Compare And Contrast Charles And The Open Window

Charles/The Open Window Comparative Essay
“You can’t Judge a book by its cover,” but you can judge it by its content. In the two stories: “Charles” which was written by Shirley Jackson, an American writer, who’s prominence was in the late 1940’s through the early 60’s and “The Open Window” which was written by H. H. Munro, also known as “Saki,” who was born in the United Kingdom and made his mark in the early 1900’s, took fairly different approaches to establishing a similar suspense and ending to their stories. This could possibly be attributed to the era in which the stores were written or may be variations in the author’s personalities or even geographical location, but at final conclusion Charles was the better story. The story Charles

was better because it was more colorful, more suspenseful, and therefore, a better read.

“Charles” was a more colorful story than “The Open Window.” In the story “Charles” you can imagine a lit kitchen table, two adults and two children, the sun shining in, and the smell of fresh air.

You can almost feel a sense of color in the author’s expressions when she said things like “He came home the same way, the front door slamming open, his cap on the floor, and the voice suddenly become raucous shouting, “Isn’t anybody here? (Jackson, p. 229)“ You can almost imagine yourself in the house when the door swings open. The Open Window seems more like a gloomy autumn afternoon, sitting in a figurine filled living room, on a couch, and the smell of oldness or maybe rubbing alcohol, in the air. Shirley Jackson did a better job of pulling you into the setting of the story than Saki did. She did this by using more descriptive details whereas Saki was used more general descriptions. This could have been a factor of character position. Laurie, the main character in “Charles”, did things, whereas Vera, in “The Open Window”, was only sitting stationary, having a conversation. This is why “Charles” was a more colorful

story.
The story “Charles” was also more suspenseful than “The Open Window.” In Charles,” as the story progresses, you can’t wait to see what the character “Charles” has done when Laurie returns from school.

It pulls you in to the point that you’re anxious for him to return, as if he’s your own child. “The Open Window” doesn’t progress fast enough. It seems as if the story will never reach its climax. The author spent a lot of time “framing” the story with details of Mr. Nuttel’s purpose and background, which was not relevant to the main point and title of the story, which was, why the window was open. Detail like, “ Do you know many of the people round here? (Munro), p. 233)”, were only used to “bulk-up” the story. “Charles” got right to the point and started you on the journey of where the story was going. Even though Saki ended “The Open Window” with wit, it was “too little, too

late.

In Closing, “Charles” was a better read because it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story, whereas, “The Open Window” made me relax more for the boredom that was to come. The setting and the details of “Charles” made it more colorful than “the Open Window.” “The Open Window” didn’t progress until the end of the story but “Charles” opened the story smoothly and flowed from beginning to end. “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” but after reading these two stories Charles was a better read, because it was more suspenseful and had more color.

Works Cited
Jackson, S. (2016). Charles. In H. S. David Skwire, Student's Book of College English(Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook) (Fourth Edition ed., p. 638). New York: Pearson.
Munro), S. (. (2016). The Open Window. In H. S. David Skwire, Student's Book of College English(Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook) (Fourth Edition ed., p. 638). New York: Pearson.