Yeah, and the monotonous bopping of the paddle ball and rubber string. Repetitive.
Group Discussion II: The Stand (40th Anniversary)
- Thread starter Doc Creed
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You said what I was thinking much better than I did!
Once in Boulder, Joe/Leo starts to show his physic abilities. He is able to read Larry's mind. Could that have contributed to his musical talents? "Drawing" then from Larry's mind.
....nah, great minds honey.....You said what I was thinking much better than I did!
Absolutely. And he is able to better communicate verbally in Boulder. The name change is a symbolic indication of just how different he is at this point, I think.
...his own “shine”.....
This is another good point. I wondered about this, too.
Trashcan Man is a sympathetic character but yet mysterious. He has an innocence like Tom but something else. He's neither a force for good nor evil. Am I wrong? I see him as a chaotic element and, given the novel's climax, one wonders just how much he was an instrument of God's purpose.
...Chaos theory in human form....
Did anyone have any theories why Nadine never had dreams of Mother Abigail? When these two meet there are near psychic sparks. Strange.
Found this while researching The Stand. Totally new information for me.
King Wanted to Pay Tribute to a Fantasy Master
King set out to pen The Stand to scratch a 10-year itch to “write a fantasy epic like Lord of the Rings, only with an American setting.”Wrote King:
King Wanted to Pay Tribute to a Fantasy Master
King set out to pen The Stand to scratch a 10-year itch to “write a fantasy epic like Lord of the Rings, only with an American setting.”Wrote King:
“Only instead of a hobbit, my hero was a Texan named Stu Redman, and instead of a Dark Lord, my villain was a ruthless drifter and supernatural madman named Randall Flagg. The land of Mordor ("where the shadows lie, according to Tolkien) was played by Las Vegas.”
I always feel sorry for Trashy. He was never loved, never treated well by those who should love him. Of course he is going to gravitate towards Flagg, who promises him he will finally be loved. Also, to your earlier point about Nadine only dreaming of Flagg and not Mother Abigail and being the only one like that, I don't think Trash ever dreamed of her either. He dreamed of corn fields but it always made him uneasy and scared. I don't think he ever "saw" Mother Abigail.
Trash is a lot like Tom. Simple minded and completely full of faith...they both helped to bring down Flagg with their simple way of looking at things. No gray, only black and white. Right and wrong. Good and evil.
Cool! I didn't know this. Makes sense considering King's love for that trilogy. (Note to self: read LOTR)
Yes, I believe you are right. I remember Trashy crossing from Iowa into Nebraska and getting an uneasy feeling. I wish I could figure out why this is. Maybe he was fearful of belonging to either group, to any "family". Even in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand he is made fun of (light heartedly) and not truly an equal. The Kidd abused him, too.
I am intrigued by the quasi father and son relationship between Glen and Stu. Stu's father dies when he is young, didn't he? King creates these types of bonds in a few books.
Pet Sematary- Jud and Louis.
Firestarter- Irv and Andy
The Drawing of the Three- Roland and Eddie
In light of King's own history, it is enlightening to see these relationship dynamics play out on the page. Thoughts?
Pet Sematary- Jud and Louis.
Firestarter- Irv and Andy
The Drawing of the Three- Roland and Eddie
In light of King's own history, it is enlightening to see these relationship dynamics play out on the page. Thoughts?
A chilling moment was when Stu is operating on Mark (Perion's boyfriend) and he realizes (or is told) that Mark is dead. He becomes emotionally detached, shell shocked. Over and over he keeps saying, "Well, that's that." This is a beautiful but frightening scene. It illustrates how helpless they all are. Scary.
...could be as simple as Steve pouring his hurt into these relationships....he grew up without his Dad....maybe these are cloaked wishes....
Perhaps the desire to fill in what he lacked in his own childhood with his father? Show that such relationships can and do exist.
Imagine a word that wasn’t spelt M-O-O-N
-This post was made by the Tom Cullen Gang
-This post was made by the Tom Cullen Gang
Yeah, that is my interpretation, too. Especially with the books I mentioned. A wish, a what-if...it's probably by no accident that these are some of his best written characters.