The story takes place in Sussex, England at a preparatory school for boys. The school is described as very posh and expensive place. “The trim Sussex landscape flowed past the windows: cows, white-fenced fields, highly-priced period houses”. This is when the family is on their way to the school, we get an idea and a very strong feeling of the environment. It mentions “highly-priced houses”, which is why I would say that the setting is taking plase in an upper-class environment.
“The building was red brick, early nineteenth century, spreading out long arms in which windows glittered blackley. Flowers, trapped in neat beds, were alternate red and white.” This is Charles first impression of the school; we now know that it’s an old school which is probably also a very expensive school. “Flowers, trapped in neat beds”, this sentence is very iconic, from Charles point of view I believe it’s referring to the boys who are trimmed to look pretty just like the flowers, but are trapped within the schools strict rules and the “golden bricks.”
During the short story we never get to hear Charles talk, he is asked questions, but doesn’t get to answer them before he is cut off. “The mother pitched her voice a notch higher to speak to her child in the back of the car. 'Would you like to go there, Charles? Like Simon Wilcox? Did you see the lovely gym, and the swimming pool? And did the other boys tell you all about it? The child does not answer”. She tries to ask Charles a bunch of questions by pitching her voice in a childish way, but even though she might seem to care it truly shows that she doesn’t, since she does not allow him to answer the first question before asking another one. It’s clear for us to see that the parents don’t care much for him, he doesn’t have much to say whether he wants to attend the school or not. “‘Come here and let me tidy your hair’. Just then the door opened. The child hesitated, stood up, sat, then rose again with his father.”
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