I Am The Doorway By Steven King Theme

Author Steven King is one of the world’s premier horror and science fiction writers. One of his works written in 1971, “I am the Doorway”, tells the story of an astronaut named Arthur who becomes infected with an extraterrestrial intelligence. In the short story, Arthur is part of a mission to Venus. When he returns, he must deal with the emergence of alien eyes on his fingertips. These aliens see humans as disgusting monsters, and they use Arthur’s body to commit murder and other heinous acts. He finds a way to keep the eyes at bay, but when the eyes return on his chest, he plans his suicide. Arthur’s struggle with the aliens and his psyche propels the development of loneliness and insanity in his character.
The appearance of the alien eyes

Arthur only mentions one friend throughout the story, so it isn’t a stretch to say Arthur is somewhat of a reclus,e even without the eyes. When Arthur looks for the body of a boy the aliens murdered with his friend Richard, he finds that they moved the body without his knowledge. Desperate and frantic, Arthur thinks that “[he] might have gone to see Doc Flanders or Richard. [He] still might have, if it hadn’t been for the memory of [his] aunt, shunned, virtually a prisoner, being eaten alive by her own ailing flesh. So [he] kept a desperate silence and prayed that [he] would wake up some morning and find it had been an evil dream”(King 8). This detail about Arthur’s aunt is crucial to the development of his fears. Earlier in the story, Arthur mentions that his aunt had leprosy. He described her as a “forbidden topic”(King 5). Arthur’s mother would bring meals to his aunt, who was never to be seen. This reference describes his fear of isolation and loneliness. Arthur sees his hands as something that should be hidden from the world, much like his aunt. After Arthur’s hands strike his friend Richard with lightning, he burns his

Near the middle of the story, Arthur and Richard drive to the murdered boy’s grave in the desert. However, they find that the body has been moved by the aliens via Arthur’s body. When Arthur makes the discovery, he comments to Richard that “they used [him] to move [the boy]... They’re forcing their doorway open, a little at a time”(King 7). The constant mentioning of a “them” indicates that Arthur is developing some form of paranoia. Additionally, the analogy of the alien’s invasion of Arthur and a doorway represents foreign thoughts and fears in his mind. The aliens are using him to travel to Earth while corrupting his hands and brain. Lastly, Arthur claims that the aliens are forcing their way, implying that his psyche is starting to give. Shortly after the duo makes their discovery, Richard attempts to calm Arthur down. However, “[Arthur] could hear [his] voice rising. I am the doorway, can’t you understand that? They killed the boy, Richard! They moved the body!”(King 7). The description of Arthur’s boice being hysterical reveals that his mental state is rapidly declining. His frequent claims that he is the doorway indicates that he barely feel human anymore and sees himself as a medium for the aliens. Arthur’s understanding that the aliens can control him without his knowledge ruins his