Drawing Of The Three Journal #3: The Shining



In Wizard and Glass, Stephen King makes some pretty clear connections to his other  works.  It becomes crystal clear that the Dark Tower is a door that opens directly into King's other books.  But direct references to Stephen King and his work began to appear in other places much earlier in the series.

Twice Eddie Dan makes mention of The Shining.  These are cultural references.  Interestingly, both times he is referencing the Kubrick film.  Here are two quotes about The Shining from The Drawing Of The Three:

1. While looking through the doorway into Oedtta's world:

Now the view through the doorway made one of those turns the gunslinger found so dizzying— but Eddie found this same abrupt swoop oddly comforting. Roland had never seen a movie. Eddie had seen thousands, and what he was looking at was like one of those moving point-of-view shots they did in ones like Halloween and The Shining. He even knew what they called the gadget they did it with. Steadicam. That was it.  (P.198)
2. Again, looking through Odetta's eyes:
He was staring into the doorway, hypnotized, as an aisle of Macy’s rushed forward— he was reminded again of The Shining, where you saw what the little boy was seeing as he rode his trike through the hallways of that haunted hotel. He remembered the little boy had seen this creepy pair of dead twins in one of those hallways. (P.223)
Someone has pointed out that Room 217 can equal 19 (2 + 17).  Deep.  And -- "Another instance of 19 occurs during the climax of the novel, when Jack is attempting to kill his wife, and the book mentions that there are 19 stairs from the lobby to the first floor of the hotel."  

4 comments:

  1. The question passages like these always raise for me is, "So what's the exact relation of the fictional version of King to his own fictions?

    It's unclear and fuzzy even in the novels and real definitive decision is made.

    I'm trying to be cautious in what I write in case spoilers for those who haven't read the books, yet if I had to take a choice, then I posit the idea of the fictional King presiding in the same universe he created (Castle Rock, Derry, Ludlow, the Lot, Desperation, Wentworth OH et al) and just let that be the case. It has a nice symmetry to it.

    In this way of looking at it, you could posit that the fictional King is famous for the books the real King has published. The onyl difference is while the fictional King's books have the same titles (Bag of Bones, Salem's Lot, Misery, Shining), the stories inside are vastly different, except for works like the Stand, Mist, Trucks and DT.

    ChrisC

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    1. A correction to my last post. I meant to say a real definitive version of the fictional King's relation to the real King's other books has NEVER yet been made or at least is up in the air.

      ChrisC

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  2. Hey Dave!
    How about Journal #3??? lol

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  3. Hummm, Journal #3 fell through a symbolic door.

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