Summary

In “Charles” by Shirley Jackson, the narrator begins by introducing readers to her son Laurie’s first day in kindergarten. When he returns home, Laurie acts rudely towards his parents and baby sister. He also explains that a boy named Charles has been in the center of attention in kindergarten because he was rude to the teacher and the teacher spanked him. The following day, Laurie returns home and explains that Charles has hit the teacher because he was forced to color with red crayons rather than green ones. Throughout the week, Laurie tells his parents about Charles misbehaving and even hurting other children in kindergarten. Furthermore, Laurie begins to be increasingly rude to his family.

As Laurie’s parents begin to think about Charles’ bad influence on Laurie, they agree that their son might as well be exposed to such behavior in his...