's short
story "" is an ironic tale about a young boy's experience at school. Throughout the
story, the narrator's son returns home and tells tales about a little boy in his class named
"Charles" and his misdeeds: Charles yells at his teacher, throws chalk, and hits his
classmates.
His mother is concerned because her "little boy" may
be influenced negatively by this classmate, and she finally decides that she must meet Charles'
mother. When she cannot find him at the Parent-Teacher meeting, she unwittingly approaches the
teacher only to find out that there is not a boy named Charles in the class, but that the
narrator's son is now a "fine little helper. With occasional lapses,
of course." It is then that the narrator realizes her son is "Charles."
This is a prime example of situational . As you read the text, you may also believe
that "Charles" is the bad influence and the bad seed. The humor is that the narrator
never suspected her son could be the bad influence. Jackson is playing on a typical parental
reaction: Parents don't believe their children are capable of doing wrong. "Not my child!
Not my perfect little angel!" It is this common thread that makes the story believable,
plausible, and amusing.
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