In the beginning of the story, Charlie lives at home and is strictly an observer of the world around him "I suppose it was having a bad chest that turned me into an observer, a watcher, at an early age"(282). Since Charlie was in a constant state of illness his mother tended to baby him a lot. It also meant that Charlie stayed at home and had little to occupy his mind other than listening to his mother's gossip. His skill of observing allowed him "glances into an adult world of conventional miseries and scandals"(283). These observations were limited to Charlie's understanding, but his skill of spying on others was perfected. Despite his glimpses into the adult world around him, Charlie remained just an innocent observer. This begins to change when he is shipped off to his Grandma's and forced to live there. Up unti

The awareness that adults are not all powerful carries over to Charlie's own actions. Charlie's encounters with sex and violence lead him to his final confrontation with Stanley the rooster. As anxiety builds up in the adults around him, Charlie finds himself feeling the same tension. With no one but the rooster to interact with, Charlie finds himself "feeling the intoxication of power"(297) as he tries to pet Stanley. Images of "the bruises on [his] aunt's legs; Thompson's face drained of life...the tendons of his neck stark and rigid with anticipation"(298) come into Charlie's head as he abuses the bird. With this act of aggression Charlie is displaying his craving to control someone else other than himself. He enjoys the feeling of power over another creature and becomes consumed by it, to the point that he murders Stanley. Charlie seems to get pleasure by killing the rooster. The feelings of power and pleasure carry over when Charlie witnesses Thompson's beating, but fails to say anything about it. With this final conscious decision Charlie becomes "a player and no longer a watcher"(306). Charlie learns that he can manipulate, and control others by using his strength and mental capa

Some common words found in the essay are:
Guy Vanderhaeghe, Stanley Charlie, Thompson Evelyn, Grandma Thompson, Stanley Images, Evelyn Thompson, Grandma Bradley, Bradley's Charlie's, , Thompson Charlie's, adult world, thompson evelyn, grandma thompson, charlie's encounters, adult world charlie, world charlie, evelyn thompson, pleasure power, sex violence, charlie learns, power violence,
Approximate Word count = 810
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)