Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality
Like many of Stephen King’s novels, The Shining is imbued with paranormal elements. The novel’s protagonist, five-year-old Danny Torrance, has psychic abilities, and the Overlook Hotel—where Danny’s father, Jack, is the winter caretaker—is full of unexplained occurrences and spirits of the past, keeping the Torrances in a constant state of fear. From the ghost of room 217 to the sinister animal topiaries guarding the haunted playground outside, the Overlook Hotel is positively terrifying…
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Precognition, Second Sight, and the Shining
Stephen King’s The Shining revolves around Danny Torrance and his physic abilities. Danny can read the minds of others, and he has visions of the future brought to him by his imaginary friend, Tony. Danny was “born with a caul”—a thin membrane covering the face and eyes at birth that is often associated with “second sight” and other physic gifts—and this is how Danny’s mother, Wendy, explains her son’s rather unsettling abilities. When…
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Family
Stephen King’s The Shining focuses on families and the way various forms of dysfunction—such as jealousy, insanity, abuse, and addiction—can rip them apart. At the center of the novel is the Torrance family—Jack, Wendy, and Danny—and they are fighting considerable odds. Jack is a recovering alcoholic with a history of abuse, and he has recently lost his job, bringing the additional stress of financial insecurity to his already-struggling family. The Torrances…
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Isolation and Insanity
Isolation is a major factor in Stephen King’s The Shining. The Overlook Hotel is situated deep in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, miles from the nearest town. Winter storms block roadways and cripple phone lines, cutting the Torrance family off from the rest of the world. The expansive vistas outside the Overlook’s massive windows are beautiful, but they are a constant reminder of how alone the Torrances are at the hotel. Wendy is acutely aware…
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Alcoholism and Abuse
Alcoholism and abuse go hand in hand in The Shining, and together they dominate much of the novel. When Jack Torrance is gets a job as the winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, he learns about Grady, the previous caretaker, who went insane and murdered his family before committing suicide. Grady had been an alcoholic, the hotel’s manager, Mr. Ullman, tells Jack, and the tragedy “came as a result of too much…
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Time
While it is certainly a lesser theme in the novel, time nevertheless plays an important role in Stephen King’s The Shining. The Overlook Hotel is itself an old building, and it is alive with decades of history. It has a colorful and sordid past, and like many hotels, years of guests and passing emotions have left an imprint on the Overlook. Essentially, the living are able to observe and interact with the dead at…
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