All That You Love Will Be Carried Away

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GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
...Hi Brandy!....it's been said that no-one knows the true ending of the story except for the original publishing magazine and Steve himself....however, this tale felt to me like it summed up the substance of depression, and uncertainty of suicidal ideation....one reaches out to grasp onto SOMETHING if they are not fully committed to ending their lives, even the "decision" he arrives at is projecting the final "answer" onto someone or something else.....
 

BrandySoho

New Member
Oct 19, 2017
3
11
Nowhere, FL
...Hi Brandy!....it's been said that no-one knows the true ending of the story except for the original publishing magazine and Steve himself....however, this tale felt to me like it summed up the substance of depression, and uncertainty of suicidal ideation....one reaches out to grasp onto SOMETHING if they are not fully committed to ending their lives, even the "decision" he arrives at is projecting the final "answer" onto someone or something else.....
I like your answer. The character is grasping onto something to keep him alive. I think you're absolutely right about the character feeling uncertain. Do I stay or Do I go?
 

Marty Coslaw

Low-BDNF Gork
May 19, 2018
177
720
37
DC
I thought this story was, in part, a sort of existential meditation on the little decisions people make to keep pushing through their lives. It reminds me a bit of Roadwork, in that way, but rather than looking for confrontation and having a mental breakdown, this character has been gradually drifting away from reality and into the sanctuary of his notebook. He's not sobbing or desperate when he picks up the gun, he does it almost carelessly. King's note (
that the character was written initially to decide against suicide, but King reconsidered and made the ending ambiguous
) is interesting because it gives us more of an idea of how he felt about the character. I got the impression that it was one of his less dense short stories.