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I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill – Worksheet One

1. Read Chapter 1 and pick out elements which help us to understand Edmund Hooper’s character. Put them in the table below.

Hooper’s character Evidence / Quotation Comment His attitude towards his dead “All he looks like is one of This suggests that Hooper is grandfather his dead old moths.” Page 7. an unfeeling child who is unable to show any compassion for others.

His attitude towards his father

His attitude towards Warings

2. Read pages 9 and 10 and the description of Warings. Pick out elements to describe the inside and outside of the house.

a. ……………………………………………………………………………………… b. ……………………………………………………………………………………… c. ……………………………………………………………………………………… d. ………………………………………………………………………………………. e. ……………………………………………………………………………………….

What impression do you get of the house and the surroundings?

……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Look at the quotations below to describe Mr Hooper.

“This collection is worth a great deal of This quotation shows that Mr Hooper is not money.” Page 13 interested in the collection for sentimental 2

reasons but purely for its monetary worth. “He had been forced to watch as the insects His relationship with his father seems to have were removed from their poison-fume bottles been …. with tweezers … he had hated it.” Page 13

“Joseph Hooper had known that he would It suggests that he feels ….. never do so.” (make a name for himself).

4. Read Chapters 2 and 3 and make a list of the different things that Hooper does to make Kingshaw feel unwelcome. Then give them a score out of ten. 1 = not very cruel ; 10 = very cruel.

Example Rank a. Hooper refuses to come down and meet him when he arrives. 4 / 10 b. c. d. e. f. g.

5. Re-read chapters 1-4 and then fill in the grid below. Try and find a quotation which substantiates each statement. Draw out the grid on a separate piece of paper.

Statement Quotation Comment Hooper and his father do not have a close relationship. Hooper uses people’s a. weaknesses. b. Kingshaw seems to be a very sensitive boy. Kingshaw has a vivid imagination. Kingshaw is also isolated from his mother. Both of the parents are aware of the difficulties between the two boys.

Writing Task (half a page): Character analysis Now use the above to write a paragraph about either Kingshaw or Hooper. Describe personality first and then comment on your understanding of your chosen character. Be ready to read out your character analysis. 3

Techniques: Symbolism in the novel – one technique to look out for as you read through the novel is the way in which Susan Hill makes use of symbols to represent key themes or ideas in the novel. Look at the following below and try to comment on them.

Symbol Quotes Comment The yew tree is often “Up the drive, and at the associated with death so it back of the house, bunched suggests that …… between the yew trees, were the great bushes of rhododendron.” Page 10

Yew Tree “He had planted the rhododendrons too, not at all for their brief, dramatic show of colour in May and June, but for their dark green, leathery leaves and toughness of stem, their substantial look.” Page 10 Rhododendron Death Head’s Hawk Moth Page 15 – “He stretched out his hand, put his finger under the head of the pin and slid it up, out of the thick, striped body. At once the whole moth, already years dead, Death’s Head Hawk Moth disintegrated, collapsing into a soft, formless heap of dark dust.”

Page 40 – “Kingshaw did not know which were worse, moths alive with their whirring, pattering wings, or these moths, flattened and pinned and dead.”

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