ipl-logo

Accepting Loss In Pet Sematary By Stephen King

783 Words4 Pages

Rachel Creed, age eight, watches her sister claw at her throat, suffocating. All she can think to do is run. Who could blame her? Such a young age, a young mind, unknowing of how her actions could alter her future, unknowing of loss; nonetheless, she blamed herself. This is one of the losses that Rachel experienced in the novel Pet Sematary by Stephen King. Through characterization and tone, King shows throughout the book that it is necessary to accept loss that happened in the past using healthy communication to move on to the future for the sake of forgiveness and relationships. In the beginning of the novel, Rachel, now a woman in her 30’s, detests the mention of death; King shows this using tone. When Rachel’s husband, Louis Creed, mentions …show more content…

Before Rachel communicated with Louis about her sister’s death and the impact it had on her, King tells us “For a moment Louis has the crazy impression that he was still talking to Ellie” (King 41). This is another quote that appears in the fight Louis had with Rachel about introducing the idea of death to their daughter. Building the reader's view of Rachel's character, King uses characterization in this line to add to Rachel’s trauma and the extreme reaction she has to sensitive topics such as death. It bothers her to such a degree, that her behavior reflected her five-year-old daughter. It also enhances Rachel’s personal growth, intensifying the extent to which Rachel was suffering and making her courage to communicate with Louis and progress towards healing even more major. When Rachel does start the process of healing, starting with talking to Louis about her past, she remarks “‘I can’t… seem to help it. In my mind I know you’re right, that death is perfectly natural—good, even—but what my mind know and what happens…inside me…’” (King 196). King displays Rachel’s character growth and uses characterization to construct Rachel’s character further. Since the book mainly follows Louis’ journey, the reader does not often see into the thoughts of Rachel. King reveals that Rachel recognizes that death is natural, and shows her advancement from being emotionally blinded by any comment on loss, to being able to relay her feelings in a healthy manner. Her capability to carry out these things heals and aids her relationship with Louis and the other people in her life, and allows Rachel to forgive herself, knowing that she was not completely at fault for her sister’s

Show More
Related
1653 Words | 7 Pages

First off, the theme is a central point of every story. I believe that Stephen King uses figurative language to convey that grief should not dictate one’s life. Throughout Pet Sematary, Louis continued fighting himself on whether or not he should go through with decisions, especially ones related to the Micmac burial grounds. This was most likely due to paranormal intervention, the wendigo were trying to kill Louis via picking off his closest relationships one by one. While Louis tries to dig up Gage, he is fighting whether or not he should be doing the things he was, and he thought, “going to break you out Gage, see if I don’t!”

Read More
1349 Words | 6 Pages

Death is one of the most grave consequences that a person can face for their actions, however, to those with dangerously romantic views in literature it is not uncommon for it to occur. This, unfortunately is true for both of these novels. In Kingsolver 's novel, the Pierce families both actions and inactions result in the tragic death of the youngest daughter Ruth May. Their ideas that they did not have to conform to the society in which they were in and the romantic idea that everything would be okay within that family lead to this tragic death.

Read More
2664 Words | 11 Pages

Kingsolver gives hints about Rachel’s future during the meal as well as Nathan’s and Leah’s: although she does not directly say it outright, her attitude during Brother Fowles’ visit seem slightly derogatory, such as “So back to the kitchen for Rachel the slave!” and “That goes without saying…given his marital situation” (246), with regards to the fact that Brother Fowles loves the Kilongese and their culture. This fact makes sense, because in the end Rachel ends up the most like her father of all of the daughters.

Read More
874 Words | 4 Pages

Editha was stunned by her husband’s death but when her tears came down she was relieved and able to release all the emotion that she held up inside of her. This is relatable because sometimes it is hard for people to cry or mourn someone’s death because they are in shock and not able to process the loss that they have endured. Howell also displays Editha’s reaction as a symbol that sometimes it is better to cry then to act strong or avoid the

Read More
2129 Words | 9 Pages

Furthermore, Rachel is extremely dependent in the first half of the play. When she first speaks to Brady about Cates, Brady wants her to testify against him in court. Of course, this distresses Rachel, and she doesn’t know what to do. Therefore she turns to other people for help and advice; she depends on them to tell her what to do. For instance, at one point Rachel, quite distraught, runs to the jail and calls down, “Bert, can you hear me?

Read More
868 Words | 4 Pages

The narrator also shows reflectiveness towards the ending of the story again by saying “Poor Sheila! Before the month was over, the spell she cast over me was gone, but the memory of that

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Secondly, acknowledging loss can adjust a person’s outward identity. Throughout the novel, one of the “Calendar Sisters”, June, is described as going through a traumatic betrayal by somebody close to her which has shaped her mind to be set on her future being alone. This causes her to have a lack of trust when it comes to how she handles relationships of any sort moving forward. An example discussed in the quote, is her current boyfriend, Neil. Along with this detail, later in the novel, she begins to trust in a different relationship which she didn’t allow to be welcomed into her life by showing a different side to her personality, “ ‘How come June won’t get married to him?’

Read More
1438 Words | 6 Pages

She tells Robert to “go to hell” (25) in an effort to detach herself from Robert before he can hurt her like Monty Miles did. Despite the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Ross live together, the lack of communication between them shows how she is unable to maintain relationships. These relationships could have been remedial for her in dealing with these traumatic experiences, thus resulting in her inability to express her feelings

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

Over the course of the story, Greg changed from a high school student who didn’t want to waste his time on making Rachel feel better to a stellar friend who realized the meaning of death and how much it mattered to comfort someone in Rachel’s situation. In conclusion, Rachel’s cancer was a symbol of Greg’s change in character. Her illness also represents how much life matters yet how fragile and meticulous people are. Readers will find this to be one of the most beautifully formed passages from the story with writing that illustrates Greg’s change in

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

For all of these reasons, this is why I think it’s very important to spend time with loved ones, never lose memories, and learn how to accept death the way it is. The sooner you learn to accept these facts, the better off you will be in the long run. Unfortunately, Janet learns this the hard way, and so does Martin, making Laird’s death much harder on

Read More
700 Words | 3 Pages

The teacher, Ms. Price picks up a sweater and asks the class if anyone is missing a sweater. A student says that it's Rachel's, and the teacher gives her the sweater without even thinking. Rachel thinks and speaks in a way that is very reminiscent of an eleven year old. There is a youthful, innocent tone in her voice, especially when she says “I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven” without actually thinking about the disadvantages of being that age. Throughout the day, she references home and how she longs to go home to celebrate with her family and eat cake.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

The reader soon discovers, this feeling that comes to Mrs. Mallard is joy and relief, she feels this because she can now finally be her own person. Mrs. Mallard comes to the realization that her husband had been oppressing her for years, “There would be no powerful will bending..”, and she was finally free of that. Before the passing of her husband, Mrs. Mallard was scared of living a long life because of the treatment she received from him. After his passing she had a much different outlook, “There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself.” This shows that Mrs. Mallard was excited to now live her own life without being told what she was to do.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

Death becomes an increasingly common occurrence for the citizens that occupy the small timber producing town. If one does not die from a timber accident or snake bite, then he or she is a candidate for murder. Pemberton killed a man in Boston and another within an hour of arriving back in town with his new bride, yet Serena shows no signs of being ashamed or having disbelief. Later on, Serena goes out and murders the old widow, with whom watches over Jacob so Rachel can earn a living, reasoning it had to have been done in order to bring her and Pemberton closer together, revealing just how devoted Serena is to her husband, under any and all circumstances, except with the subject of Rachel and Jacob come up. Their once blissful marriage slowly begins to unravel as Pemberton longs for an heir that Serena is unable to provide for him.

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

When Richard’s heard the news of her husband’s death, he assumed Mrs. Mallard would be devastated. While everyone knew Mrs. Mallard was “afflicted with heart trouble” (57), him and her sister, Josephine, wanted to give her the news with “great care” (57). Josephine broke the news to Mrs. Mallard in “broken sentences”

Read More
740 Words | 3 Pages

From her internal thoughts and observations, the reader is given knowledge of the exact extent to which Ellie’s own mortality affects her thoughts, actions, and enjoyment of her whole life. The impact of the knowledge is best demonstrated when the reader is told, “Yet

Read More

More about Accepting Loss In Pet Sematary By Stephen King

Related Topics

Open Document