Essay: The Happiest Day of Your Life
Life changing decisions isn’t easy, especially not when somebody wants to make them for you and not guide you. Your future is entirely decided by someone else. When silence seems like it couldn’t be any louder and nobody takes notice. This will be my interpretation of the novel named The Happiest Day of Your Life by Penelope Lively.
The novel is written in third person narrative, an example of that would be in the beginnig when the narrator describes the setting the boy and his family are in. We hear about the characters different actions and feelings but the narrator doesn’t comment on them, which makes it omniscient without comments. The narrator describes Charlie directly in the beginning of the novel, where the mother is described through her comments and behavior. Modes that are used are direct and indirect conversations and descriptions of different settings.
The novel takes place in St. Edward’s Preparatory School in the suburbs of London. The novel begins and ends in the car. The parents are very excited and the atmosphere in the car is quite tense. It differs from Charlie to the parents. Charles doesn’t seem to care much about the interview, since he doesn’t say a word. On the other hand his parents talk a lot about the headmaster and the school. The mother even says “I could do with a drink. Hope they lay something on” (p. 61, 10). It seems like she wants to relieve some of her nerves throughout the interview. The atmosphere at the school is strict and still very tense. County life, The Economist and The Field are all known as upper class magazines. This indicates that it isn’t cheap to be a student at the school. The school is as a beautiful place where every detail counts, “The building was red brick, early nineteenth century, spreading out long arms in which windows glittered blackly. Flowers, trapped in neat beds, were alternate red and white” (p. 62, 11-13). It ends where it begins. The parents, especially the mother, seem very relieved and happy knowing that their son will be attending at the school. Charles on the other hand seems very frightened and can’t get the sentence “Next term, we’ll mash you…” (p.65, 29), out of his head. The visit definitely made an impact on him.

“The child had black hair, flicked down smooth to his head. His ears, too large, jutted out, transparent in the light from the window, laced with tiny, delicate veins. His clothes had the shine and crease of newness” (p. 62, 32-34)
Charles is introduced in the beginning of the story. He doesn’t talk much, in fact he doesn’t say anything through the story. An insecure shy boy is the first impressions we get of Charles. Since he doesn’t speak much in the novel, we can assume that he is afraid to speak on his mind. The reason for that may be that he is scarred to see what the outcome will be. He probably haves an idea on what his parents reaction will be, if he starts arguing with them. Charles persona simply doesn’t exude disobedience. Another good example of this is when the headmaster’s wife shows Charles around the school. “She never touches him or tells him to come, but simply bears him away like some relentless tide, down corridors and through swinging glass doors; she tows him like a frail craft, not bothering to look back to see if he is following, confident in the strength of magnetism, or obedience”(p.64, 14-18).

The mother is really hyped about the school, since her friend Sally Wilcox recommended it. Also Mrs. Wilcox boy is a student there. The mother is always curious of how she looks, but also how others present themselves. On page 63 she analyzes the headmaster’s wife, her clothes and type of brand. She sees the school as something that’s exclusive and above their level in the society. It’s all about the prestige “I like the way they’ve got the maid all done up properly, the little white apron and all. Very nice. If he comes here there’ll be speech days and that kind of thing.”(p.62, 16-18). She has high hopes for the school and is really excited for her boy to be a part of it.
This will be The Happiest Days of Your Life, would easily be something the mother would have said in the car before arriving at the school or just something that she imagine it would be. Before reading the novel you might would think that this will be a story about a person who experience the happiest days of his or hers life. It could also be about the narrator describing what she thinks will be the happiest days of the reader’s life.
There are several themes through the novel. The main themes are future and individual happiness. What will you do in a near future and how will your decision affect your life. That is hard if you’re in doubt. It’s even harder when somebody tries to make the decision for you without having a chance to say no. When it’s not up for discussion and even if you try, your opinion will not be heard or considered. Parents who make their children live a life that they always wanted themselves. Living through another person, so that person doesn’t miss all the things that the parent regrets not having done while they had the opportunity.
The message Penelope Lively is trying to tell us is: speak your mind and do whatever is best for you, before it’s too late. Do not do what everybody expects you to do if it doesn’t feel right. Don’t let people live your life, but chose your own path.
Parents should not make every decision their child has to make. They need to listen to them and remember that their child’s opinion is much more important than their own. The parents should be a guide through life and participate with opinions coming from experience. If your child doesn’t seem to care it is when you need to talk to them. Maybe they are afraid to disagree what you think is right. Consider that you need to make them live their life and not live though them, but with them.