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The Shining, a literary thriller by acclaimed author Stephen King, does not disappoint. It is a captivating macabre taking place at the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado mountains. The vivid, sensory imageries along with the complex characters induce fearful anxiety and raw emotional reactions. The underlying theme is evil verses love. Loyalty, courage, and importance of family are also prevalent themes through out the novel. King tells the story of the Torrance family that moves into the Overlook Hotel. The mentally troubled father, Jack, works as the caretakers for the resort during the off-season. He is an unsuccessful playwright with a short temper and a history of alcohol abuse. Although Jack has many flaws, he genuinely loves his family and desires a peaceful life with them. Unfortunately, the resident evil spirits at the Overlook Hotel do not take kindly to the extrasensory powers of Danny, the Torrance's only son. His power, called the Shining, is shared with the hotel's cook, Dick Hallorann; and allows them to read minds and see ghosts. Danny is a dynamic and admirable character, as he is a good son in spite of physical abuse from his father. Stephen King blends the world of supernatural beings with realistic and sympathetic characters. Through the looking glass of a child character, Danny, the otherwise invisible monsters lurking within the Overlook come to life and attempt to destroy the family. However, even in Jack's darkest hour, he conjures up the willpower to speak through the spiritual possession and tells his son to escape. In this theme of evil verses love, love prevails. Jack's character becomes frightfully evil and yet, remains loyal because he loves his son. King's heroine is Danny's mother Wendy. When strength is needed most, Wendy shows courage and saves her son. She plays out the importance of the family theme, ironically as Jack succumbs to death. The Shining is Stephen King's expression of creative genius, which deserves 5 out of 5 stars. A word of caution - this book is quite explicit and contains serious gore.

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Stephen King was born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine. When King was a child, his parents, Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King separated; moving King from household to household. After graduating from the University of Maine, he worked as a teacher and writer. Eventually, he rose to fame after the success of his horror novel Carrie in 1973, which was later made into an iconic horror movie. Since then, he has become a well established leader in horror fiction and has recently produced his latest book, Doctor Sleep.

http://biography.com

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http://amazon.com

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3)"You Shine on, boy. Harder than anyone I never met in my life. And I'm sixty years old this January."..."Me, I've always called it the shining. That's what my grandmother called it, too. She had it" (79).

In chapter 11, Hallorann explains to Danny what shining is. This is the point in Danny's life where he realizes that he is not alone, and that there are others with the gift of the shining. In addition, Hallorann warns Danny that he may see inexpiable things. He empowers Danny by telling him that he can control it; saying that it is not real and to ignore it. From the very beginning of the novel, Danny sees unusual images in the hotel. An important element that emerges from Danny's power is the plot element of REDRUM, which is a reoccurring line that does not need explaining. What can be drawn from this is the shining within Danny warns him about the MURDER (backwards REDRUM) to come.

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2) "For a moment his rage was so great that he literally could not speak. The blood beat loudly in his ears. It was like getting a call from some twentieth-century Medici prince ... no portraits of my family with their warts showing, please or back to the rabble you'll go" (189).

This is what Jack imagines in his mind that Al Shockley is telling him in their short conversation. He feels delirious and unreasonably angry from the seemingly mundane conversation about the writing discretion of the hotel. This shows the early signs of the inevitable meltdown to come. With this random thought, he completely neglects the vital information about Shockley, which is his dirty history with a criminal organization. This section shows a sore spot in the character Jack, which helps the reader to get to know him more. He despises failure and yet, his desperate need to be totally autonomous hinders any chance of success because he is undesirable to men of power like Shockley.

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1) "He killed them, Mr Torrance, and then committed suicide. He murdered the little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way...Undoubtedly so drunk he fell downstairs" (7).

This quote illustrates one of the most important examples of foreshadowing of the tragedy to come. Unknown in the beginning of the novel, but reveals later on is that Jack is an avid alcoholic with tendency towards violence. In fact, he unintentionally breaks the arm of his son, Danny. The parallels between Jack and Grady (the killer) is a tell tale sign that something horrific is going to happen in that hotel. So far, the police only connects the stillness and isolation combined with the alcoholism as the probable cause of the murder and suicide; but as the Torrance family learns later on, this is not the case.

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Be warned, this movie is terrifying! Director Stanley Kubrick pulled out all the stops in the production of this hollywood classic. http://youtube.com

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The Shining - Official Trailer [1980] HD

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http://blog.swagbucks.com