Why didn't Laurie's mom realize that Laurie was really Charles in Shirley Jackson's short story "Charles"?

is most
widely known for her chilling short story "" but she also wrote the very charming, and
in some ways disturbing, short story "."

From the beginning of the
story Laurie is portrayed as quite a rude and obnoxious little boy:

"At lunch he spoke insolently to his father,
spilled his baby sisters milk, and remarked that his teacher said we were not to take the name
of the Lord in vain."

When asked about his first year in school Laurie
can only talk about "Charles," who is always getting in trouble and bringing the wrath
of the kindergarten teacher. Laurie has really invented Charles because he does not want to
admit he has been acting out in school. Unfortunately, Laurie's mom never dreams that Laurie
could actually be the class bully. She is obviously in a state of denial over the behavior of
her son. She can only see "my sweet-voiced nursery-school tot" and not the boy that
could "hit the teacher."

Throughout the story Jackson usesto show
us that Laurie is not a well behaved child and the situationalat the end of the story probably
comes as no surprise to the reader. Of course, Laurie's mother may be shocked to learn that
there is no Charles. She has not been able to recognize the evidence that her son is a brat
because she loves him dearly and sometimes people fail to recognize the negative in those that
are closest to them.