you will see that wars dominate. The whole of human history is riddled with wars. Wars
have become landmarks in the history of civilised human society. All these wars, all these
lives lost, stem from one thing, the instinct among humans to acquire territory and the instinct
among humans to defend and not to back down. Not to back down, from invaders,
persecution or oppression.
Susan Hill demonstrates this in her characters, Kingshaw and Hooper , in ‘I’m the
king of the Castle’. At first we read about Hooper. We read about his family history, and
about Warings, a house which is part of the Hooper family history. Hooper didn’t think
much of the house physically. “It was an ordinary house, he thought”. However, we go on
to learn that there were aspects which he did like.
“the idea it was his, the idea of family history, pleased him”
This statement reflects a lot about Hooper. It shows that he likes owning things, he may like
the feeling of being superior, ruling over places, having his own home, his own territory.
This is shown , in his reaction , when he learns that Kingshaw is coming to stay. “ ‘It is my
house’, he thought , ‘…I got here first’ ” .
Hooper’s territorial instincts are revealed, when he immediately resists the idea of
Kingshaw coming to stay in his house and shows a dislike for him , even though he has not
met him- thus starting a conflict situation from the beginning, a typical human reaction.
Hooper views Kingshaw as a threat- a person who could take from him. Kingshaw finds a
piece of paper, upon which was written in bold capital letters . “I DIDN’T WANT YOU
TO COME HERE ”. From here on , Hopper treats Kingshaw with disdain and
resentment. We learn that Hooper confronts his unwanted guest , ‘Hooper said, “ why
have you come here?” ’ By saying this Hooper strongly suggests to Kingshaw that he is
not wanted . Not only did he treat Kingshaw as an intruder into his house, Hooper also
wanted to assert a superior position as the king of his castle .
“‘When my father dies,’… ‘this house will belong to me, I shall be master’” The statements
by Hooper to Kingshaw shows an clear relevance to the title of the book because
effectively, Hooper is saying “I’m the king of the castle”.
‘I’m the king of the castle ,your the dirty rascal’ this is also a game played by children.
Hooper , sometimes seems as though he is playing games with Kingshaw, almost like he is
using him as a toy, or scoring points every time Kingshaw is made to feel bad by him. He
tries to find different ways of insulting Kingshaw, putting him down, scaring him, putting him
in situations he doesn’t like, and generally making his life unpleasant. We see a number of
examples in which Hooper succeeds in doing this.
In Chapter X we read about how Hooper alleges to Joseph Hooper, Hooper’s father, and
Kingshaw’s mother, Helena Kingshaw, that Kingshaw was to blame for his injury. Hooper
claimed that Kingshaw pushed him while they were in the woods together.
“It was Kingshaw, it was Kingshaw, he pushed me in the water.”
This is in fact completely untrue. His bruised head was caused by an accident on his part. By
saying this, Hooper is trying to make Kingshaw feel unwanted. This is one example of the
tactics he uses in the game he is playing with Hooper.
An other example of how Hooper scores points over Kingshaw, is by making him feel
inferior. This is done right throughout the book. In Chapter VI, Hooper talks about
Kingshaw’s mother , as a servant to Hooper’s father, that Kingshaw is simply the son of
someone who works for his father. He even says “she [Kingshaw’s mother] has to do what
my father says, and that means you have to do what I say”
That would either make Kinshaw angry, or feel inferior, probably a bit of both. Hooper
would definitely have felt that he had got one over Kingshaw in any case.
The title , is also relevant because we also know that Hooper behaviour reveals his concept
of territory and possession is strong. He expects to succeed to his fathers house , after his
fathers death, and as owner of the house, he will expect to be obeyed and that people will
do as he says. Hooper also enjoyed drawing up plans for battles to defend his territory, for
example, we learn that in Hoppers bedroom , “ ‘ the battle charts with its coloured pins and
flags and symbols , was propped up on its easel. On the table were Hooper’s long lists of
regiments..,” ‘.
We are reminded again that ownership of property , makes people like Hooper feel
important, like a king in his castle, ready to defend at a moments notice. Conflicts and wars
often start with fights by kings over the ownership of castles and territory .
In conclusion the title of the book , remained relevant throughout the story ,through to the
end , when Hooper eventually got the better of Kingshaw , who in the end took his own
life. Even then Hooper saw this incident as a triumph, just as a king in his castle might do , if
he had won a victorious struggle. We read that Hooper discovers Kingshaw had died ,
and then “ ‘ Hooper thought suddenly , it is because of me , and a spurt of triumph
went through him” ’.
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