Methods and Meaning in the Novels of Stephen King

This book explores the techniques, themes, and subtexts in the fictional works of one of America’s best-known and most-loved storytellers, Stephen King. Each of King’s novels are analyzed in chronological order of their publication from Carrie to Holly. Every novel’s analysis includes a background and summary, narrative devices, archetypes that influenced the novel, themes and subtexts, human universals, interesting facts, and notable quotes. As an invaluable resource for any Stephen King “Constant Reader” and students of literature in general, this work appreciates the beauty of King’s fiction without needing to master the jargon of contemporary literary criticism.

James Arthur Anderson is a professor emeritus at Johnson & Wales University, where he taught writing and literature for more than 35 years. He has published book-length critical studies on H.P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury, and received The Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for Nonfiction from the Horror Writers Association in 2016. He lives in Garfield, Georgia and is a part-time instructor at East Georgia State College.

James Arthur Anderson
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 328
Bibliographic Info: appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9505-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5330-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi

Introduction: Why Is Stephen King So Good and So Popular? 1

1. Carrie: Prom Night 5

2. ’Salem’s Lot: New World Vampires 11

3. Rage: Getting It on in the Schools 17

4. The Shining: Iconic Horror 21

5. The Stand: The Modern Plague 28

6. The Long Walk: Dystopian Nightmare 35

7. The Dead Zone: Everyman Is a Hero 39

8. Firestarter: Don’t Play with Fire 45

9. Roadwork: Mental Meltdown 52

10. Cujo: He Tried to Be a Good Dog 57

11. The Running Man: Reality TV on Steroids 62

12. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption: Hope Springs Eternal 68

13. The Body: The Birth of a Writer 72

14. Christine: America Loves Its Wheels 77

15. Pet Sematary: Sometimes Dead Is Better 83

16. Eyes of the Dragon: ­­Genre-Bending Fantasy 89

17. Thinner: The Book That Outed Bachman 95

18. It: We All Float Down Here 100

19. Misery: The Price of Fame 106

20. The Tommyknockers: Mechanized Aliens 112

21. The Dark Half: Attack of the Pseudonym 117

22. Needful Things: The Downside of a Consumer Society 121

23. Gerald’s Game: Escape Room 126

24. Dolores Claiborne: Justice Served 131

25. Rose Madder: The Fury of a Woman Scorned 136

26. Insomnia: Miles to Go Before I Sleep 141

27. The Green Mile: Rebirth of the Serial Novel 146

28. Desperation: Even God Has a Price 153

29. The Regulators: Horror in the Burbs 158

30. Bag of Bones: Digging Up the Past 164

31. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: Gretel Goes It Alone 171

32. Dreamcatcher: A Winter’s Tale 177

33. From a Buick 8: The ­­One-Way Portal 183

34. The Colorado Kid: The Unsolved Mystery 188

35. Cell: The ­­Techno-Zombie Attack 192

36. Lisey’s Story: The Literary Best Seller 197

37. Blaze: Bachman Returns 203

38. Duma Key: Art Therapy 207

39. Under the Dome: Ants Under a Magnifying Glass 213

40. 11/22/63: Changing the Past 219

41. Joyland: Carny from Carny 225

42. Doctor Sleep: Danny Torrance Grows Up 231

43. Mr. Mercedes: Enter, Holly Gibney 238

44. Revival: Reanimation and Revelation 244

45. Finders Keepers: The Problem with Buried Treasure 250

46. End of Watch: To Be or Not to Be 255

47. The Outsider: The Doppelgänger Effect 260

48. Elevation: King’s ­­Feel-Good Book 265

49. The Institute: Suffer the Children 269

50. Later: I See Dead People 274

51. Billy Summers. The Moral Assassin 280

52. Fairy Tale: Once Upon a Time 286

53. Holly: A Journal of the ­­Covid-19 Years 291

Conclusion: The English Professor and Constant Reader 297

Appendix 1: Theoretical Works Consulted 309

Appendix 2: Bibliography of Works about Stephen King 311

Appendix 3: A Chronology of Stephen King’s Books 313

Index 315