Compare the presentations of Nicholas and Charles in "Next Term we'll mash you" and "The Lumber Room" Charles and Nicholas are characters that are very different in some ways but quite similar in others.

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Compare the presentations of Nicholas and Charles in "Next Term we'll mash you" and "The Lumber Room"

Charles and Nicholas are characters that are very different in some ways but quite similar in others.

Charles (from Next Term We'll mash you) is portrayed as the "victim" of his story. How he is portrayed by Penelope Lively makes us pity Charles. He is described like this, "His [Charles] ears, too large, jutted out, transparent in the light of the window, laced with tiny, delicate veins". These images that the author feeds us make Charles look small, weak and indeed pathetic. She uses these images to make us see him as to emphasis his role as the victim, as the small, innocent child powerless to control events happening around him. Obviously this would not have been as easy to do if the author had described Charles as a tall, strong athlete. Charles is a character who, unlike Nicholas, is not accustomed to controlling events but, in a sense, being controlled by them. He is afraid to stand up for himself. As he is leaving the school with his parents, his face is "haggard with anticipation" as he thinks about going back. It shows Charles' pitiful character clearly.

If Charles is portrayed as a victim, then Nicholas, from The Lumber Room, is portrayed by Saki as a hero within the context of his story. Although nothing much is said about his physicality, we immediately see him strong and able-bodied with the maturity of a "young adult" rather than a child. When we read through the story, his intelligence and cunning show clearly, as does his creative imagination. However, the lack of detail placed on Nicholas' physicality places an emphasis on how insignificant he is thought of by other characters in the his environment, especially his aunt who has a very low opinion of him indeed. This lack of description also adds to the mystery of Nicholas' character and power he exerts in the story.
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In fact, it is quite ironic that the pathetic Charles has been given so much space addressed to his physicality whereas Nicholas, the shroud, clever and cunning one of the two is given none. For Nicholas however, it is not important that we know what he looks like or how old he is, as it is his mind that makes his character. We find out how he has developed coping strategies for his somewhat monotonous life by setting himself challenges and aims, such as exploring the lumber room. Another direct comparison to Charles' character is that Nicholas is ...

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