Anyone else wonder...(analysis part I)

[sarahg123]

Hey all, I'm new here & to the world of SK's writing. I've seen most of the movies based on his books, but until last week I had never read any of his books. I watched IT with some friends the other night (basically to prove to myself that the damn clown wasn't as scary as I always thought when I was younger) and I got to googling the actors (where are they now? Style). Stan is my favorite character, and lo and behold there are so many analyzations of IT and the characters, and I love a good character analysis. Ok, so reading the analysis online got me curious enough to read the book because a lot of them said the same thing: the movie left out A LOT.

So this leads me to my first major question, among many, does anyone else notice how similar the characters are in IT and The Body (Stand By Me)? You've got your group of misfits (Losers), you've got your young "leader" who becomes a writer later in life, the off-kilter kid with Chuck Berry glasses, the "fat kid", the bad guy and his gang (Ace & the Cobras, Henry & his group.) The fact that the boys were 12 when they parted ways after their final pilgrimage as friends that summer. The Body was written a few years before IT, and it was a short story, so I wonder if King developed those characters into the beloved Losers of IT. It makes sense to me & it's probably one of the most obvious things ever, but being new to the book version of IT & only having just seen SBM, I just put the two together.

I love both of these stories, and I love the reverence SK writing is when exploring the bonds of friendship between children. At times you forget you're reading the story through the eyes of a 12 year old, you know?

I could go on and on, but just wanted to get this idea out of my head, share it, so it's not just myself obsessing over the correlation between the two stories!

 

[GNTLGNT]

....it's an interesting thought, but many of these "kids" parallel people that King grew up with, and some instances in these novels are adaptations of actual events from his childhood...so, I don't know if he rolled these characters/icons into other stories or no-but he treats children AS real people and, as he does with all characterizations-gives them honest emotions, foibles and ultimately....love....

 

[sarahg123]

It's funny you mention that because a friend and I were talking and the subject came up of how much these characters came from his own personal life. I think that part is obvious, you write what you know sort of thing, but it just struck me as interesting how similar the characters and story lines are of the two separate pieces of work. I love his characterizations, specifically children. I was shocked to find that IT was so much about love & friendship & faith, like you said, and not just a horror story. Thanks for the insight, I agree completely!

 

[Cast iron crab]

I think it's even more than that; no matter where on goes there will always be these types of social set ups, and we all can look back in our lives and find the same things/people and I believe SK knows this, which is why his characters have such universal appeal. We were all kids at one point. Oh, and this was one hell of a story to start with. My first was The Shining waaay back when. Then I was hooked!

 

[blunthead]

Welcome to the Board! Keep posting!

 

[king family fan]

 

[AnnaMarie]

I think it would be interesting to look at when books and short stories were written (not necessarily published). I think sometimes there are ideas that don't fit in a book, for whatever reason. But those ideas don 't just go away. They grow. They fester.

And they must be written.

Maybe The Body was some of the ideas that didn't work in IT. (or maybe not)

 

[Lamer]

I think what makes movies like stand by me so beloved is the way childhood bonds are illustrated. Watching movies like stand by me brings it all back. It is timeless.

 

[Lamer]

And although"it" deals more with the supernatural than stand by me it still has the same feeling of bonds made stronger thru trauma- i read that somewhere here i believe. It really stood out to me.

 

[Marty Coslaw]

No coincidence they're both considered timeless classics. The aspect that really resonates for me is the immutable bond between the friends that seems to revolve around something transcendent, or maybe the other way around. Sort of a "love conquers all" message, if you're willing to take it that way.