Trashy's Mental Condition

[preciousroy]

Was Flagg the originator of Trash's mental breakdown as a youth? The last time I read The Stand was about a year ago so my memory is vague, but I seem to remember a part where Trash sees a smile on Flagg's face and remembers seeing that smile on the face of the orderly where Trash had been institutionalized and abused. I know it could have just been a description of similar malice hiding behind the smile, but it got me wondering.

The portion of the book where Trash travels with The Kid suggests that Flagg saved him from The Kid, but that Trash was too unintelligent to reason that Flagg had delivered him into those hands in the first place. I think this lends support to the idea that Flagg may have had a hand in Trash's destiny.

 

[GNTLGNT]

....Flagg used Trashy as a minion, and played on his instability....yet the abuse that led to his mental issues had come into play as a child and long before the Walkin' Dude had ever heard of Donald Merwin Elbert....

 

[Spideyman]

....Flagg used Trashy as a minion, and played on his instability....yet the abuse that led to his mental issues had come into play as a child and long before the Walkin' Dude had ever heard of Donald Merwin Elbert....

Just re read that for group and totally agree.

 

[preciousroy]

I knew it was a stretch but the question has been niggling at me. It sure would have been even more unfortunate for Trash if Flagg had seen to it from the very beginning that he never had a chance to be loved. But in Trash's world people were so unkind that it wouldn't even have been necessary. Trash is a special character.