charles is going to do next and
continues to read on to find out more.

The author uses an unreliable 1st person narrator—we only see the mom’s POV. This
supports suspense and mystery.

She (narrator—as well as the reader) isn’t aware that Charles is actually Laurie until the end
of the story

Suspense builds when we learn about the bad behaviour of Charles. The audience and Laurie’s
parents are excited to meet Charles’ parents. Surprise! They already ―met‖ Charles’ parents.
Concluding Sentence
 The author’s selection of 1st person actually added to the suspense in this story because the
reader had to depend on the biased perspective of the narrator in this story-- Laurie’s Mother.
Identify and discuss an example of situational irony
in this selection?

Situational Irony occurs when there is a
difference between what the character and
reader expects will happen and what actually
happens

When Laurie’s mother attends the PTA
Meeting, she is expecting to meet Charles’s
mother.

When the teacher says she doesn’t have a
Charles in her kindergarten class. We realize
that Charles is really Laurie.

This is ironic because she (maybe the reader)
doesn’t expect that she is actually Charles’s
(Laurie’s) mother.

The situation is unexpected for the character-the narrator was not expecting her son Laurie to
actually be the infamous Charles.
Identify and discuss an example of situational irony
in this selection?
Topic Sentence: Define the term Situational Irony

When there is a difference between what a character or reader expects to happen and what
actually happens.
Supporting Sentence (Introduce/describe/explain each example)
 When Laurie’s mother attends the PTA Meeting, she is expecting to meet Charles’s mother.

When the teacher says she doesn’t have a Charles in her kindergarten class. Everyone realizes
that Charles is really Laurie.

This is ironic because she (maybe the reader) doesn’t expect that she is actually Charles’s
(Laurie’s) mother.
Concluding sentences



The situation is unexpected for the character-- the narrator was not expecting her son Laurie
to actually be the infamous Charles.
Both the narrator and reader realize that Laure has not been telling the truth.
Note: This is connected to theme (a lesson from the story)
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic Irony

Occurs if the reader figures
out that Charles and
Laurie are one and the
same, Laurie's father and
mother (characters in the
story) don't realize this
until the very end of the
story that their son Laurie
is actually Charles.

In this situation, the reader
knows more than the
characters— this builds
suspense and adds humour
to the story .
Dramatic Irony
Topic sentence: define the term
Dramatic Irony
 When a reader knows more about a situation than the
character—giving a second meaning for the reader.
 Author’s use dramatic irony to help the audience feel or
understand the truth more keenly
Supporting details

Dramatic irony occurs in this story if the reader
figures out that Charles and Laurie are one and
the same, Laurie's father and mother (characters in the
story) don't realize this until the very end of the story
that their son Laurie is actually Charles.

In this situation, the reader knows more than the
characters— this builds suspense and adds
humour to the story .
Conclude (final thought/purpose of dramatic irony)

The ironic final scene in the story helps the reader recognize
a common parental mistake—not checking the facts.
Sometimes kids do not tell the truth.
What is the author’s underlying message (theme) in this story? Explain. Make sure your state your theme
in a complete sentence. Use at least two (2) supporting details from the text to support your opinion.
Hint: Which characters learned a valuable lesson by the end of the story?

Appearances can be deceiving—things are not always as they seem.
Laurie’s parents unknowingly encouraged his bad behaviour in school and were the
last to realize that their own son was creating problems at school.

When dealing with others it is best trust but always verify—trust your kids
but always check out their story.

We sometimes ignore what’s right in front of us. Laurie’s parents didn’t seem
recognize that Laurie was ―doing a Charles‖ in their own home.

Laurie learned a valuable lesson about the importance of telling the
truth.