Kingshaw’s Misery in I’m the King of the Castle Essay

Throughout the impertinent Im the business leader of the Castle by Susan Hill, we ar constantly aware of the misery felt by twelve-year-old Charles Kingshaw. This, and the modality it is shown, is very important in very mind his character, and what eventually leads him to his own decease.Charles Kingshaw has a series of irrational fears. Although this is normal for most children, his fears are so crippling that they go far beyond the typical childish nightmare. An example of one of these fears is swimming pools. proto(prenominal) on in the book, Kingshaw recalls being taken to an frank-air swimming pool by his father as a much younger child. He remembers how he had feared the water, not only because he couldnt swim, just to a fault because of its glassy, artificial blueness and how peoples limbs looked huge and pale and swollen underneath.He also fears the terrible moths in the Red Room at Warings, and is afraid of touching their furry bodies. Another fear he has is of crow s. Even before he is attacked by the crow in the cornfield outside Warings, Kingshaw notes that it has provoke black wings and small, glinting eyes. He has to tell himself that it is stupid to be scared of a rotten bird. after on, when Hooper puts the stuffed crow on his bed, he is faint with fear and wishes for his own death even though he knows direct that it is not real.This is just one example of the way Hooper exploits Kingshaws fears during the novel. When he brings Kingshaw to the Red Room to show him the moths, it seems he just wants to show off. But he immediately recognises that Kingshaw is afraid when, upon seeing the moths, when he sharply draws his breath. Hooper mocks him and orders him to touch one, and Kingshaws instinct is to fight as ponderous as he can anything to avoid having to tincture them. Hooper watches him and sees this, and runs out of the room, locking the door behind him. Later on, Hooper locks Kingshaw in the dark shed, leaving him to fantasize v irtually murderers lurking in the shadows.Kingshaw thinks of Hooper as clever and cunning and thinks he will never be able to escape his endless persecution. He is unbalanced by the open hostility Hooper treats him with, and doesnt know how to beat him. However, it would be possible for Kingshaw to beat Hooper. Physically, he is taller and is strong bounteous to give Hooper a bruise when they have their only fistfight, on their very first meeting, and bites him hard plenty to make him withdraw when Hooper tries to intimidate Kingshaw on the stairs. Kingshaw would also have the capacity to beat Hooper in his see games, if he only knew it Hooper finds Kingshaw frustrating, and is at a loss to get past his dull, steady view. His insults are very childish (stupid head scaredy-baby), and Kingshaw even recognises that Hooper is not very used to being a bully. Yet Kingshaw is too and fatalistic, to see his own potential.Kingshaws fatalism is important in understanding his misery. His d escription of himself is very telling of his outlook on lifeHe had no good credence of his own chances, against Hooper. Or against anyone. He was not cowardly. Just realistic, hopeless. He did not give into people, just went, from the beginning, with the confidence that he would be beaten. It meant that there was no surprise, and no disappointment, about anything.At many points in the novel, Kingshaw has moments of attested happiness, in which he feels untouchable and in control. This is reflected in the title of the book itself, and in a after chapter in the book in which he actually climbs to the top of an ancient ruin of a castle. However, this euphory never lasts, and he falls from his castle every time- all because of his own refusal to fight against what he feels is inevitableness Hooper will always beat him, he will never win.We see these moments of happiness and his sudden fracture back to reality multiple times when he discovers his secret room in Warings and Hooper fi nds it, so he decided to just let him in when he ventures on his own into the woods and Hooper follows him when he climbs up onto the tractor in the cornfield, feeling on top of the world, and gets stuck when dismounting it so he fears it will roll back an imperativeness him. In the chapter in which he fearlessly climbs the castle whilst Hooper begs for help on a wall on a lower floor him, Kingshaw feels that surge of power again I am the KingI could kill him. But Kingshaw knows that he will not, knowing that any power he acquired would only be temporary. So he tries to help Hooper, and we, as readers, feel frustrated with his helplessness.Kingshaws mother does nothing to save her son from Hooper, or from his own fear. In fact, she contributes to his misery by determinedly trying to satisfy her own needs for notes and companionship, and ignoring Kingshaws declarations of his hate for Hooper along the way. She asks him to tell Mummy if he is upset about anything, but when he tells her how much he dislikes Hooper she tells him it is wicked to say such things. Kingshaw is deeply ashamed of his mother, of her airs and pretences and the fact that she behaves totally without pride. He knows he ought to care abouthis mother but doesnt. This is quite disturbing for a child to say, but it is understandable, as she had never known anything about him. This is proved by her remark to Mr Hooper about how Charles is settling down so happily at Warings. Charles is disgusted but is in no way surprised at her complete lack of understanding.Susan Hill is very particular in the way she uses words to show Charles Kingshaws misery. The book is in third person narrative, mostly told from Kingshaws point of view, and practically uses slightly nave, childish talking to He felt absolutely alone, there might be no other person in the whole world. There is also some informal language which pulls the reader into this childs world, and endears us to him. An example of this is his tho ught that, It always took longer than you expected, walking. This makes us feel Kingshaws misery to a greater extent during his moments of extreme terror. During these times the sentences get longer, punctuated by a series of commas, indicating a panicked, frantic train of thought He sweated a little, twisting this way and that, and reaching his left work up round behind him, to try and unhitch the string. This clearly shows us his raw, desperate fear.Rather than using split up of emotive, descriptive narration, which could detract focus from Kingshaws character, the writer has us experience Im the King of the Castle through Charles Kingshaws feelings, experiences and memories. This is very effective as it lets us become more and more involved in Kingshaws character our attachment to him builds up into a climax throughout the novel until he ultimately commits suicide. When this happens our hopes fall as Kingshaw did so many times before and does now, one last time.