Perspectives

By putting “Charles” by Shirley Jackson into perspective, you can find out more about the literary period in which the text was written, works with the same theme, and works by the same author.

Literary period

Written in 1948, the short story “Charles” by Shirley Jackson belongs to the Modernist period in literature.

Modernist authors generally focus on the fragmentation of reality, a feature which is also noticeable in “Charles”.

...

Works with the same theme

An interesting short story dealing with the theme of deception and identity is “The Twins” by Muriel Spark (Readings, p. 65). In Spark’s story, the narrator becomes the victim of her friend’s children,...

...

Works by the same author

Shirley Jackson’s most famous short story is “The Lottery” (Wider Contexts, p. 25), which was published in 1948 in The New Yorker. The story depicts a small American community that prepares for an annual ritual meant to assure a prosperous harvest.

...