The Shining: Themes and Analysis

• The text provides analysis and summaries for The Shining.

Themes

• Isolation and insanity are prominent themes.
• Family dysfunction and the effects of abuse are significant, exemplified by Jack's alternating behavior and mirroring of domestic abuse.
• Jack's abusive father and passive mother, along with Wendy's isolation, highlight the effects of isolation.
• The novel inverts the family romance trope, presenting a scary future version of the father through Danny's visions rather than idealized versions of parents.
• Other themes include addiction/alcoholism, explanation of time, and corruption.
• Postcolonial narratives are explored through American expansion harming Native Americans, the hotel's location, and Native American artwork.
• A calumet symbolizes broken promises to Native Americans that have turned into a commodity.
• Jack represents exploitative male white western expansion, dominates Wendy and Danny, and the ending signifies karma.
• Jack can live forever if he exploits women, children, and people of color

Horror Genre

• Presents themes of persistence of evil.
• There is evil contained within a "Bad Place".
• There is evil that can flourish if it consumes human life or can infect and transform humans.

Symbols

• Topiary, while whimsical, is also bestial, symbolizing the contrast between surface appearance and lurking ugliness.
• Mazes represent obstacles to family connectedness and the twisty nature of reconciling with evil in the world.
• Snow symbolizes isolation, loss of control, impending doom, and the oppressive nature of the hotel.
• The roque mallet symbolizes violent potential.
• Danny's forebodings reflect Jack's insanity and violence, intimately tied to the Overlook itself.
• The scrapbook reveals the hotel's long violent history.
• The Clock represents relativity of time, Danny puts events into action, as a countdown to the hotel's doom.
• Fire extinguisher signifies doom.
• The Fire Exstinguisher signifies doom.
• Wasp nests and wasps are a "workable symbol" of Jack's life, showing his destructive behavior.

MOTIFS

• It shows his rationalization for his bad behavior, mirroring his inescapable fate and Danny's misplaced trust.
• Wasps symbolize the hotel, being hard to kill.
• Wasps as a motif are the destructive properties of evil and addiction.
• Wasp examples, Jack’s father exterminating the best, Hallorann’s brother, roof, bedroom, and Jack missing obvious wasps at the hotel.
• Roof symbolizes mental clarity, basement dirty underbelly, Living quarters = the illusion of safety Stairway leading to different destinations in control.
• The boiler represents the evil "heart" of the hotel, Jack's mounting insanity, and the hotel's inherent danger, with its explosion theoretically eradicating evil.
• Motifs are, Wasps and Doubles, mirrors, presented as twins.

Doubling

• Doubles can serve as both protector and harbinger of death.
• Grady twins, Jack’s, Grady Father, Management, are all presented as doubles of the other
• Wendy and Tony are doubles/opposites for one another.
• Trauma, is a major aspect of the motifs used. -“The nightmare of history continually impinges upon and defines the present and the past” the familiar becomes strange”.

Part 1 job interview

• Jack is interviewed and we learn about Grady.
• Jack is an alcoholic and Al Shockley links to the hotel.

Part 2 -- Chapter summaries & plot points

• Each chapter has plot with a brief summary, linked themes, literary devices linked and ‘just cool’ to add extra facts to the writing.

Chapter 8

• Torrances Travel to overlook with Wendy
• Wendy gets worried about VW driving in the mountains.
• Danny has a spell, that is revealed later as he was seeing future in a past event.

Chap 9

• Ullman is ready for them at Overlook.
• Ullman is accommodating to the guests needs and Danny is confused.
• Introduce topiary and the Mrs Brant lusts after other workers.

Chap 10

• Hallorann provides a tour of the hotel.
• Hotel possesses Danny (105-106)
• Danny knows other peoples full names.
• Watson also shares about the woes of grandfather.
• Had 2 sons one killed in accident, wife died of flu, son became caretaker, son died sticking finger in live socket.
• End note, no booze on site, jack doesn’t drink.

Chap 11

• Danny is contacted, Shining happens
• Danny is worried less, Mrs Brant makes Jack uneasy.

Chap 12 The Grand tour

• Ride the elevator, Danny sees blood.
• See the first fire extinguisher and then see living quarters.
• Show history and mention

chapter 14 up the roof

• Jack gets stung by wasps.
• A symbol to his life. In which he himself gets stung. Recalls memories of himself, with past connections to George Hatfield

Chapter 17 - The Doctor's Office

• Danny calls upon Tony at Dr Edmonds.
• Danny sees what Wendy thinks, then has visions.
• Then remembers much.
• Doc makes quick hypothesis that frighten the parents.
• Also gives Danny the ability for foresight.

Chapter 18 -- Scrapbook

• Wendy and Danny explore the hiking trail.
• Meanwhile Jack founds and explores the scrapbook.
• And reads the things Jack discovers about the scrapbook.

Chapter 25

• They play in snow and all is good. Jack has visions / memories in basement of old stories from hotel , danny goes to room 217 and sees mirrors.
• Danny remembers Alice’s land the queen poem.

Chapter 26

• Wendy falls asleep with sleeping aid while Jack also resting recalls past with father. Jack in the office with cb radio, plays fathers words, in which he tells jack to kill Wendy and Danny.
• He destroys communication medium.

ChApter 28 “it was her”

• Jack goes to room and smells a strange smell there.
• Then talks to Lloyd. He heard some of the story’s.
• Then hears Wendy in terror.

Chapter 29 kitchen talk

• Dany relays a story that effects Jack to the point hell be the one checking it out.
• Jack relays how Hallorann touched on jack ‘Shine’.
• Ends chapter with Danny thinking what happens will effect Jack while Dany and Wendy disagree.

43 -- Drinks on the House

• Jack is fully alive, hotel wants to order, and Lloyd wont take money.
• Remembers, then he hesitates,
• Lloyd transforms.
• 4th wall break, with hotel knowing there are plans for the main characters.

Analysis sections of King's Writing,

• King creates bad people, racist stereotypes when necessary
• the boiler, which leads to the characters in sidweinder will eventually show a sign to rescue the characters.