I was asked to write a letter to the author of my favourite book for a writing course, and "The Stand" has always stuck out since my first reading, so I thought I'd share it.
Dear Mr. King,
I am writing this letter to tell you with utmost sincerity how your book “The Stand” both has, and continues to impact my philosophy in regards to the fragility of modern society, the structure of a community and its social dynamics which impact interactions both within itself and with the outside world, and not least of all by any means, the immense sense of emotional connectedness I feel with the characters you created in this captivating story.
Your writing is known for its generally frightening blending of the surreal into the realism of your setting and characters, but the scariest part about “The Stand” is how with a few careless mistakes and untimely coincidences, a supervirus like “Captain Tripps” very well could be the plague which brings sends our society into disarray. But, from night must come day, and perhaps the most stunning element of “The Stand” is how those who were who drawn to the “Boulder Free Zone” by Mother Abigail were able to construct a cohesive community in the aftermath of such devastation. Your character Glen Bateman’s allegory on why conflict might erupt between neighbouring communities particularly stuck with me, but it was interesting to see that the looming invasion by the citizens of Randall Flagg’s community in Las Vegas was not based on a need for resources, but was to be an act of pure malice (interesting, but perhaps not surprising, given your depiction of Randall Flagg as either a messenger of, or the embodiment of Satan, whilst Mother Abigail served as messenger of God).
Though there are so many characters you give attention to, and each of them hailing from a different walk of life, it’s hard not to relate to each of them in some way; Stu Redman, the small-town Texas “good ol’ boy” who needed just a six-pack, and a few hearty laughs with good friends to get through the hardships of life before the plague; Larry Underwood, whose big city dreams turned into a waking nightmare (not that it mattered much once “Captain Tripps” rolled around); Tom Cullen, whose simple-minded wonderment towards life is something we all need at times (not to mention your beautiful description of his moments of epiphany, when all those loose thoughts just come together into a moment of clarity); Trashcan Man, whose hardships were not aided by his troubled mind and its deviant tendencies; Nick Andros, who, after seemingly being dealt a life of solitude and isolation, was able to find help in a mentor who pushed him towards finding freedom from a miserable silence; and Harold Lauder, the character who, perhaps like many other readers of “The Stand”, it demoralizes me to find similarities with, as I know many of us are like Harold, trying to escape the miserable points in life with the help of a good book.
Though this letter might be lost amongst the plethora of fan-mail I’m sure you receive, and I regret writing to you in the first place given your preference to avoid all the hubbub of stardom, but if by chance you do read this, I just want to say:
Thank-you, for the insight you’ve provided, for strengthening my love of reading and the many hours of joy you’ve given me with your books, and for a heavy dose of reality, as you helped showed me that whatever our opinions may be on the state of things in this wide world, we should appreciate what we’ve built, for it could all be lost before we know it.
Sincerely,
Jer
Dear Mr. King,
I am writing this letter to tell you with utmost sincerity how your book “The Stand” both has, and continues to impact my philosophy in regards to the fragility of modern society, the structure of a community and its social dynamics which impact interactions both within itself and with the outside world, and not least of all by any means, the immense sense of emotional connectedness I feel with the characters you created in this captivating story.
Your writing is known for its generally frightening blending of the surreal into the realism of your setting and characters, but the scariest part about “The Stand” is how with a few careless mistakes and untimely coincidences, a supervirus like “Captain Tripps” very well could be the plague which brings sends our society into disarray. But, from night must come day, and perhaps the most stunning element of “The Stand” is how those who were who drawn to the “Boulder Free Zone” by Mother Abigail were able to construct a cohesive community in the aftermath of such devastation. Your character Glen Bateman’s allegory on why conflict might erupt between neighbouring communities particularly stuck with me, but it was interesting to see that the looming invasion by the citizens of Randall Flagg’s community in Las Vegas was not based on a need for resources, but was to be an act of pure malice (interesting, but perhaps not surprising, given your depiction of Randall Flagg as either a messenger of, or the embodiment of Satan, whilst Mother Abigail served as messenger of God).
Though there are so many characters you give attention to, and each of them hailing from a different walk of life, it’s hard not to relate to each of them in some way; Stu Redman, the small-town Texas “good ol’ boy” who needed just a six-pack, and a few hearty laughs with good friends to get through the hardships of life before the plague; Larry Underwood, whose big city dreams turned into a waking nightmare (not that it mattered much once “Captain Tripps” rolled around); Tom Cullen, whose simple-minded wonderment towards life is something we all need at times (not to mention your beautiful description of his moments of epiphany, when all those loose thoughts just come together into a moment of clarity); Trashcan Man, whose hardships were not aided by his troubled mind and its deviant tendencies; Nick Andros, who, after seemingly being dealt a life of solitude and isolation, was able to find help in a mentor who pushed him towards finding freedom from a miserable silence; and Harold Lauder, the character who, perhaps like many other readers of “The Stand”, it demoralizes me to find similarities with, as I know many of us are like Harold, trying to escape the miserable points in life with the help of a good book.
Though this letter might be lost amongst the plethora of fan-mail I’m sure you receive, and I regret writing to you in the first place given your preference to avoid all the hubbub of stardom, but if by chance you do read this, I just want to say:
Thank-you, for the insight you’ve provided, for strengthening my love of reading and the many hours of joy you’ve given me with your books, and for a heavy dose of reality, as you helped showed me that whatever our opinions may be on the state of things in this wide world, we should appreciate what we’ve built, for it could all be lost before we know it.
Sincerely,
Jer
