I'm the King of the Castle: Key Quotations (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 0475 & 0992
Below you will find definitions and analysis of the best quotations arranged by the following themes:
Isolation and loneliness
Lack of love
Power and class
Childhood cruelty and fear
Death
Isolation and loneliness
I’m the King of the Castle is a novel set in a manor house, Warings, in an isolated location close to a village that is reducing in size
A number of the key characters either experience loneliness or reflect on what it is like to feel alone
“Now, the village had shrunk, people had left for the towns and there had been few newcomers, few new buildings” — Narrator, Chapter 1
Meaning and context
This is scene-setting at the start of the book and is intended to inform us of the bleakness of the book’s location
Telling us about the nearby village allows readers to gain a firm impression of the sort of area Warings is located in, and distinguishes it from the idea of an attractive English house in a pleasant setting
Analysis
The author here is attempting to reinforce the idea of isolation by stressing that the nearest village to the house is itself becoming more sparsely populated as people move away looking for better prospects
We are given the impression that the local village has little to offer the characters in the book, reinforcing the sense of isolation at Warings, which we are told in some distance from any other house
Telling us that there had been few newcomers and few new buildings gives the impression of a village that is gradually dying
“After a while, he began to cry, though without making any sound, and swallowing hard to try and stop himself. He couldn’t stop. But there was nothing that he would say, nobody to say it to” — Narrator. Chapter 2
Meaning and context
This description of Charles comes straight after he has met Edmund and the boys have fought
Charles is astounded at how hostile Edmund is being towards him
He sees the whole summer stretching of him with no respite from Edmund’s belligerence
Analysis
This is the point where Charles’ isolation is made clear to the reader, through Charles’ own reaction to Edmund’s hostility
It may be assumed by the reader, even at this early stage, that things are going to get worse for Charles
The fact there was no slow build up to Edmund’s antagonism shocks Charles, and his thoughts confirm that he is alone in dealing with a boy who is out to make his life hell
It sets the tone for the rest of the book
“I shall not be a struggling, lonely woman now, that is all passed, all done with and forgotten, and we are going to be happy, all of us together” — Narrator (relating Mrs Kingshaw’s thoughts), Chapter 17
Meaning and context
Mrs Kingshaw, Charles’ mother, reflects on her future married to Mr Hooper
She has, to a degree, forced him into a marriage proposal by suggesting in a telephone call that her future was undecided
Mr Hooper, also concerned about facing a future alone, and sexually desirous of Mrs Kingshaw, hurries to propose
Analysis
That Mrs Kingshaw is talking about the four of them being happy together shows that she has good intentions
But that at this stage of the book, the same chapter in which Charles commits suicide, she still thinks Charles could be happy living at Warings with Edmund
This shows a remarkable level of blindness about how her son is feeling and what he has gone through since their arrival
Her thoughts at this stage can be seen as the author linking Charles’ suicide to his mother’s negligence
Lack of love
Love is in short supply in this book, as the author points out in her afterword
At no point are the deceased partners/parents remembered fondly and Mr Hooper and Mrs Kingshaw’s thoughts about their children’s futures seem based on practicality rather than love
“He liked being alone, because he was used to it, he was safe with himself. Other people were unpredictable. He had never missed his father” — Narrator, Chapter 4
Meaning and context
This is close to the start of the book when Charles is getting used to his new surroundings
His fondness for being alone is probably based on necessity as a boarding school pupil with no brothers or sisters
He has probably made few friends outside of school because he has moved around the country with his mother, staying in temporary accommodation near where she has found employment
Analysis
Paradoxically (opens in a new tab), Charles is both isolated and happy being alone
This feeling of wanting to be alone has almost certainly been fuelled by Edmund’s attitude towards him since moving to the house
The fact he doesn’t miss his father suggests that they didn’t have a loving relationship
It can be assumed, even at this early stage of the book, that that is also true of his relationship with his mother
“He could recall nothing of himself at the same age except that he loathed his own father” — Narrator, Chapter 4
Meaning and context
This is Mr Hooper reflecting on his relationship with Edmund and his parenting skills, or the lack of them
On a number of occasions, he refuses to feel any guilt for the way Edmund has turned out and thinks Edmund will be like any other healthy boy
Analysis
Clearly, when he talks of loathing his own father, the author is suggesting that that lack of love, or at least his inability to show it, has now been replicated in Mr Hooper’s relationship with his son
This is important because we are then able to conclude that Edmund’s personality is the result of nurture rather than nature
“Fielding was easy, he liked to go anywhere and do anything, things pleased him, he would be friendly with anybody” — Narrator, Chapter 16
Meaning and context
Towards the end of the book, the farmer’s son Fielding enters the story
This quote is Charles reflecting on Fielding’s easy-going, friendly personality and how different that is to Edmund
Fielding goes on to show concern when Charles is unhappy that Fielding has been invited to tea at Warings and has met Edmund
Analysis
While the word love is not used in relation to Fielding in the text, it is suggested he is open and warm because he has known normal human love
It is possible to see the character of Fielding as a device to contrast how a boy turns out when he is from a loving family, and how Charles and Edmund have developed because of the lack of love in their homes
In that sense, the love Fielding displays is through concern and caring in relation to Charles’ unhappiness
Power and class
The inter-linked concepts of power and class are key themes in this book
While Edmund has power over Charles from a personality perspective, he does also remind him of their different places on the social spectrum
Mr Hooper, a wealthy property-owner, is able to use his status to attract the largely powerless Mrs Kingshaw, even though he is some years older than her and unattractive
“When my father dies this house will belong to me, I shall be master. It’ll all be mine” — Edmund, Chapter 2
Meaning and context
This is one of the first things Edmund says to Charles when they meet
He is stressing his superiority to Charles, whose family is property-less
When the book was written (1969), property ownership was much lower than it is today and would be a key indicator of social class
Analysis
It is interesting that Edmund’s immediate line of attack just after he meets Charles is to do with property ownership and social standing:
This is despite him not showing any particular fondness for the house before this point
Charles’ response that Edmund’s inheritance is nothing as it’s just an old house shows his ignorance of the value of property, and the part it plays in a country with a rigid class structure
“I am the King, I am the King, there is nothing I can’t ask him for, nothing he won’t promise me, nothing I can’t do to him” — Narrator, Chapter 12
Meaning and context
These are the thoughts of Charles when they have climbed the walls of the ruined Leydell Castle
Charles is a confident climber, but Edmund, having climbed up beside him, is frozen with fear
Charles thinks that he now has the upper hand over Edmund for one of the only times in their relationship
Analysis
This is the second time in the novel that Charles feels more powerful than Edmund (the first being when Edmund becomes hysterical when they are lost in the woods during a thunderstorm)
What the author is showing here is that a power balance can change, even when that concerns a relationship between characters as extreme as Charles and Edmund
The reader may perhaps wonder whether the way Charles has been treated by Edmund would lead to him being as abusive in turn if their roles were reversed
“People are very mean and unthinking. They do not understand how hard it is for people like us to live decently, they do not make allowances” — Mrs Kingshaw, Chapter 15
Meaning and context
This is Charles thinking back to the words his mother had often used:
She did this in the context of telling him about how Mr Hooper did understand them, and that’s why they should be grateful to him
She is attempting to get Charles to understand how their situation has changed for the better, and the implication is that she doesn’t want him to ruin things for them
Analysis
Mrs Kingshaw is suggesting here that they have been treated badly in the past because of their lower class standing
She tells him, on another occasion, that he is too young to understand where they would be if it were not for Mr Hooper
This adds to Charles’ growing sense of entrapment
“Something will happen to you Kingshaw” — Edmund, Chapter 17
Meaning and context
This is what Edmund has written on a letter slipped under Charles’ door at the end of the novel
Charles destroyed Edmund’s battle chart in a fit of temper after Edmund went off to explore with Fielding:
He is now anticipating Edmund’s revenge
This chilling note is one of the final straws that leads Charles to take his own life
It is an echo of a previous threat which Edmund speaks to Charles earlier in Chapter 15, when he is bedridden after his fall from the castle
Analysis
Edmund clearly understands Charles’ fear, and this note is his way of telling Charles that worse is to come
Following his panic on the castle walls that briefly handed power to Charles, he is now totally back in control again
He understands that by delaying his revenge on Charles for destroying his battle chart, he is causing untold psychological damage on a boy who is already traumatised by having to attend the same school as Edmund and by news of his mother’s plans to marry Mr Hooper
Childhood cruelty and fear
The novel explores cruelty and the power of evil, which can possess even a young child:
That cruelty works best when it is used against another child full of fear and with a nervous disposition.
Edmund’s cruelty would not have worked on the self-confident farm boy Fielding, for example
Once he realises that Charles is the perfect victim, his cruelty increases
“All he could do was bait and bait, seeing how far he could go, trying to think of new things” — Narrator, Chapter Three
Meaning and context
This is Edmund thinking of the endless possibilities of tormenting Charles
He is curious at this early stage of the book about how Charles will react to certain things, and about what is going on inside his head
There certainly seems to be a sort of glee from Edmund
Analysis
Because there is nothing spontaneous about Edmund’s cruelty, the author is suggesting that Edmund is evil, even demonstrating psychopathic tendencies
It could be argued that Edmund is acting out of boredom, but he could have just as easily have alleviated that boredom by befriending Charles who would have been a willing play partner:
It is difficult to conclude that Edmund is acting out of anything other than malice
By considering his plans, the reader knows there is worse to come
“Maybe I put you in here just because I felt like it. I wanted to” — Edmund. Chapter 11
Meaning and context
Edmund has locked Charles in a shed, remembering how fearful he was when he had previously locked him in a room containing a dead moth collection
When he is in there, Edmund taunts him about the power he will have over him as Head of Dorm when Charles moves to Edmund’s school
He then turns to taunts that there may be moths or even a bat in the shed with Charles
Analysis
Edmund has grown into his role as tormentor
He knows exactly how to terrify Charles and is skillful enough to play on a number of fears at once
The author is demonstrating to us that Edmund will never show any mercy and that he is enjoying the effect this is having on Charles
She is also demonstrating that Charles is not becoming any more resilient and, in fact, that he is becoming more and more traumatised by Edmund’s relentless attacks
“When he closed his eyes it made no difference, it made it worse because then he could imagine everything” — Narrator, Chapter 16
Meaning and context
These are Charles’ internal thoughts on a visit to the circus
He is terrified by the sights, the smells, the clowns, the elephants and by thoughts that the big top may collapse and crush everyone
He is so frightened that he is violently sick
Analysis
This suggests that Charles’ fears are not solely linked to Edmund’s actions:
He is a boy with multiple fears
This also reinforces how little Mrs Kingshaw knows about her son:
She admits that, when he was a little boy, he was frightened of the circus but suggests, without bothering to ask him, that that is all forgotten
Death
Death is a prominent theme in the book, starting with Edmund’s grandfather on his deathbed and ending with Charles’ suicide
Imagery (opens in a new tab) includes a dead moth collection, a dead stuffed crow and a dead rabbit in the woods
All of the images of death in the book are typical of gothic novels, but also seem to be a pathway to the novel’s conclusion, the death of Charles
“All he looks like is one of his dead old moths” — Edmund, Chapter 1
Meaning and context
This is right at the start of the book, when Edmund is taken to see his grandfather on his deathbed
When Edmund walks away he thinks nothing of his grandfather, but later remembers the moth-like whiteness of his skin
His death is the point at which Edmund’s father inherits the house and advertises for a housekeeper, which results in the arrival of Charles and his mother
Analysis
Here, Edmund is established as a cold, unfeeling boy who has no emotional attachment to his grandfather
This implies that his personality will be troublesome as the book progresses
His comment comparing his grandfather to a dead moth shows a lack of respect to his father, who is with him, and suggests their relationship is a difficult one
The passing of one generation leads to the next generation taking over
“He knew at once that the crow was not real, that it was stuffed and dead” — Narrator, Chapter 3
Meaning and context
Seeing Charles’ fear when he is attacked by a crow in the field, Edmund takes a dead, stuffed crow from the attic and puts it on Charles’ bed when he is asleep
Charles is petrified but refuses to cry out as he thinks Edmund will be listening
He is afraid of wetting the bed, wishes to be dead and wishes Edmund to be dead
Analysis
This scene is significant because its shows for the first time the extent of Edmund’s cruelty
It also shows a degree of intelligence, albeit of the evil kind, in correctly identifying how to create terror in Charles’ mind
The scene also shows just how frightened Charles is of winged creatures, dead or alive
The crow is seen by many people as a harbinger of death, and this is an early signpost of what we can expect in this book
“When he saw Kingshaw’s body upside down in the water, Hooper thought suddenly it was because of me, I did that” — Narrator, Chapter 17
Meaning and context
Charles’ suicide at the end of the novel may be seen as an inevitable outcome
Edmund finds him first, before the adults arrive
The quote reveals Edmund’s chilling reaction to the death of his stepbrother-to-be:
Instead of horror or sorrow, the realisation that he has caused the death brings him a sense of power
Analysis
Edmund’s evil personality and Mrs Kingshaw’s emotional detachment from her own son are both laid bare in this scene
Edmund feels a “spurt of triumph” at the thought that he had led Charles to do this
This differentiates him from normal childhood bullies who might be showing some form of regret at this point
Mrs Kingshaw, meanwhile, tells Edmund not to look at the body as it will make him upset and that everything is all right.
The book ends at this point, so it is possible that Mrs Kingshaw is in shock or believes Charles has died in an accident
But it is also possible to conclude that she will not even let the death of her son scupper her chances of happiness and security, along with an improvement in her social standing through her new family unit
Source
Hill, S. (1970) I’m the King of the Castle. 1989 edn. Penguin.
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