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  • Essay / Book Report: The Shining by Stephen King

    The title The Shining is very strange to say the least. The Shining has been mentioned throughout history. The Shining is basically Danny's power/ability that can help him see certain things or scare him. The Shining is about Danny's supernatural ability to read other people's minds and the only way he can talk to his imaginary friend. The author of The Shining is Stephen King, the genre of the book is psychological horror, horror and gothic novel. The Shining events take place at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado from September 30th to December 3rd. The Overlook Hotel is inspired by the Stanley Hotel. Stephen King himself also stayed at the Stanley Hotel during his visit. He was inspired to write the book The Shining which he would later publish in 1977 and 3 years later in 1980 The Shining would be released in theaters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The story follows the Torrence family as they settle into Jack's new job at the Overlook Hotel. Jack (father), Wendy (mother), Danny (son) Dick Hallorann is an employee of the Overlook Hotel during the opening season. Delbert Grady was the hotel caretaker before Jack. Grady worked at the hotel 5 years prior, but during the interview, Jack was informed that the last caretaker killed his family with a hatchet, but Grady ultimately killed himself with a shotgun. Jack was laid off from his old job in Covington. " Danny said frankly, "my dad got laid off from his teaching job and that's why we're in Colorado, I guess. (King p. 59) Jack was out of work but being the hotel watchman was the job he could get, but there was a fair warning during the interview that would foreshadow events to come. More time passes at the Overlook Hotel. Danny and Wendy begin to notice that Jack's daily behavior is changing and it's not good. Over time, Jack descends into madness. Wendy notices that Jack's drinking habits are starting to return and that Jack is becoming rather violent and easily makes her lose her temper. Wendy is determined that it was Jack who hurt Danny again, as he had done two years before in a drunken rage when Danny accidentally ruined some of his work. Their history of bad times in their marriage and bad experiences leads Jack and Wendy to destroy the relationship between them. As the family is at the hotel, heavy snowfall has forced them to stay indoors, isolating the family from the world outside the hotel. Tony is internally conflicted because he creates the episodes Danny goes into, even though they help him see things. It's like an eye looking into the future or showing great fortune, like when they took Danny to the amusement park for his birthday. The eye that looks at Danny also showed him a great despair that scared him immensely, this is what Dick calls The Shining. Danny sees several horrible dreams of the Shining. His imaginary friend Tony keeps showing him the bad things that will happen. Everything gets worse. Danny and Wendy hope that Dick Hallorann will come to the hotel immediately, but he is having a lot of trouble weathering the terrible storm that has slightly delayed his flight. Jack has now gone crazy because the former guard Grady has total influence over Jack. The only way the hotel can get Danny is if Jack kills him, and that's what he was going to do. One afternoon, Danny was hiding because Jack was chasing him armed with a castling mallet. Jack also seems to be influenced by the hotel's former guests and hallucinates that there are people thereand talk to people who aren't there. Jack truly believed he was talking to a man named Grady, but it wasn't real at all. Grady influenced Jack to eventually kill Wendy and Danny, just like what Grady did to his daughter with a hatchet and a shotgun to his wife and himself. The climax occurs when Jack is completely possessed and makes the decision to murder Wendy and Danny. Using a castling mallet. A few nights before, Jack and Wendy got into a small fight in which Jack got in a few good hits on Wendy and she hit Jack back, but that night if it wasn't for getting a good suddenly, Jack eliminated Wendy. he would most likely be dead. The family didn't have much free time if Dick was stuck in a delay during the plane ride or if an accident alone could have sealed the family's fate. However, due to arriving on time, Jack was unable to complete the job. While Dick is leading Jack's wife and son away from the Overlook, the boiler explodes from collected steam that Jack forgot to empty. “The boiler!” Danny shouted. “It hasn’t been thrown out since this morning!” It's going up! It's going to explode!'. If Jack had found Danny, he would have beaten him with a mallet until he was dead. The same can be said for Wendy, but since Dick arrived in time to save them, they were available to see the sunrise over them again. The conflict hasn't really been resolved because now the family must face reality and how the future will play out. This was Jack's last attempt to kill Wendy and Danny. Jack died in the explosion, but everyone got out safely. Wendy and Danny now live without a husband/father, and Hallorann has found a job as a chef at another hotel. Every summer, Wendy and Danny come to visit him at the hotel. Their lives would never be the same again and they had many horrible images from the hotel. They struggle to keep these horrible images out of their heads, and the rest of their lives are affected daily. As this day was just a new one as it had just started, Jack failed to maintain the boiler, so as soon as the elevator fell, Jack could have survived the fall, but the explosion was the final blow to Jack. The words grew into a cry of triumph, and the cry was swallowed by an earth-shattering roar as the Overlook's boiler exploded. (King p. 297) Dick's timely arrival at the hotel saved Danny and Wendy's lives. Jack's failure to maintain the boiler caused him to lose his life as he sought to kill his wife and son. The book calmed down in terms of action, as Wendy and Danny made it out of the hotel before the explosion that took Jack's life. Jack. They put on their coats and left with Dick Hallorann on a snowboard. Hallorann, Danny and Wendy joined them fifteen minutes later. They would escape and watch the hotel explode, all the while being relieved that the nightmare was over. It's summer, about 2 years have passed since the hotel incident when he was 5 years old. Danny will soon be 7 years old. Wendy, Danny and Dick Hallorann enjoyed a summer evening like what it seems like at a lake or river having fun fishing like a keen fisherman would with their own child. Jack misses Wendy, Danny and Dick, but they're relieved that the hotel-with-a-view nightmare is over. They all sit next to Danny as he slowly reels in a catch, while Dick, it seems, teaches a little lesson. The three figures sit on the dock, grazing in the afternoon sun, looking at what the future may hold for them. Danny Torrance is a unique and overall intelligent child for his age with a great gift. He is also theprotagonist of the book. He loves his father so much, thinks highly of him, and believes he will become the best father he can be. Danny has a special ability, which Dick calls "the shining". This power comes from Tony, who helps Danny see visions of events that could possibly happen in the future. At the end of the novel, Danny comes to accept Tony and his father's reality. Shining is a unique power that allows you to see the future and read minds. However, the shiny ends up being a curse for the entire Torrance family at the Overlook Hotel. I believe Danny is the main character because he has a special insight that Dick sees, it's called the brilliant, it's a bit like a kind of vision and for Dick it's a blessing in disguise a great and unique gift. Jack Torrance is a character where you see his problems set up which develops him into becoming the antagonist of the book. At the beginning of the novel, he is a sober, loving father and husband, just looking for work. All Jack wants is to take care of Wendy and especially Danny. He wants to be the best father possible and control his character so he doesn't end up like his father. When Jack accepts the job as winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, he begins to return to his old self and his terrible habits. As the weeks pass, the isolation of the hotel and Grady's influence slowly pushes Jack into madness. My favorite character in the story is Wendy Torrance because she is a very dependent wife and loving mother to Danny. When Jack takes the job at the Overlook Hotel. Jack would not be a drunk but rather a loving and caring husband. At the hotel, she does her daily tasks that a housewife will do like cleaning and doing laundry while also being loving and caring to make sure Jack concentrates when he is at work. Wendy becomes very independent and tries to take charge when Danny is in danger or needs care. Wendy is very caring and a perfect mother figure just as she calms Danny down after a nightmare. Wendy is a perfect mother figure who watches over and gives Danny only the best of herself and provides him with great care. All three members of the Torrance family thought they had responsibilities to take care of, when in the end, that's what damaged their relationships. For example, Jack was hired to take care of the hotel. Hiring Jack at the hotel was a responsibility he couldn't run away from. The Overlook Hotel was a responsibility that Jack had to take on since he lost his old job and of course he has to bring money home to support his family. Towards the end of the story, it was his attachment to the hotel and the way Grady influenced Jack that caused him to attack his family. This shows that taking care of the hotel was a responsibility they could not ignore, but in the end, the Overlook Hotel seriously hurt the Torrance family. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a custom essay I would totally recommend my friends to read what I believe to be Stephen King's best work. When I read the book after a long time, I really started reading it, I found it difficult to put the book down and was hesitant to stop doing my homework and read the book during class , in which I know I shouldn't do that because I might miss out on valuable class time and miss notes that I'll have to copy down to pass my test or quiz. The book is very exciting because the suspense builds and the tension builds between Jack's psychological thinking. My friends may enjoy the book because they enjoy 2014,).