The shining is a tragedy, and wed be remiss to classify the ending otherwise. A stephen king fan has published an 80page version of the book which novelist jack torrance obsessively writes during kings the shining, where his descent into madness is revealed when his wife. The shining, gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. The evil in the hotel mirrors the darkness in jacks soul as he wrestles with the twin devils of drink and despair. A sequel, titled doctor sleep, was published in 20.
Before doctor sleep, there was the shining, a classic of modern american horror from the undisputed master, stephen king jack torrances new job at the overlook hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. The shining centers on the life of jack torrance, an aspiring writer and. The shining is a horror novel by american author stephen king. The shining tends to be opaque, even though its corridors are welllit. The documentary room 237 has been called a diy mashup of the many theories put forward over the years as interpretations of stanley kubrickss 1980 horror classic, the shining. With ghosts, visions and psychological horror, the shining by stephen king is a very good horror story, i would say one of his best, right up there with the likes of salems lot which is another sk novel that i recommend if you enjoy horror.
Before doctor sleep, there was the shining, a classic of modern american horror from the undisputed master, stephen king. In the shining movie, jack is writing a novel that turns out to be the phrase. This provocative and fascinating documentary, a crowdpleaser at film festivals around the world last year, showcases some of the elaborate theories about. Is the shining the greatest story of addiction ever told.
Drama analysis of the shining the shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by stanley kubrick. The shining by stephen king, first edition abebooks. When stanley kubrick made the film version of kings novel, he abandoned a big chunk of the books plot, but that famous scene remained. Doctor sleep, stephen kings longawaited sequel to the shining. Told from four pointsofview the three torrances and. It is regarded in some quarters as kings best book. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the shining by stephen king. While it is certainly a lesser theme in the novel, time nevertheless plays an important role in stephen kings the shining. The story of this film is based off the book, the shining by stephen king.
Discussion of themes and motifs in stephen kings the shining. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. Tv series merrygoround of the shining gets another spin this week with the wide release available in theaters and on itunes of room 237. Jack torrances new job at the overlook hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. The shining, by stephen king, is slowly but surely changing that perception. Overall, i think the both the book and the movie are worthwhile for their own sake. It has a colorful and sordid past, and like many hotels, years of guests and passing emotions have left an imprint on the overlook. Although king himself remains disappointed with the adaptation, having criticized its handling of the books themes and of wendys character, it is. Even though stephen king claims in the opening of the shining that the overlook hotel is not based on an actual hotel, king reportedly thought of the idea for the novel while staying at the stanley hotel in estes park, colorado. I couldnt help but feel sympathetic for jack because hes come from such a horrible place, tried to rise above it, but is destroyed by this malevolent place. It also brings in themes that werent in the first book, and focuses a lot more on the aspects of addiction and recovery.
So many people wonder how much of a difference there is between the film and novel of the shining by stephen king. This inspiring and compelling book has won ten awards to date, including honorable mentions at the december 2012 new england and london book festivals, october 2012 southern california book festival and june 2012 new york book festival in the category of spiritual books. This scenario is echoed in the shining when wealthy partygoers at. By juxtaposing the novels present 1975 setting with the other important times at the overlook, most notably a 1945 masquerade ball, stephen king creates a temporally uncertain world. The overlook hotel is itself an old building, and it is alive with decades of history. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. If you have read the shining what are some themes from the book because i am having a hard time finding one, i have to write a paer on themes through out the book so if you could help me out with this i would greatly appreciate it. Two of the novels central themesnamely, the dangers of alcoholism and the.
In the shining, socioeconomic class is presented as an underlying motive for. The shining is a story of a desperate family, made up of jack and wendy torrance and their son, danny. Sadly, the overlook is all about destroying families and twisting familial love. The wasps nest chapters 14 on the roof and 15 down in the front yard. The passage king cites focuses on the chiming clock in poes story. Stephen kings the shining and stanley kubricks adaptation are two completely.
In simple or layman terms, the shining is not a book, it is trap. Its fair to say that theres a teensy, weensy bit of violence in the shining. The shining book vs movie all the differences between. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. They are vessels, and so the shining shouldnt be taken as a character study the book treats the material as so, using the story as a metaphor for alcoholism and showing jacks turn from a nice guy into a monster. The shining splitvolume the shining, doctor sleep, and the shining doctor sleep. Theres the sense that a great talent has been wasted. It ticks away the hours of the nobles lives, and they feel anxious whenever they hear it chime. On that note, the shining has several themes family, the supernatural, etc. Exchange nabe pinnacle award for inspirational books. Ive gone through the novel and film multiples times and comprised this list of changes and similarities between. Alcoholism is strongly linked to dysfunctional families, domestic abuse, and cycles of family violence in the novel. This theme of time deepens and confuses the shining. The main character jack torrance is a violent, recovering alcoholic who has broken his son, dannys arm while drunk before.
The novel details jacks drinking days during his brief tenure as an english teacher at stovington academy in vermont. In the novel, its more implicitly implied that the. The overlook hotel is their last chance to make it as a unit, or so they believe. I would say that king has designed the overlook hotel to. How the shining book differs from the movie looper. After the chiming passes, the reveling nobles resume their gaiety.
And while the themes of addiction, and the uncontrollable rage which comes to rule jack torrance as played by jack nicholson are preserved, they are taken to a much more disturbing realm in kubricks vision. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. On a basic level the shining is a cautionary tale about the dangers of addiction. The shining is the story of jack torrance, who is employed as the caretaker of the gargantuan overlook hotel in colorado one winter. King and his wife, tabitha, spent one night at the hotelwhere they stayed in room 217in 1974 while living in boulder, colorado. I love the shining because of how jack unravels and because of how real the overlook feels. Buy doctor sleep shining book 2 the shining 01 by stephen king isbn. Hunter fritz main characters in the shining the shining is a novel loosely based off of one of many stephen. The shining is a gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. A boys special perception and a possessed hotel interact with deadly results in the novel the shining by stephen king. I also own the movie it is quite different from the book but i love them both, i know what you mean about why you didnt think jack nicholson was the right casting for the jack torrance character. Published in 1977, it is kings third published novel and first hardback bestseller.
The easiest way to recognize a theme is to think what are the most common reoccurring ideas throughout the story. The shining study guide contains a biography of stanley kubrick, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows. Danny has the shining as many others do around the world. One of the central ambiguities of the shining is whether jack goes mad or is possessed by the evils of the hotel. The shining was stephen kings third book, following carrie and salems lot. The shining by stephen king misscole december, 2011 at 12. The shining is the third book published by stephen king. The shining, published in 1977, is a young writers book. It deals with many of kings recurring themes, including alcoholism, domestic.
The amount of changes is one of the reasons why king hated the film so much. I am not going to go on and on about how frustrating it must be for someone of kings prolificity and stature to have people think that his best novel was written 22 years and 30some books ago. I am 12 and i have read cujo, misery, and now reading the shining. Stephen king has also written doctor sleep which is the shining book two. The shining is a novel published in 1977 by stephen king, a wellknown american author. Sacrificing himself so danny and wendy can escape the overlook hotel.
Stephen kings the shining, published in 1977, is a horror novel. Find great deals on ebay for the shining book stephen king and the shining book stephen king hardcover. The shining themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. And there is good reason for viewers to puzzle over the film 33 years after its release. Wendy tells the doctor who comes to see danny after his first vision about jacks history of alcoholism and accidental violence towards danny. When he arrives at the overlook hotel, jack is a recovering alcoholic.
The shining spinoff doctor sleep brings updated themes to source. He was renowned for using supernatural events in many of his stories making them a mixture of horror, gloom, and fantasy. Time runs according to a twisted logic which lets the dead mingle with the living. Identify how the setting of the shining influences the actions of its characters. This study guide consists of approximately 58 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the shining. Even at the end of the novel, with jack fully in the overlooks thrall and having attempted to murder wendy and danny, his love for danny comes to the surface one. Fiveyearold danny torrence and his parents, jack and wendy, are spending the winter at a resort high in the colorado mountains. Stephen king fan publishes shinings jack torrances novel. The shining room 217 and why you shouldnt go in there. As the offseason caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, hell have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing.
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