The Shining

The Shining

by

Stephen King

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The Shining: Chapter 56 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Hallorann hears the elevator pass the lobby and go down, and he senses that something is inside it. Then, Danny runs down the stairs, frantic. Wendy runs to him, every part of her body screaming in agony. Danny’s voice enters Hallorann’s head. We have to get out, he says. Hallorann has visions of the Overlook in flames and understands. He tells Wendy they must get out, but she isn’t dressed. Danny runs up the stairs, and Wendy asks what they will do if “he” comes back. Hallorann asks if she is talking about Jack, and Wendy says that Jack is dead.
Danny tells Halloran that the hotel is about to blow up through his gift of the shining. He projects his voice into Hallorann’s mind, and then he projects visions of the fire. This way, Danny and Hallorann can communicate quickly and without confusion. Wendy’s claim that Jack is dead reflects the fact that she really killed him on the stairs, and what is leftover is not really Jack, but the Overlook. 
Themes
Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality Theme Icon
Precognition, Second Sight, and the Shining Theme Icon
It doesn’t take Wendy long to put it together either, and she asks Hallorann if the boiler is going to blow. That is what Danny says, Hallorann confirms. Wendy is glad, as long as they can make it out. Hallorann promises that they will make it, but he thinks about the animal topiaries and doesn’t really know. Danny comes back with their coat and gloves. He has Wendy’s boots, too, but not his own. They are running out of time, he says.
The fact that it doesn’t take Wendy long to figure out what is going on also suggests she can shine. Wendy is glad that the boiler is going to explode because she knows the explosion and fire will finally destroy the hotel.
Themes
Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality Theme Icon
Precognition, Second Sight, and the Shining Theme Icon
Hallorann receives an image of the clock under the glass dome in the ballroom, which was a gift to the hotel from a Swiss diplomat in 1949, and it is one minute to midnight. They are out of time, he thinks, and pulls Wendy and Danny toward the door. Wendy screams out in pain, but Hallorann keeps going. He can sense the explosion building below and runs for the doors.
As the clock under the glass dome is the master timepiece of the hotel, Hallorann knows it will blow at exactly midnight. Notably, the clock was gifted to the hotel in 1949, but it is heavily associated with the masquerade ball in 1945, which again underscores the nonlinear way that time unfolds at the hotel.
Themes
Time Theme Icon
In the basement, the thing that was Jack Torrance runs to the boiler, which is glowing red and groaning. The needle of the pressure gauge is buried in the red. He must stop it, the thing thinks. It hits the damper with Jack’s hand, and the boiler rocks and spits steam The needle on the gauge begins to fall. “I WIN!” the thing yells in celebration, and then the boiler explodes.
The thing frantically tries to dump the boiler and bring it under control, but is too late. The hotel doesn’t win, and fire is the only thing that can destroy it.
Themes
Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality Theme Icon
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Hallorann runs out the front doors of the hotel and sees the animal hedges situated between the hotel and the snowmobile. At the exact moment of this realization, the boiler explodes. To Hallorann, it seems as if everything happens “all at once,” but he knows this isn’t possible. He flies through the air with the blast and lands in the soft snow. He doesn’t think about Danny or the hedges; he lays there and watches the Overlook burn.
Hallorann’s perception that everything happens all at once again underscores the warped sense of time at the Overlook. Time is relative and not fixed or linear. Hallorann hates the Overlook, and instead of worrying about Danny or the hedges, he just enjoys watching it burn.
Themes
Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality Theme Icon
Time Theme Icon
The windows shatter, and the glass dome over the clock in the ballroom cracks. The clock stops. In room 217, the bathroom breaks in half and foul green water spills out. The walls in the Presidential Suite burst into flames, and the batwing doors to the Colorado Lounge burn and fall to the floor. The boxes in the basement ignite. Soon, the entire hotel is engulfed in flames, and the Overlook can be heard shrieking “No! Mustn’t! Mustn’t! MUSTNT!” The party has ended.
When the clock stops and the haunted areas of the hotel—room 217, the Presidential Suite, the Colorado Lounge—burst into flames, the hotel officially dies. As the boxes burn, all of the hotel’s history burns as well. The hotel’s screams reflect that the ongoing party and the horrors contained in the Overlook have truly ended.
Themes
Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality Theme Icon