The Death of Kingshaw: A Summary of 'I'm the King of the Castle'
Charles Kingshaw faces relentless bullying and persecution from Edmund Hooper in the haunting setting of Warings. The story unfolds with intense psychological tension as the power dynamics shift between the two boys. As the narrative progresses, we witness the tragic events that lead to Kingshaw's ultimate decision in Hang Wood. Themes of fear, isolation, and the struggle for control are intricately woven throughout Susan Hill's gripping novel.
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Year 11 revision. Tuesday, 10 September 2024 Susan Hill Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Plot Charles Kingshaw and his mother Helena come to live with Edmund Hooper and his father Joseph in Warings. But, Kingshaw is made unwelcome by Hooper : " I DID NOT WANTYOU TO COME HERE". Kingshaw is bullied and persecuted by Hooper (ex : he locks him up in the Red Room with the moths). Kingshaw takes a walk in the cornfield and he is attacked by a crow. After that Hooper puts a dead crow in Kingshaw's room to frighten him, and while the parents are in London, Charles decides to escape from Hooper in Hang Wood. Kingshaw is followed by Hooper in Hangwood. However, Hooper feels unsafe in the wood and hurts himself. Kingshaw is now in a position of superiority. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
After that they are found by a hunter, and Kingshaw is severely punished by his mother. Joseph Hooper decides to take the family to Leydell Castle. After trying to climb up the tower ruins, Hooper falls and injures himself. While Hooper is at the hospital, Kingshaw meets Anthony Fielding. When Hooper comes back home, he blames his accident on Kingshaw. He also learns that Helena and Joseph are going to get married. Anthony Fielding comes to Warings and Hooper tries to sympathise with him so that Kingshaw is left alone. To express his anger, Kingshaw burns Hooper s battle plans. The next morning, Kingshaw finds a paper in his room saying Something will happen to you, Kingshaw . Scared, he decides to go into Hang Wood where he commits suicide. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Setting Warings : some distance from any other house 10.1 : sense of isolation, not belonging to society. Warings was ugly. It was entirely graceless, rather tall and badly angled built of dark red bricks 10.5 Very imposing, blood colour, frightening image, suggestion of character of owners yew trees Found in cemeteries, symbol of death. high ceiling rooms, with heavy, sashed windows, the oak wall- panelling and the oak doors, and the oak staircase, the massive furniture 11.1 Unwelcoming, dark, heaviness of the house. Red Room : the stiff, animal bodies and the dead fish, and the rows of outstretched moths , the silent room Place where death is present, gloomy, place of fear. Moreover, while he is locked in, the only thing Kingshaw could see from outside were the yew tree, the rhododendrons - symbols of death. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Hang Wood 1/3rd of the whole book. Central position: At first, during Kingshaw s walk in the cornfield, the forest is dark , the branches are clearly outlined . It s a threatening place. When Kingshaw escaped into Hang Wood, there s at first a gloomy ambiance with the dead rabbit, and then Kingshaw becomes obsessed with the river : the water of the stream and the pond looked completely transparent , I never want to leave it, this is the best feeling in the world . The river, which foreshadows Kingshaw s death. Hang Wood is the place where Kingshaw feels the safest, which gives him a sensation of strength. Kingshaw has to jump a ditch to gain entry 69.4 liminal markers. He liked the smell and the sense of being completely hidden 70.5 Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Leydell Castle : He felt high above them, very tall and strong, too, nobody could touch him . Leydell Castle is a place where Kingshaw feels superior to everyone : Fuck to you, I m not going to fall 149.7 , Up here, I m the king 153.5. But more particularly superior to Hooper : He thought suddenly, I could kill him 153.5 . Around him : the flat grass and the lake . Idea of liberty and voyeurism . Kingshaw attains height closer to notion of heaven than the dungeons visited by Hooper Hellish idea. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Village of Derne 1&1/2hours to London 15 minutes to Bristol Derne London Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Main Themes Isolation: p.194.3 Kingshaw lay down on his bed and pushed his face into the cold silk quilt p.187.4 He wanted to cry with frustration Parent/child relationships: 185.8 for she had decided to ignore it 186.9 he did not care very much about her (kingshaw) Generally look for this in Mr Hooper as well. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Characters Edmund Hooper: "He could not have imagined the charm it afforded him, having Kingshaw here, thinking of things to do to him. Behaviour: violent / lonely / isolated in his own mind/ Strategic Relationship with others: *Father: distant and cold relationship / lack of affection between them *Kingshaw: sees him as an intruder: "I didn't want you to come here Origin of troubles: motherless=insecurity created by her absence. Key caracteristic: cruelty -Stuffed crow in Kingshaw s bedroom. -Pretending generosity in front of the adults with the cereal packet submarine. -Locking Kingshaw into the Red Room once he realizes Kingshaw is afraid of the moths. -His lies and accusations But weaknesses: sometimes he is in lower position behaviour in Hang Wood and Leydell Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Joseph Hooper: "For he knew himself to be an ineffectual man, without any strength or imposing qualities. Behaviour: sense of failure/ his life is stained by constant disappointment / personality destroyed by his father criticism = lack confidence/ mostly unhappy (unhappy marriage etc ) Relationship with others: *Edmund: cold/distant/nervous *dead wife: no regret/ disappointed (also sexually speaking)/unhappy marriage/cold *Helena: convenient relationship / no real attraction but they respond to each other s needs = in fact they are just interested in what they can take from each other/ they are similar *Kingshaw: (p.165) tries to comfort him after his nightmare= attitude of a father/ different attitude towards Edmund as he had inherited his mother s coldness. However not very close, Mr Hooper is seen like a crow by Kingshaw. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Charles Kingshaw: He did not give in to people, he only went, from the beginning, with the assurance that he would be beaten Behaviour: Weak character/ locked in his imagination: almost anything frightens him, his imagination makes everything worse (ex: the crow) Sensitive: irrational fears (dark, insects,...)/ little confidence in himself= can't fight with Hooper. Lack of affection from his mother / lack of understanding, provoke despair + locked in his own world / he has no model attitude Common point with Hooper: no friends + they lost one parent + isolation Imagery of Kingshaw: water = stream is seen as a sanctuary. When away from people and places that oppress him, Kingshaw is relaxed and able to enjoy life. ex: stream / Leydell castle etc...but his lack of a role model does not help him to build his personality = weakness Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Helena Kingshaw: Things must not go wrong, this is my chance and I shall not waste it. I mean us all to be very happy. Behaviour: superficial person = jewellery + make up. lacks a man company + tries to seduce J.Hooper/ she seeks her OWN security throughout the book. Relationship with others: *Charles: distant relationship / Kingshaw is ashamed of her. She pretends to care about him but she only cares about herself : seeks her own happiness + ignores the fight between the boys+ she talks AT Charles in a babyish language, not WITH him *Mr Hooper: she tries to seduce him/shortening her skirts etc... *Hooper: tries to act as if they were a family. She protects Hooper until the end even when her own child has committed suicide as if forming a "family" was the most important thing to her. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Characters Edmund Hooper: Manipulative - p.10.6 He (Mr H) shrank from the expression in the boy s eyes ; but he knew where to find the key p.9.5 Control - p.11.7 (single sentence para) The boy s room, high up ( ) overlooked the copse. He had chosen it. p.24.3 white paper was pinned on the wall, with curious lines, and little coloured dots, in blocks, together p.8. nobody must come in here + p.10 it was his Cruel - p.18 I didn t want you to come here p.7.9 all he looks like is one of his dead old moths Joseph Hooper: Lacks confidence - p.11 He knew himself to be an ineffectual man, without any strength or imposing qualities Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Charles Kingshaw: Isolated - p.189 wanting only to get out, to get away from them all Overreacting - p.208 everybody will fall and there is nothing I can do p.160-161 The film he sees on the television Helena Kingshaw: Superficial - p.59 the bracelet slipped up and down her arm p.134 There was a green powder in the wrinkles along her eyelids. He hated it. Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
STYLE NARRATIVE VOICE -Different view points of characters (find examples in the story) although we do not really get inside Hooper s mind which keeps his motives a mystery -3rd person narrator, but sometimes she slips into the 1stperson narrative voice (we hear their thoughts and words) Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
SYMBOLS Symbols are important : they represent key themes of the novel or abstract ideas -EXAMPLES: -Battle plans > reflects Hooper s strategy, he sees life as a battle. -Jewellery + make-up > Mrs Kingshaw, superficiality -Crow > terror for Kingshaw -Fielding > life, nature -Hang wood > reflects another world -Punch and Judy (141 ch11) > violence, lack of tenderness or love, claustrophobia, fears and desires -Warings > death, decline, war -Weather > human emotions Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
WRITING Susan Hill uses a certain number of techniques in the novel: -Pathetic fallacy -Flashbacks -Symbolism -Use of dialogues -Adopting a child s tone: scaredy-baby -Accurate + deep descriptions Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
Language Focalisation: Story written in the third person but we often see things through the character s eyes Short sentences not sophisticated: Stuff it! - Get lost! - Scaredy baby! Use of contractions: I m O.K. - I m the King of the Castle Repetition: I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. Simple vocabulary / Children s slang: rotten - bloody - nosey-face Pathetic Fallacy: The attribution of human emotionsorcharasteristicsto inanimate objects or nature: angry clouds - Cry baby! bloody shed - a cruel wind - Jonathan Peel JLS 2015
