Charles

American author Shirley Jackson’s short story “Charles” (1948) was first published in Mademoiselle, then in Jackson’s 1949 collection as well as in her 1953 novel Life Among the Savages. Though “Charles” is not in the horror genre, Jackson is a renowned horror writer and has influenced modern writers like Neil Gaiman and Stephen King. The story does, however, have an element of mystery—another genre for which the author is famous. This study guide cites the 2010 Library of America edition of Shirley Jackson: Novels and Stories.

Told through first-person, past-tense narration, the story begins in the home of a family consisting of the narrator, her husband, their son, and their infant daughter. The narrator is sad that her son, Laurie, is growing up; now in kindergarten and no longer a “sweet-voiced nursery-school tot” (73), he’s grown out of his corduroy overalls, started wearing blue jeans, and no longer turns to wave goodbye to her as he leaves for school.

When Laurie returns home from his first day of kindergarten on Monday, he speaks insolently to his father, knocks over his baby sister’s milk and, when asked, says that he “didn’t learn nothing” in school that day (73).