Throughout the course of history, authors incorporated events of their life, milestones in time, and their personal opinions and views in their work. Stephen King is a prime example of an author that does such. By writing about his life, his era, and his opinions, he develops an interesting and unique storyline in each of his novels. By focusing on events of his time period and life, Stephen King develops his philosophy which is presented in his novel The Shining. Stephen King’s life was not the smoothest, and understanding his life events is helpful in connection to his work. First, “Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947,” (King, Tabitha). Stephen King’s dad walked out on him and his mother, leaving her unpaid bills. Stephen …show more content…
For example, the 1970s “laminated the decline of ‘traditional’ social values and roles,” (“The 1970s”). In the novel The Shining, the decline of traditional values is evident in Danny’s thoughts: “...for just a moment his own consciousness had plunged through his daddy’s darkness to an incomprehensible word much more frightening than DIVORCE, and that word was SUICIDE,” (King, The Shining 41). Before the 1970s, divorce was not a cultural normal. Traditional marriage ideas were still in place and divorce was a last resort. Also, with the idea of avoiding divorce, traditional family values were enforced. Danny’s mom asks him, “Would you [Danny] be happier if we went away from the Overlook? If we didn’t stay the winter,” (King, The Shining 294). Wendy implies leaving the Overlook and her husband despite not completing Jack’s winter job. Wendy’s wish to leave for the winter can be connected to Feminism in the 1970s. Feminism and female rights movements were extremely apparent throughout the decade in the fight for equality (“The 1970s”). Before the time period, women were expected to stay home and stay with their families. Perhaps, King added Wendy’s desire and achievement of leaving her husband at the end of the book as a supportive point with Female rights. Lastly, in the 1970s the anti war movement continued to persist (“The 1970s”). The Shining had a great number of violence in Jack’s encounters with Wendy and his son Danny. These violent encounters contradict the anti war movements of the time period and King’s protests in college. Clearly, Stephen King’s era influenced his
In each of the issues presented in the book, from race, class, and religion, the women of these Arizona towns play an important role, thus it is safe to assume that it is Gordon’s intention to emphasize the women’s function. First, before being able to examine the women’s role in the titular abductions, it is important to note the women’s role in society. Gordon succinctly clarifies this role by writing, “Not only did men long for women, they longed for wives, and the presence of a few women only intensified that feeling.” Women were highly regarded in this society, as there were so few of them.
King experienced trauma at a very young age when his parents split up, this caused Stephen and his brother David to divide their time between Indiana and Connecticut. Although, King would still write in his free time. One if the most influential writers of the twentieth century was Stephen King, and his works continue to have an impact on American Culture today. Stephen King was born in 1942 during the post World War II of United States history. This age influenced King throughout his life, especially in writing.
The theme in this novel is to be honest and be kind to others. Don't let things that people say hurt you and don't let people bring you down. Turner and Lizzie are good examples of being kind and nice. This novel is a great example of how people can be treated and how people shouldn’t be treated.
The Chicago World Fair stirred many emotions in this great time of industrialization, but not only was Chicago shining in the spotlight from the fair, it was also promoting something much more sinister, this dark enclosing spotlight shined directly on H.H Holmes. Burnham the leader of the World Fair and H. H Holmes the notorious serial killer, are the two main characters in this novel that Erik Larson uses the balance between light and dark between these two’s personalities. In the novel The Devil in the White City Erik Larson uses Imagery, paradox, and alliteration to show the balance between the light and dark in the ever growing city of Chicago. Imagery paints an ever expanding picture for the audience, the detailed descriptions such as “but his eyes are as blue as ever, bluer at this instant by proximity to the sea" (Larson 3).
In the book, King told of his dysfunctional childhood and being raised by his mother and his aunt with lots of babysitters (King, 17). He said he was two and a half the first time he imagined being someone else (King, 18). When he became older he copied stories out of comic books, and when Stephen showed his mother the stories, she suggested
Every book is different because every writer will have their own unique style of presenting their thoughts and ideas. These differences can be seen in the different stylistic elements that an author will employ and how they utilize them. In the Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Douglass attempts to demonstrate the horrors of slavery. In The Awakening, Kate Chopin demonstrates how the main character Edna is unpleased with the standard roles of women. When developing their purposes Frederick Douglas and Kate Chopin utilized various stylistic elements in mostly different manners.
In the 1950’s the American economy was booming due to the conclusion of World War II. Economic prosperity transformed family life and people put more emphasis on the individual. Television programs represented how people should live the ideal life. With many changes in culture people began to have a different perspective on life. In the 1998 film, “Pleasantville” directed by Gary Ross and the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” written by J.D. Salinger both depict teenage culture of the 1950s.
“The Shining” is a novel written by Stephen King in 1977 and a horror movie directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980. The novel and movie tells a story about Jack Torrance, who becomes the off-season winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. Although the movie and the book have some similarities; there are many differences from the adaptation of the novel. In the book, the main characters are Jack Torrance, Wendy Torrance, and their son Danny Torrance.
Stephen King uses multiple literary devices in his novel On Writing to convey the feel of a fictional novel, though it is based on facts from his life. King effectively uses these devices to convey his theme of persevering through adversity to become a greater writer and person. A major technique used in his writing is imagery that comes in many forms, precisely in this passage. There was a sharp smell of alcohol. A clank as the ear doctor opened his sterilizer.
Stephen King’s birthplace is Portland, Maine. His parents are Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. Stephen King is a university of Maine graduate, he graduated with a B.S. in English and a minor in dramatics. King has several major achievements for his literary masterpieces. King is most known for writing novels, short stories and screenplays; not many people know about the children’s book he published.
What We Really Miss About The 1950s In her essay, “What We Really Miss About the 1950s”, Stephany Coontz talks about the myth of the 1950s. She begins her argument by stating some reasons why the nostalgia for the 1950s exists. The main thing Americans miss about the those days is the stability. She acknowledges that this fallacy is not insane.
Stephen King shows that not all families are strong, and that sometimes, no matter how hard the protagonist tries, there are certain horrors in the world that can tear a family apart and keep them apart. To begin, Stephen Edwing King, was born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine to his parents, Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He later graduated from the University of Maine and then
Another aspect would be men leaving their families. In the movie, Sara Wilson 's husband walked down the
In the film ‘The Shining’, Shelly Duvall plays the character ‘Wendy’ the stereotypical ‘woman in distress’ and a rather quite sexist outlook on women. In the beginning of the film, the way Jack behaved towards wendy already showed that he had some sort of resentment towards Wendy, some sort of grudge he was holding against her, “As long as I live, she’ll never let me forget what happened.” Wendy’s character plays the nurturing mother, a ‘good’ wife that fixes things around the hotel like a typical housewife would. This whole ‘typical’ female role as a wife and mother is considered ‘ideological’ and it is semiotic to the male dominated society nowadays.
was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a pastor at a local church, while his mother took care of his two siblings, Willie and Alfred. As King began to get older, he “attended Booker T. Washington High School” (www.biography.com). Martin Luther King Jr. was exceptional throughout his studies and even “skipped ninth and eleventh grade...attending college when he was only fifteen years old” (www.biography.com). After completing his master's degree, King “began his doctorate at Boston College, where he met Coretta Scott” (www.biography.com).