I’m the King of the Castle: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Edmund and Charles, together in the wood, decide that they’ll have to seek shelter from the impending storm. Charles notices that Edmund has become quiet and shaky, and he senses that Edmund is scared. Charles doesn’t feel sorry for Edmund, but he doesn’t want to leave Edmund either. This means that he’ll have to “take charge.”

Charles removes his anorak (i.e., parka) from his bag and calmly tells Edmund to follow. He finds a thick patch of bushes and crawls underneath, telling Edmund that they’ll be safe and dry here. The boys crouch under the bushes for what feels like a long time. Eventually, the rain subsides, and the sun comes out. Charles emerges from the bushes and hears the sound of rushing water—it must be a stream. He thinks that Edmund will follow him from now on because of their experience with the storm. But then, Edmund orders Charles to follow him to the stream, adding, “I’m leader.” Charles follows.

As the boys walk, Charles notices a dead rabbit. Edmund asks Charles if he’s ever seen a dead animal or person before, and Charles says he hasn’t. Edmund says he saw his grandfather dead, and orders Charles to ignore the rabbit, saying “dead things … don’t matter.” Charles insists that dead things do matter, but doesn’t know how to prove it. He notices a horrible, red wound on the rabbit, and throws it away, into the distance. Edmund sneers, and Charles senses that Edmund has “paid [him] back for his own terror during the storm.”

The boys walk toward the stream, and Edmund slips on the wet ground, sliding downhill. Charles walks after him. Edmund gets up, claiming that he’s found the stream and that he isn’t hurt at all. He says that they should follow the stream, since streams always lead out of woods—something Charles doesn’t really believe. Charles realizes that he doesn’t have to follow Edmund at all: eventually, Edmund is going to go home, but Charles is determined not to go back to Warings. Edmund threatens to leave Charles alone in the wood unless he comes along. Charles knows that Edmund would never do this, because he was frightened in the storm. But he follows Edmund, anyway.

As the boys walk by the stream, the wood gets darker. Eventually, Edmund stops and, his voice shaking, says that he’s tired of walking, and that he doesn’t like the dark wood. Charles calls Edmund a baby. He doesn’t like the dark wood either, but he refuses to admit it.

Abruptly, Edmund removes his clothes and announces that he’s going to swim in the stream. Charles realizes, once again, that Edmund treats the expedition through the woods as a game, nothing more. Charles begins to feel strong and grown-up, as if he can do anything. He removes his clothes and jumps into the water.

After a long while, the boys are still swimming, but the sun is going down. Edmund cries out that he has hurt his toenail. Charles offers to get an adhesive bandage from his satchel, and Edmund accepts. As Charles leaves the water, Edmund says that Charles looks like a puppet.

Charles rummages through his bag and suggests that he and Edmund build a fire. He explains how to gather stones to build a hearth, and as he talks he begins to enjoy explaining things to Edmund, who suddenly seems like a “stupid baby.”

Edmund walks toward Charles and tells Charles not to get cocky, since he can tell that Charles is still frightened of him. Edmund whispers that moths will come out at night. In spite of himself, Charles becomes afraid. He tells himself that Edmund “can’t do anything. It’s only things he says,” but nonetheless remains frightened. Charles wishes he could use Edmund’s fear against him, just as Edmund is using Charles’s fear against him. But he doesn’t know how; he just knows “he was the loser.”

Edmund asks where they are, and Charles replies that they must still be in Hang Wood. Edmund denies this—they’ve probably walked into Barnard’s Forest, which is much larger and harder to navigate. Edmund realizes that “they’ll never find us” and begins to scream and pound his fists on the ground. He begins to cry, even after Charles yells, “Shut up!” Eventually, Charles resumes building the hearth out of stones.

Charles remembers the string he packed, and tells Edmund that he’s leaving to see how far they are from the edge of the forest. He explains that he’ll tie string to a tree and unwind it, adding, “Someone did that once in history and they got away from a bull.” Edmund tells him not to leave, but then says, “You needn’t think I care if you get lost.”

Charles unravels the string, walking into the distance. He notices a rabbit and wonders if he could kill it with his penknife. He catches the animal, but when he sees its small, bloodshot eyes, he realizes that he can’t kill it, adding, “It would have been easier for him to kill Hooper.”

Charles considers walking away from Edmund for good, without even using the string. He’s confident that he could survive on his own in the wood, using his penknife. Yet he feels responsible for Edmund. He begins to retrace his path, getting closer to Edmund. By the time he returns, Edmund appears to be fishing in the stream. But as Charles approaches, he sees that Edmund is lying face down in the water. Charles pulls Edmund out of the water and drags him ashore. He tries rubbing Edmund’s back. Eventually Edmund regains consciousness, and begins to vomit and spew water out of his nostrils. While Edmund recovers, Charles builds a fire. Edmund moans, “My head hurts,” and Charles replies, “Well, you bashed it on a stone that’s why.”

Charles rummages through Edmund’s satchel and finds a cup and three white tablets, which he assumes must be aspirins. He fills the cup with water from the stream and then balances it over the fire. Meanwhile, Edmund asks Charles what he found, and Charles, not wanting to cause Edmund to panic again, claims that he’s not sure. Edmund insist that Charles is lying—he must have found the way out of the forest. He tells Charles not to sneak away—“If you do, I’ll kill you.” Charles calmly replies, “You won’t. I haven’t found a way out, if you want to know, I’ve got no idea where we are, so.”