THE SHINING

The Shining

The Shining

Introduction

Stephen King's “The Shining” is one of the most widely read novel of the author. Adapted into a cinematic masterpiece, the novel has become a benchmark in the literary career of Stephen King who is best known for his works in horror genre. 'The Shining' is no different in terms of the horror that it presents and the superb sense of dread that scares the readers. It is believed by some that the novel has not much to offer in terms of horror since it there is not much blood and violence and it never really scares the reader the way real horror should. On the other hand, the novel has its own style of bringing in the elements of horror and therefore, is rightly considered to be a horror classic.

Discussion

'The Shining' first published in 1977, is no doubt a terrifying novel and has set the standard for the modern horror novel. Jack Torrance, a struggling writer, trying to write a good story and create conflicts in the story that he was writing, gets a job of a winter caretaker for the Overlook Hotel where he feels he will be able to get the required isolation for the completion of his novel. His wife Wendy and his five year old son Danny also accompany him to the hotel which is closed for the season and the only occupants are the Torrance family while the history of the Hotel is suggestive of the violence and spookiness that surrounds it. Jack and Wendy's son Danny has some psychic powers of which the parents are unaware of but the cook Mr. Hallorann immediately recognizes since he himself had such powers and warns Danny of going in room 217. With the arrival of the family and especially Danny's presence, the scene is set for some of the scariest moments in horror literature (Spooky Reads, 2011). The hotel full of spirits starts taking over Jack's mind and with this the tension start building in the novel. The Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of the caretaker and provokes him of murderous rage against his wife and young son.

In 'The Shining' King has intertwined the supernatural elements with that of the nature of family, love, abuse and relationship between father and son (inverarity.livejournal.com). In so doing it lends the story the required depth and takes it beyond the conventions of horror. ...