Characterization of Charlie Stowe

Charlie Stowe is a 12-year-old boy. He lives together with his mother and father. They live on top of a tobacconist shop, which his father keeps. Charlie has some problems in his life. He doesn’t have a good relationship to his father. Charlie doesn’t love his father. He’s not close to him. He feels like he is far away from him, and who only notices him spasmodically. He describes him like a thin, pale, indefinite wraith. There is a part of Charlie that feels uncomfortable, or unsafe because he can’t look for safety with both of his parents. Also his father’s dislike and indefinite movements made Charlie a little scared. He never new where he was, and sometimes it was in the middle of the night. In spite of that, he can still see some things they have in common, and Charlie’s love for his father is not seen until his father is in a difficult situation.
On the other hand Charlie has a great relationship with his mother. His mother is a person who is social, and bonds with everyone. Here Charlie finds himself comfortable and safe. It sounds like Charlie’s mother is his only family.

Charlie is about to enter the teenage period, and in this period it is very important to feel like a part of the group. You don’t want to be the one who stands out. In this situation he is doing things that he knows that he’s not supposed to do, but the need to be close to his friends is forcing him. Socializing is more important to Charlie, than being a thief.
Charlie bounces from the way of being an adult, between the ways of being a child. He keeps telling himself if he gets caught, then he might as well have his smoke. He sees himself brave and a step closer to be an adult. But he is also frightened of getting caught, and doesn’t dare to move, or switch the light on. So it’s an odd mix-up of “grown-up and childish exhortations”.
The fact that