Respecting The Stand: A Critical Analysis of Stephen King's Apocalyptic Novel

192 Pages·2012·12.393 MB·English

by  Jenifer Paquette

Respecting
The Stand
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Respecting
The Stand
A Critical Analysis of
Stephen King’s Apocalyptic Novel
J P
ENIFER AQUETTE
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Paquette, Jenifer, 1978–
Respecting The stand : a critical analysis of Stephen King’s
apocalyptic novel / Jenifer Paquette.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-7001-3
softcover : acid free paper
1. King, Stephen, 1947– Stand. 2. Horror tales, American—
History and criticism. I. Title.
PS3561.I483S73 2012
813'.54—dc23 2012013247
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2012 Jenifer Paquette. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover image: Ruby Dee in Steven King’s The Stand,¡994
(Photofest); cover design by David K. Landis (Shake It Loose
Graphics)
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To Remi,
who not only said that I could
but that I should
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 5
Literature: What Is It Good For? 11
Horror: Red-Headed Stepchild of Fiction 23
King Criticism: Or Lack Thereof 30
A Defense of Escapism 37
The Stand 40
The Tolkien Connection 46
One: The Set-Up 53
Small-Town America 54
The Military 59
99.4 Percent Communicability 65
The Media 68
Two: The Players 71
Ordinary People Can Make a Difference 72
Small-Town Maine: King’s Specialty 75
American Nice Guy 79
A Pawn in the Hands of Providence 86
Human Nature 90
The Sanctity of Innocence 95
Intellect Gone Awry 98
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 100
For Every Villain a Right-Hand Man 102
Evil Always Undoes Itself 105
vii
Table of Contents
In the Hands of a Demanding God 107
American Evil 108
Three: The Big Picture 112
Good vs. Evil: Dream a Little Dream 112
The Problem of Choice: Predestination or Poor Judgment? 116
The Stand: It’s the Journey That Counts 117
The Right to Govern 121
Hope vs. Despair: “Do people ever really learn anything?” 125
Four: The Nitty Gritty 127
Writing Style: “The Prose Is Indistinguishable” 127
Genre Choice: Today Is a Good Day to End the World? 129
Popular Appeal: The Kiss of Death? 130
Five: The Dark TowerConnections 133
Some New American Heroes 134
The Lady of Shadows 139
The Boy 140
Not in Kansas Anymore 144
Six: All God’s Chillun’ Should Stand 146
“The Body”: Ray Brower Meets a Train 149
IT: Clowns, Sewers, and Spiders 152
The Losers’ Club 153
IT’s Minions 156
“You Can’t Be Careful on a Skateboard” 157
Grown-Ups Are the Real Monsters 158
American Horrors 161
Dreamcatcher: Aliens, Old Friends, and Hunting Cabins 163
Horror Lives Everywhere Every Day 165
Last Stand 166
Final Thoughts 168
Chapter Notes 171
Bibliography 177
Index 179
viii
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Philip Chamberlin for the insight and encour-
agement, not to mention the lunches; Dr. John Hatcher, for telling me to
write about something I really cared about and wouldn’t get sick of; Thes-
saly Ann Miller and Freyja Skarsgard, for their endless unbridled enthu-
siasm; and Evelyn Jane Paquette, for the late night idea fests.
ix