Evaluation of The Shining free essay sample

Horror stories are believed to be strictly scary. Although, that is somewhat true, horror stories do carry a powerful message. This novel is a perfect example of the problems that may occur in some families. Throughout the story it is constantly shown how evil is easily attracted to our weaknesses. Stephen King’s The Shining is a significant horror novel because of its characters, setting, and themes. There are numerous encounters with Jack Torrance in the story. His violent behavior does not formally start when he comes in contact the Overlook Hotel. It is shown earlier in the story. Jack was a former college professor fired from Stovington University for beating up a student. He is now jobless because of this incident. Also, Jack is a recovering alcoholic. When he hears of a job as a caretaker of a hotel in the remote mountains of Colorado he jumps at the opportunity. We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of The Shining or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jack gets the job not knowing of the hotels’ very violent past. He is depressed and is struggling to make ends meet. The Overlook Hotel provides him with what he thinks will turn out to be the best decision he has made for his family. Jack does not see anything wrong with moving his family to the hotel. Jack’s violence was formed from the hands of his own dad. So, it would be very bizarre that Jack would not be violent towards his own son Danny Torrance. Jack’s drinking usually results in his sudden burst of violence. Shown in the first chapter Jack breaks Danny’s arm. Although given no reason for harming his son, King emphasizes that Jack was drunk when he did it. This shows how Jack is easily provoked to be violent when under the influence of alcohol. Yet, King stills tries to show the father figure in Jack and the positive side of him. The more we know about him the more we begin to understand his character† (Russell 52). Jack is constantly battling the demons within him. Jack’s weakness for alcohol is what makes him easily under the control of the hotel. Danny has developed a love/hate relationship with his father. This relationship can make him very vulnerable to the influence of the hotel. Even though Jack abuses him, he still loves his father dearly. While at the hotel Danny has acquired a imaginary friend named Tony. Tony only plays the role as a source of information to help Danny. Danny has powers known as â€Å"the shining†. The shining gives Danny the strength to look past his love for his father at the end of the story. This was how Danny was able to survive. Danny then understands that he has not been recognizes his father for what he really is. We know little about Danny’s mother Wendy. Wendy, unlike her son, has no special powers. She sees only the results of supernatural events that occur in the story. The hotel is not interested in her at all. Wendy tries to save Danny but can not. Jack is too powerful to overcome. Her use in the story is to only be a victim of her husband’s violence. Every horror story has a â€Å"good guy†. In the case of The Shining, Hallorann would be considered that guy. â€Å"Hallorann’s function as the good father who takes over when the blood relative fails is common in early king novels† (Russell 54). King giving Danny a evil father balances out when Hallorann came into play. Hallorann is used to explain the supernatural occurrences in the story. He also gives Danny the understanding that helps him to survive in the story. â€Å"The world’s a hard place Danny. It don’t care† (Russell 58). King does not fully explain why Hallorann is able to resist the evil in the hotel. Hallorann only role is to play the â€Å"good guy†. The Overlook Hotel kitchen and Overlook Hotel room 217 is the evilest places in the hotel. Both rooms are extremely haunted. They both share the characteristic of being old and ragged. The kitchen is the home of the infamous pressure boiler. At the end of the story the boiler is soon over pressurized and blows the hotel to pieces. Hallorann and the hotel’s kitchen seems to have a connection. Out of all the rooms in the hotel the kitchen is the one room Hallorann is attached to. King dose not provide full details why but he does makes it obvious in the story several of times. Room 217 is haunted by the ghost of a woman that killed herself because she found out she couldn’t buy love. Throughout the story King makes it quite noticeable that the room is forbidden. This is also the room Hallorann warned Danny not to go in. Danny disobeys and entered the room and was almost killed by the woman. King uses several comparisons of fairy tales in the story. â€Å"The traditional stories King presents form a bridge between the world of the child and the world of the adult† (Russell 56). Some stories belong to adults as well as children. Two of the numerous fairy tales mentioned in the novel is â€Å"Hansel and Gretel† and the nursery rhyme â€Å"Jack and Jill†. Jack’s death at the end of the story makes reference to Jack’s fall in the nursery rhyme. As in the nursery rhyme there is no explanation to why Jack fell, neither is there in The Shining. The first visit to the kitchen by Wendy contains many references to â€Å"Hansel and Gretel†. â€Å"I think I’ll have to leave a trial of bread crumbs every time I come in,† she said† (Russell 56). The enormous list of foods Hallorann tells Wendy about makes us think of the giant’s feast. Hansel and Gretel survived due to their wits in fooling the witch. Wendy shoves Jack into the pantry much as Gretel stuffs the witch into her own oven. Although as not in â€Å"Hansel and Gretel†, the evil is not destroyed easily. In The Shining Grady opens the door for Jack and freeing him. As in â€Å"Hansel and Gretel† the characters in The Shining must also work together to destroy evil. Evil lurks within the hotel because of its past. The ghosts that haunt the hotel are the ghosts of gangsters and a woman that committed suicide. Both were attracted to the hotel because of money. Money symbolizes the abuse and power that can come with having it. It is obvious that the major cause of the corruption from beginning to the end of the story was money. The evil that was once at the hotel easily comes back alive after coming into contact with the Torrances. â€Å"The evil forces come alive when they are exposed to Jack’s personality and Danny’s powers† (Russell 55). King makes a clear justification that evil and pain can remain even if the person no longer exists. It is very ironic how Danny is the only one powerful enough to defeat the evil and save himself, his mother, and Hallorann. The Shining holds a very broad explanation of differences from other horror stories. It does not only shows a family battling supernatural forces but the inner demons of alcoholism, resentment, and rage. This story could be read for both entertainment and the morals it possesses. The connection of realistic problems and supernatural events occurrences is exactly what makes The Shining a remarkable story. It is safe to say that the story’s characters, setting, and theme is what made the story delectable as it was.