Write about the ways in which you think Mrs. Kingshaw and Mr. Hooper contribute to Kingshaw's death
'I'm the king of the castle' by Susan Hill is a tragic story about a neglected and tormented boy that commits suicide (Kingshaw).Other than the antagonist (Hooper),I strongly believe that Kingshaw's mother and her partner Mr. Hooper play a huge role in contribution to Kingshaw's death. However, their past also affects who they are now and how Kingshaw was treated.
Mrs. Kingshaw's personality and actions engenderes her contribution to Kingshaw's death. Mrs. Kingshaw is a superficial widow lacking male company, her shallow personality leads to her neglect towards her poor son Kingshaw which contributed to his tragic death. Her superficiality gradually grows throughout the book as Kingshaw's death gets closer, from the day she came to Warings when she wore a " jade green suit and worried about it ,lest it should be thought too smart", she was very worried about her appearance, and that straightaway hints us that she could be self-centric. As the story slowly evolves, many evidences reinforce the reader's idea about her 'single-mindness' when 'she thought, my life is changing, everything is turning out for the best', it is clearly obvious that she does not care about Kingshaw's life when she said 'my' instead of 'our', that unravels her neglect towards her poor son. Mrs. Kingshaw is so occupied by her own affairs and blinded by her pursuit of happiness; she always tries to impress or seduce Mr. Hooper by either attempting to 'mother' his son Hooper or by trying to wear impressive clothes, and that lead to Kingshaw being utterly neglected. The relationship between Kingshaw and his mother was very distant, as there was a lack of motherly love and isolation which is reinforced though the setting and also Mrs. Kingshaw's keenness not to favor her own son. We can also tell how ashamed Kingshaw was from his mother's actions when 'the bracelet slipped up and down her arm" or when his peers called her an 'old tart', the shame also turned into hatred : "he hated it" . Mrs. Kingshaw's utter disbelief and lack of interest and unwillingness to relate to her son made him lose faith in humanity "people are no good, then, people can never help me". She always ignored the hostility between him and Hooper, but subconsciously its Hooper that she sides with and she is blind of Kingshaw's feelings as there is a lack of parental skills and communication .
