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What clues to the identity of Charles can you find in the opening paragraph of the story?

While Charles's true identity is only revealed at the end of the story, Shirley Jackson gives us some clues in the opening paragraph when she describes the changes Laurie is undergoing. On the day Laurie starts kindergarten, he no longer likes wearing the same clothes: he swaps his "overalls with bibs" for "blue jeans" and a belt. Similarly, Laurie's demeanor also changes significantly: he is no longer a "nursery-school tot" but instead is described by his mother as a "swaggering character" who does not wave to her from the street corner anymore.


These clues are important because they foreshadow the birth of Laurie's alter ego, Charles, and his many bouts of bad behavior. They are subtle enough, however, to go almost unnoticed by the reader, and this makes the story's surprise ending (in which Charles's true identity is revealed) even more effective.

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