“Charles”

By Shirley Jackson

What word?

Raucous (adj.)

• unpleasantly loud and harsh

• He came home the same way, the front door slamming open, his cap on the floor, and the voice suddenly become raucous shouting, “ Isn’t anybody here?”

Contrast (antonym-opposite)

• Laurie’s mom asked pleasantly, “What did you learn today?” Laurie answered in a raucous, loud voice, “Nothing!”

wary

Warily (adverb)

• in a manner marked caution and watchfulness. (prudence)

• I said, and my husband added warily, “You mean Charles?”

Wary

• Cindy was wary in class, afraid to make a mistake, but Erik was daring, unafraid of being laughed at.

Incredulous

• in an disbelieving manner

• The prefix “cred” means to believe. Credible means believable. Incredible-unbelievable.

• I asked incredulously.

incredulous

incredulous

• I was incredulous when I saw my winning lottery numbers; it was unbelievable.

Reform/reformation

• rescuing from error and returning to a rightful course

• During the third and fourth weeks it looked like a reformation in Charles; Laurie reported grimly at lunch on Thursday of the third week, “Charles was so good today the teacher gave him an apple.”

Reform

• Charles reformed when he became the teacher’s helper.

Prim/ primly

• affectedly dainty or refined, proper

• “We had a little trouble adjusting, the first week or so,” she said primly, “but now he’s a fine little helper.

primly

Soojin/prim to Nayelli/insolent (rude)

• Soojin is prim and proper; however, Nayelli is always burping and belching and being insolent during lunch.

haggard

• showing the wearing effects of overwork or suffering

• None of them looked to me haggard enough.

haggard

haggard

• Ms. Verge looked rested when she arrived at school, but by period 6, she was worn out and haggard looking.

Swagger

• to walk with a lofty proud gait•

The day my son Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era of my life was ended, my sweet-voiced nursery-school tot replaced by a long trousered, swaggering character who forgot to stop at the corner and wave good-bye to me.

maneuver

• a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity

• We maneuvered up to one an - other cautiously, and smiled.

maneuver

• I had to maneuver through the crowd in 2nd hall.

cynical

• believing the worst of human nature and motives

• “Wait and see,” my husband said cynically. “When you’ve got a Charles to deal with, this may mean he’s only plotting.”

cynical

Matron (matronly)

• a married woman who is staid and dignified• At the meeting I sat restlessly, scanning each

comfortable matronly face, trying to determine which one hid the secret of Charles.

matron

elaborately

• elaborate • Painstaking, careful

• I asked, elaborately casual.

scornful

• • expressing extreme contempt or dislike• Naaah,” Laurie said scornfully. “It was a man

who came and made us do exercises, we had to touch our toes.

scornful

adjust

• adjust • alter or regulate so as to conform to a

standard• “We had a little trouble adjusting, the first

week or so,” she said primly, “but now he’s a fine little helper.

• simultaneously • at the same instant• “Charles’s mother?”my husband and I asked simultaneously. “N

renounce• renounce • turn away from; give up•

The day my son Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era of my life was ended, my sweet-voiced nursery-school tot replaced by a longtrousered, swaggering character who forgot to stop at the corner and wave good-bye to me.

insolent

• insolent • marked by casual disrespect• At lunch he spoke insolently to his father,

spilled his baby sister’s milk, and remarked that his teacher said we were not to take the name of the Lord in vain.

solemnly

• in a grave and sedate manner

• “Like this,” he said. He got solemnly back into his chair and said, picking up his fork, “Charles didn’t even do exercises.”

deprived

• marked by a state of extreme poverty

• Friday Charles was deprived of blackboard privileges because he threw chalk.

awe

• awe • an overwhelming feeling of wonder or

admiration

• Laurie demanded at the lunch table, in a voice slightly awed.

grim

• harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance

• During the third and fourth weeks it looked like a reformation in Charles; Laurie reported grimly at lunch on Thursday of the third week, “Charles was so good today the teacher gave him an apple.”

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