surprising and unexpected ending. In the opening of the story, Laurie's mother details how her son (Laurie) changes rapidly, even as he walks out the door on his way to kindergarten. Over the course of the story, Laurie states how one child's (Charles) behavior has sparked the interest of the other children in his class.

Charles is rambunctious, inappropriate, and disrespectful. Everyday, Laurie comes home to tell his mother about the newest "Charles" news. Charles, to Laurie's mother, seems to be quite a spectacle.

Laurie's mother, given everything she has heard about Charles, is excited to go to the PTA meeting at the school. She wants to see what the mother of Charles looks like. As she begins to question Laurie's teacher about Charles, the teacher tells her that she does not have any students named Charles in her class. 

Readers, and Laurie's mother, immediately come to realize what has happened--Laurie is Charles. Ironically, Laurie's mother already knows Charles"'mother very well. She is Charles' mother.

In the ironic short story "Charles," Laurie's mother misses the first P.T.A. meeting because the baby sister has a cold and the mother stays home with her.

The mother/narrator is very disappointed because she "wanted passionately" to meet the mother of such a boy as Charles. For, she is incredulous that such a child can exist. This is, of course, very ironic since the reader later learns that "Charles" is a fictitious name created by Laurie for himself.
However, this irony is believable because the mother is deluded about Laurie, her "sweet-voiced tot" who "forgets" to wave good-bye to her on his first day of school, and who misbehaves constantly at home. Certainly, she never reacts to his speaking "insolently" or his acts of disrespect to her. Nor does her husband respond to Charles's insolence when, for instance, the boy "climbs" into his chair at the dinner table and says to his father, "Hi, Pop, y'old dust mop."

Neither one of the obtuse parents detect the exaggerations of Laurie about the student "Charles." Nor do they realize that clearly no child would continue with such behavior without professional intervention occurring. So, when the mother attends the next P.T.A. meeting and speaks with Laurie's teacher, she is, indeed, surprised as she finally deduces that she is the parent of "Charles." 

In Shirley Jackson's story "Charles," a little boy named Laurie starts kindergarten. For the first several weeks of school, Laurie's parents hear all about Laurie's classmate Charles, who is quite a naughty fellow. Laurie comes home with all sorts of stories about Charles. He is "fresh" with the teacher and is spanked for it. He hits both the teacher and his classmates. He makes a little girl say a bad word. He says a bad word himself. He disrupts the class. He throws chalk. He yells. He kicks the teacher's friend who comes to teach the children exercises.

Laurie's parents listen to all these stories, but they never once talk to Laurie about why Charles's behavior is wrong. In fact, they make a family joke out of Charles and his shenanigans.

As the weeks go by, a PTA meeting approaches, and Laurie's mother decides to go. She wants to talk to Charles's mother. Laurie's father remarks that they should invite Charles's mother over for tea afterward. "I want to get a look at her," he jokes.

At the meeting, Laurie's mother looks all around, trying to determine which of the other women is Charles's mother. No one looks "haggard enough" to fit the bill. After the meeting, Laurie's mother visits with her son's teacher. The teacher mentions that Laurie had some trouble adjusting to kindergarten but is now a "fine little helper" with a few lapses. Laurie's mother is surprised at her son's difficulties and says they are probably due to Charles's influence. The teacher's response is startling: "We don't have any Charles in the kindergarten." Laurie's mother is left to face the reality that her own son is "Charles."