Charlie and his mom

I feel Charlie's mother, in Charlie's case, is neglectful and unsupportive. As Charlie was talking about his success in English class, I felt like her reply about moving up a grade or two, was a way to end the undesirable conversation. She did not seem interested in Charlie's success and so she decided to say something that would make him shut up and think for a while, so she could be alone. Charlie didn't expect her to reply with that and that is why it was so dramatic. She didn't contribute much to the conversation because she didn't see the need to. She wanted to say just enough to act like she cared and had helpful ideas. I feel this dialogue is dramatic to the audience, especially high school students who read this book because we are all accustomed to our types of parents and their parenting styles, that we find flaws with other types of styles. It is hard for us to imagine why a mom would say something like that to her son, especially when it is something to be proud of. Many of us can sympathize with Charlie because we know what it is like with certain, distinct parents. I know that my perception of his mother will definitely change as she has really only been in one scene, again, that was just my first impression. I would like to think that Charlie has one stable person to lean on, but then again he wouldn't feel the need to write to me.