Character Analysis Of Danny Torrance In Stephen King's The Shining And Doctor Sleep

The book begins with the tale of how Dr. Hilfiker came to help alcoholics when he meets John Turnell. Hilfiker first met Turnell on the streets where he was suffering from the effects of his alcoholism. The problem is that Turnell was afraid of what would happen if he drops his one source of comfort and respite (alcohol) and Hilfiker, his physician, was afraid of what would happen if he does not. Hilfiker and his wife chose to uproot themselves and their family and move to Washington, DC, to begin work in the Community of Hope Health Services clinic for the poor and homeless. In the memoir, Hilfiker relates his experience as a physician and with DC's urban homeless and poor, many of whom were alcoholics (Hilfiker, 1994, 1-23).

J.C Burke conveys the theme of mental health through Tom’s view of Daniel. Daniel is in jail. Confined to a cell and trapped with the thoughts of the accident he caused, Daniel is helpless. The major impact he caused on Fin’s life proves to traumatise him more than anything else. Because even though Daniel is confined to a cell, Fin is confined to a wheelchair. Never to walk on his own two feet again. When talking to Tom about the harshness of it all, Daniel was crying as he said, “Fin. Fin’s the hardest, though, mate.” “I just couldn’t get this picture out of my head, Fin in a wheelchair.” Constantly

What is horror? Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as "a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay." It stands to reason then that "horror fiction" is fiction that elicits those emotions in the reader. An example of a horror film is "The Shining", directed by Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick was a well-known director, producer, writer and cinematographer. His films comprised of unique, qualitative scenes that are still memorable but one iconic film in his collection of work is The Shining. Many would disagree and say that The Shining was not his best work and he could have done better yet, there are still those who would say otherwise. This film was not meant to be a “scary pop-up” terror film but

It is hard to have a healthy relationship with someone when they are controlled by alcohol. The relationship between John Purcell and his son had drifted apart more and more by his actions and his choice of being alcoholic. As inconsiderate as John he says to a curate "Three dollars! Why, I could have taken Johnny to a burlesque show for less than that." There is a little boy present and their parents do not want their children exposed to such inappropriate jokes like John often expressed. John is inconsiderate therefore he does things without thinking. His recklessness continued when he met another untrustworthy father at the meeting. At that point when the outsider offered him a drink, he expected it happily expressing “You’re a lifesaver,” because of his dependence on alcohol he humiliated his child much further; and had not taken his wife’s oath of being on his best conduct into thought. When he went up the stairs to receive Johnny’s reward, on the way he trips and falls making his son embarrassed and

Over the course of the story, Junior faced many challenging obstacles, but the ones that really hurt and affected him were those related to alcohol. In the novel, we learned many things about Junior’s best friend Rowdy such as he had an aggressive and mean personality and that he was being beat by his father. His father not only beat Rowdy, but he also beat Rowdy’s mom when he drank alcohol. His heavy drinking changed his mood which resulted in rage. Introducing the readers to Rowdy’s father is important because it teaches them one of the effects that alcohol can have on people. In the story Junior recalls, “I have to, I guess, especially since Rowdy is having one of the worst summers of his life. His father is drinking hard and throwing hard punches, so Rowdy and his mother are always walking around with bruised and bloody faces.” (Alexie 16). This is an important quote because it teaches the reader the effect alcohol can have on a person's mood. Under the influence, Rowdy’s father became a different person and his actions became more aggressive. While an alcoholic's actions under the influence should not be excused

When Victor was a child his parents would drink a lot and would neglect him because they dealt with their pain by drinking. They drank because they were drinking away the problems caused by the generational trauma they and the generation before them had to endure. For example, during the New Year's party, everyone got drunk, even Victor's parents, left Victor by himself. Victor’s father and mother drank more

You could have twenty dollars in your pocket at all times, make fifty, seventy-five a week, have a beautiful apartment with everything you want in it, all you want to drink, once you get straight” (Kennedy 70). Another factor to consider is that this story is set during the Great Depression, increasing the chances of one being homeless as jobs went under and unemployment rates rose significantly. This lasted more than a decade and many were compelled to leave their homes in search of job opportunities (Dupuis 1) Although this was the case, Francis Phelan was not homeless because of this reason, but because he chose to run away, commit murders, and spend his money on alcohol. He had the qualities of a successful man but chose to react to his unfortunate life events in a cowardly

Danny is angry and disappointed in what he has done. He stays in Sofia’s cot all day and digs his nails into his forearm because he is so nervous. “Because all he’s felt like doing for the past five days is hiding out in Sofia’s bedroom, on his cot, digging into the inside of his forearm with his nails to remind him he’s a real person.”(De la Pena, Ch.4). This is a pivotal moment in Danny’s development because he is at his lowest point in the book. He feels like he will never have any friends and his life is ruined. He traps himself in Sofia’s room to try and escape all of life’s problems. However this experience teaches him you can run away from your

Alcoholism is defined as an addiction to the indulgence of alcoholic liquor and the compelling behaviour which results from alcohol dependency. In the novel “Medicine Walk” by Richard Wagamese and the essay “Mother’s Milk” by Christie Blatchford, the reasoning behind and dire repercussions of alcohol abuse are evident through the characters Eldon Starlight and Christie’s mother. However, Eldon’s reason for alcoholism is much more traumatic and its effect on both himself and those around him is of greater severity as opposed to Christie’s mother. As a teenager Christie’s mother suffers from social nervousness and uses alcohol as a means of reducing her anxiety, whereas Eldon begins drinking after he was forced to leave his home as his mother chose her abusive husband over him. After Christie was born her mother began drinking at a higher degree while Eldon’s alcoholism heightens after he must kill his only friend to ensure his own survival. Occasionally Christie’s mother would quit alcohol for around a month’s time and her health would improve, contrastingly Eldon’s attempt to abstain from alcohol lasts only a couple of days and results in the deterioration of his health. Despite her alcoholism Christie’s mother lives past the age of 80 and even outlives her husband by 15 years, on the other hand due to his alcohol abuse Eldon suffers from liver failure which results in his early death. Her mother’s

Personally, I think I can relate to the suffering that Danny went through. Years ago, when I was a child and in my early teens I struggled so much with my relationship with my father. Just like Danny, I never had a good communication with my dad. If he ever talked to me it was to make me feel bad about myself if I did something wrong. If I wanted to share great news with him regarding to my school grades all I received was silence. My father’s actions towards me were hurtful. Even though I now know the reasons for his actions it still causes me suffering because I wish my childhood could have been more

The addiction to alcohol emulates the Biopsychosocial-spiritual model. According to the text, the “biology of chemical use relates to the formidable hereditary components in the etiology of this illness and the physical problems that may arise with extended use.” (Wormer & Davis, 2018 p.12). Nick’s father an alcoholic and could explain the heredity and learned behavior portion of this model. Psychological concepts are present in Nick’s life such as the

Steven King did an incredible job creating “The Shining”. Using a real life issue as damaging as alcoholism and allowing the reader to sympathize and even relate with the main characters was truly a remarkable idea. This thriller is, in no doubt, a masterpiece that will stay a treasure for years to come.

Malaika's start in life highlights why children of alcoholics can develop certain patterns of behaviour. Malaika's Father drank and would often leave the house for days, returning to a torrent of verbal abuse from his wife. Malaika would go through her young life seeing her Father be violent and abusive. The protection needed from her Mother wasn't available and like many children in homes where there are alcohol problems, Malaika had to learn to avoid showing any feelings or raising her Father's temper. David Stafford (1992) gives an interesting account of these behaviours developed in his book “Children of Alcoholics” describing how an unpredictable environment can have lasting effects on the child “Unfortunately, in alcoholic households the protection and

A number of strange incidents occur throughout the story. Jack finds a wasps' nest while maintaining the roof, uses an appropriate wasp bomb on it, and puts it in Danny's room. That night, although Jack had checked there were no wasps still in the nest, Danny is stung several times, and when Jack manages to put a bowl over the nest, there are many wasps trapped inside. Then in an almost hypnotic fit after spending too much time going through the hotel's papers in the boiler room, Jack smashes the radio, effectively cutting them off from the rest of the world as snow has fallen heavily, and reaching the nearest town has become impossible except by snowmobile.

Television today serves as a method to confront our societal fears in a comfortable setting, like books and oral tales did hundreds of years ago. The film The Shining directed by Stanley Kubrick, although a modern medium, still draws from the original gothic novel. Compared to The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, The Shining plays on the same classic and applicable anxiety of finding terror within the nuclear family. Kubrick uses the gothic theme to address horror originating from family relationships, additionally taking the idea of “the gothic novel” to a heightened level through invoking despair in his audience rather than hope as Walpole did in his novel. Despair in The Shining is conveyed by