THESIS

(Topic)In Stephen King’s “The Shining”, the elements of the Gothic traditionally focalized in horror are subverted to promote more sociological and psychologically horrific plots, which may be interpreted differently for the reader depending on which character(s) the reader most identifies with. King craftily creates a narrative where it is ambiguous who the main protagonist is, allowing the reader to assess each character and determine whom and to what extent they empathize with. (Objective) What King has done, then, is create a horrific decision to be made by the reader, who can likely come to side with even the monstrous Jack Torrance despite his abusive and repulsive nature, or by siding with the “abused”, Danny or Wendy, must come to understand themselves as related-to the victims, something which it may be difficult for some to acknowledge.