The Shining by Stephen King
The Shining by Stephen King is a horror centered story featuring the haunted house. Stephen King’s The Shining was published in 1977 and later on Kubrick Stanley made it into a film. King’s popularity and mastery in writing has attracted studies and analysis on his work. The Shining in particular reflects the personal experiences of King such as his view on The Stanley Hotel. The aim of the paper is to analyze Stephen King’s use of haunted house story in The Shining which depicts successful use of gothic elements. Reliance on Stephen King’s The Shining as the primary source as well as other sources will be the case in the discussion.
Stephen King’s The Shining and the Overlook Hotel
Stephen King’s The Shining is set in the Overlook Hotel which acts as the haunted house in the story. In the novel, Jack Torrance and his family bring out a clear picture of the haunting, supernatural and isolated hotel (Magistrale 1). Jack gets a job as a caretaker of Overlook hotel after which he and his family move in to the place for winter season. The moment Jack settles in the hotel, he feels isolated from the world as his past haunts him (King 5). Ghosts from the past as well as supernatural powers seemingly invade Jack’s life. The hotel is creepy as it induces fear while attempting to control over the family (Wagner 8).
Gothic Elements in The Shining
The Shining is a Gothic story which uses the haunted house to create fear. Countless deaths, peculiar incidents, mysteries, scandals and untold tragic events are the reality in Overlook hotel (King 121). Numerous rooms, passages and doors presents oppressive atmosphere to the protagonist. Gothic elements attempts to bring out the worst out of characters in a story (Magistrale 18). Stephen King uses Jack and his family and places them in the right surrounding to bring out the monsters within them (Wagner 8). Supernatural features, imagination, ghosts and unearthly attributes are features of Gothic style that manipulate characters’ behavior and psychological stability.
Stylistic Devices and Narrative Techniques in The Shining
In attempt to engage the reader, Stephen King uses stylistic devices such as suspense while blurring the line between realism and naturalism in literature. In distinguishing between reality and fiction the author uses the Overlook hotel as a physical phenomenon while placing it in a supernatural context (Magistrale10). In reality the hotel is described by giving accounts of its past such as the number of employees of the hotel; located in the rotten cartons (King 33). Natural and realistic adaptation not only establishes the validity of the story but also strengthens the readers’ experience. Drawing attention to the almost audible onomatopoetic sound “Boom…boom…boomboomBOOMBOOM” King culminates that the visual effects of the hotel walls affects the characters even in their sleep (King 144). In maintenance of suspense the novel feeds the reader with enough information which balances familiarity and predictability of the storyline. In the narration for instance, lines such as “What will happen next” and “How is it going to happen” reflects the use of suspense (Magistrale 87). Further the use of foreshadow in articulating Jack’s future among other literary devices including symbolism and superstition is remitted in the novel.
Conclusion
In summary the novel titled The Shining uses Overlook hotel as the haunted house. Central to the story is the theme of fear that affects the Jack Torrance and his family. The author uses Gothic elements to ouster horror out of the characters and retains the reader’s attention. Stylistic features such as suspense, foreshadow, superstition, symbolism and well crafted balance of naturalism and fiction is manifested through the happenings in the haunted house.
Works Cited
King Stephen.“The Shining.” London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2007.
Magistrale, Tony. “Landscape of Fear: Stephen King's American Gothic.” Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
Wagner, Kenneth. "Introduction." Landscape of Fear: Stephen King's American Gothic. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1988. 6-11. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.
