1. By way of exposition, we are told that —

A Laurie is really Charles

B Laurie enters kindergarten

C the PTA meeting is the next week

2. The rising action in the story is made up of —

A disagreements between Laurie’s mother and father

B examples of Charles’s attempts to improve his behavior

C reports of Charles’s bad behavior and the punishments he receives as a result

3. The point of view in “Charles” is that of —

A a first-person narrator who is also a participant in the story

B a detached and omniscient third-person narrator who is inside the heads of all the characters

C a third-person limited point of view

4. The character of Charles is largely developed through —

A what another character says about him

B direct statements by the author describing his appearance and summarizing his thoughts

C his own words and actions

5. The character of Laurie is also developed through —

A what another character says about him

B direct statements by the author describing his appearance and summarizing his thoughts

C his own words and actions

6. The conflict in the story can best be described as —

A internal

B external, taking the form of man versus man or man versus society

C external, taking the form of man versus nature

7. The conflict that emerges during the rising action is “the major element of plot because opposing forces arouse curiosity, cause doubt, create tension, and produce interest,” according to Edgar Roberts, author of Writing About Literature. Which event advances the plot as it arouses curiosity and causes doubt?

A “Laurie filled his wagon full of mud and pulled it through the kitchen.”

B Laurie reports that Charles has become the teacher’s helper.

C Laurie’s father “caught his elbow in the telephone cord and pulled the telephone and a bowl of flowers off the table.”

8. Literature textbook authors Roberts and Jacobs claim that the climax “is the story’s high point” which “may take the shape of a decision, an action, an affirmation or denial, or an illumination or realization.” Given this definition, identify the climax of “Charles.”

A Charles appears to have undergone a “transformation” when Laurie reports that the teacher gave him an apple and made him her helper because he behaved so well.

B Laurie’s mother comes to an “illumination or realization” at the PTA meeting.

C Laurie reports that Charles will probably be thrown out of school.

All complete. Great job!