Stephen King Accomplishments

Stephen King is an author with many successes, triumphs, and losses throughout his life. King is one of the most influential writers in history and is largely integrated into the American school system. King has led the life and career of an underdog and has let himself be influenced by many and let their influences make him the best of himself. Born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine, King was the first biological child of Nellie and Donald King, the first being an adopted child that would pose as King’s older sibling. Having a very sickly nature, King was often not present at school, one occurrence not appearing for the entire year (Schunk 1347). Two years after King’s birth, King’s father left and had remained out of contact with

Although have been published before Carrie, King’s first spark of popularity sprouted from it. King had sold stories to men’s magazines such as “Swank” and “Cavalier”. Eventually King’s efforts had caught the attention of Bill Thompson, an editor at a publishing company named Doubleday, who saw to it that Carrie was published. Carrie’s success brought great improvements to the King’s lives with the newfound income to help settle their financial matters (Ramsey). Carrie’s writing style was traditional up until the climax where it was conveyed there on by newspaper articles and other media clips available in the time period (Schunk 1349). Although immensely better known already, King’s fame rating skyrocketed after Carrie was shown in cinemas (Ramsey). After Carrie, young and exiled protagonists became chronic among King’s work, making him appeal to both old and young generations (Hoppenstand 4,6). Another pattern spotted in King’s horror works is that evil does not occur directly from the source but through a vessel the source has chosen to conduct though (Schunk 1348). Styles that have been exemplified through his works are large strengths in character development throughout the story and lengthy novels with expansive casts (Hoppenstand 6-7). The Dark Tower series is what is considered to be King’s

He began writing at a young age, knowing his father had wanted to be one. Stephen first acquired his typewriter at the age of twleve as a gift from his mother (Schunk 1347). Horror tales had also been a large influence on King. He read them frequently and became obsessed with the genre (1347). Events had influenced King as well, the first being his father leaving, but as an adolescent he worked as a gravedigger, inspiring his short story “I Was a Teenage Grave Robber”. King often spoke of how his experience of writing for the paper gave him “the most valuable experience he ever received” in writing. In June of 1999, King was walking across the street when he was struck by a moving van and his body was thrown 14 feet in the air, causing a very lengthy recovery and the lose of one-hundred pounds (Ramsey). Before and after this accident King had been progressing on his book On Writing, in which King explained how authors who had come of age in the 1960’s, as he had, were influenced greatly by the Vietnam War (Schunk 1357). Another job that affected King was his time working as an industrial laundry, while his wife was a waitress (1348). King states he refuses to be influenced negatively and to be assigned to a restrictive compartment of fiction (Hoppenstand 7). Examples of him branching to other genres would be when he wrote Eyes of the Dragon for his