Monday, 28 February 2011

In "Charles," why did Laurie create Charles?

Laurie
createdas a means of hiding his behavior at school from his parents. Specifically, Charles
provided Laurie with an alter ego, one that could help him navigate the emotional transition
from the domestic to the public sphere.

Adults often underestimate the
difficulty of this transition for very young children. However, Jackson shines a light on this
coming-of-age shift with humor and compassion.

In this story, Laurie imputes
every willful infringement of the rules to Charles. Thus, Charles becomes a convenient
scapegoat. Charles is also something else, however: he is the means of helping Laurie process
his ambivalent emotions about growing up.

Essentially, Charles helps Laurie
experience aof sorts. The result is nothing short of miraculous. By the third or fourth week of
tumultuous classroom...

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