Comparing Short Stories 'Charles And The Follower'

There are so many ways and reasons that people can change. You can change for love, passion, or to fit in. There are many more things that can change a person. I’m taking two stories and looking if the characters changed or stayed the same.

During Christmastime, the family trades simple gifts to one another. Francie attends a Christmas event for the underprivileged children, where all the kids are too proud to accept any of the offers. When a small child wants to give away one of her dolls to whoever is named “Mary,” no one stirs. Francie, not wanting to let the gift to go to waste, lies about her name to bring the doll home. Although all of the other children keep their pride, she loses it, and feel embarrassed.

The main reason that these stories are alike, are that they relate to women. Whether you are a daughter, or a wife, changes are you can relate to

The boy narrator evolved from being timid to assertive, cowardly to confident, and innocent to worldly because he had to fight the thugs in order to buy the groceries or he wouldn’t be able to come back home. The girl narrator evolved from being timid to assertive, cowardly to confident, and innocent to worldly because she had to become confident in order for her to talk to the boy after he kissed her and she had to face the reality that the she was just the boys’ plaything and he didn’t like/love her back. The authors both tell different stories, but used the same elements to develop their characters: conflict. Change is a part of life and people have to choose to grow from the conflicts that arise or to stay the same and forever

People change and grow through their experiences and conflicts. For example, just 2 years ago I was a sixth grader. There was a lot more homework than I ever had in my non-accelerated / magnet elementary school. I had to work harder and for longer hours, but as a result, I was much more mature and knowledgeable. I improved my work habits and increased my concentration. In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “First Love”, a 14 year old girl is in love with a high school senior. She does everything she can to try to see him more often. At the end, she thinks she learns the true meaning of love. In Richard Wright’s “The Street”, a boy has to go shopping for food, but he is constantly stopped by a gang who beats him up. At the end, he beats up the gang with a stick his mother gave him because he had to to return home. In both “The Street” by Richard Wright and “First Love” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the characters start out as shy and naive, but end up as aware and wiser as a result of their respective conflicts.

This says to me that in order for a person to change they have to first become aware of themselves and how they perceive and understand themselves in relation to the world.

Some people never change their entire lives. That is one of the themes in the realistic fiction novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. In the book Freak, a child with morquio syndrome, and Max, the main character, become close friends and go through many struggles such as Max’s father, Freak getting sick, Blade, and many others. As two children’s friendship blossoms, you will come across many themes.In my opinion, as I read deeper into the book I found two main ones. I found that everything that matters in a person is invisible to the eye, and that some people never change. These themes are so important in life.

Cunning. Crafty. Creative. Cruel. “Charles”, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a rather chilling short story about the vulnerability of a young child’s imagination, about the fantasies of the human mind, about the manipulation of humans, and about the insidious dangers of change. Jackson’s horrific tale stealthy kidnaps the oblivious reader from their seat and takes him or her on a non-stop ride that begins in a simple family home and ends in the darkest corner of the human imagination. By manipulating the innocent thoughts as a young boy into those of a grim reality, by employing innocence to camouflage hypocrisy and duplicity and by hiding behind the faultless nature of a young imagination to hide the insidious nature he possesses,

What would life be like if people didn't undergo change? Many opportunities happen in life because of adjustments people make for themselves. In the short stories "Mirror Image" by Lena Coakley and "Saturday Climbing" by W.D. Valgardson the protagonists Alice and Barry both have struggles with the major changes happening in their life. Throughout their stories, they become less pessimistic, they adress their problems and they gain a newfound confidence and trust in others. Change can be extremely difficult, but its a necessary step towards a positive life.

In some plays the experience of an important character changes him or her. In others the experiences of an important character leaves him or her almost completely unchanged. In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Lee Younger goes from being selfish to being the man his family needs. The road to becoming the man they needed was very rocky and difficult at times.

Maya Angelou once said, “I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.” This quote encompasses the idea that change is inevitable. A person is involved in numerous relationships during their lifetime and what happens within them can change who they become in the future. Within the novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, the relationships that Henry Lee has developed throughout his lifetime have shaped him into the person he is today.

In all stories there is someone who changes after something happens and it turns them into someone they aren't. An example is a person turn into someone you never expected them to be because they are hiding themselves. Its also important to think before everything you do because the aftermath can be unreal. The characters in the“ Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson and the short story,” Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl could have learned their lessons. In the story, “ Possibility of Evil” Miss.Strangeworth takes her hate out to an family by writing letters to them. In “Lamb to the Slaughter” Mary makes a bad decision after finding out her husband is leaving her. These stories tell the reader that people around you have a side they don't show, but sooner or later it will come out of them.

I believe that, events in a person's life changes who they are. In The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck, the character Wang Lung changes throughout his life. Wang Lung starts as a hardworking man in the beginning, as his life goes on he starts to lose his interest in the land, than gains interest in the land. He’d changed as a person thought his life, but not always in a good way.

Raymond Carver with “Cathedral” and “A&P” by John Updike are both short stories, even if in facts they are written during the same century, readers can interpret the changes that occurred to be really different. They both introduce characters that are being victim of stereotype by the protagonists, but somehow these characters made a great change into the protagonists’ view of the world and life itself. The stories differ in atmosphere and the quantity of people involve in each story which might be important to understand how changes occur. The audience can understand after analyzing these two stories that change is always possible and based on your action, a lesson is always to be learned the

In the short story “Charles,” foreshadowing convinces us that Laurie is Charles. For example, Laurie has to think before he tells his mom about the first day of kindergarten. Laurie’s mom states, “Laurie thought, ‘It was Charles’ … (11) Charles is the same person as Laurie. The author foreshadows text in there. Something that convinces us that Laurie is Charles, is when Laurie came home late and told his mom that Charles got detention and everyone stayed with Charles but when a child gets detention no one stays with that child. convinces us because Laurie tells his parents everything that Charles does and how does Laurie know everything about Charles. Laurie knew the bad word that Charles told the little girl to say because in the story it