Life In Stephen King's The Shining

Throughout the course of history, authors incorporated events of their life, milestones in time, and their personal opinions and views in their work. Stephen King is a prime example of an author that does such. By writing about his life, his era, and his opinions, he develops an interesting and unique storyline in each of his novels. By focusing on events of his time period and life, Stephen King develops his philosophy which is presented in his novel The Shining. Stephen King’s life was not the smoothest, and understanding his life events is helpful in connection to his work. First, “Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947,” (King, Tabitha). Stephen King’s dad walked out on him and his mother, leaving her unpaid bills. Stephen

For example, the 1970s “laminated the decline of ‘traditional’ social values and roles,” (“The 1970s”). In the novel The Shining, the decline of traditional values is evident in Danny’s thoughts: “...for just a moment his own consciousness had plunged through his daddy’s darkness to an incomprehensible word much more frightening than DIVORCE, and that word was SUICIDE,” (King, The Shining 41). Before the 1970s, divorce was not a cultural normal. Traditional marriage ideas were still in place and divorce was a last resort. Also, with the idea of avoiding divorce, traditional family values were enforced. Danny’s mom asks him, “Would you [Danny] be happier if we went away from the Overlook? If we didn’t stay the winter,” (King, The Shining 294). Wendy implies leaving the Overlook and her husband despite not completing Jack’s winter job. Wendy’s wish to leave for the winter can be connected to Feminism in the 1970s. Feminism and female rights movements were extremely apparent throughout the decade in the fight for equality (“The 1970s”). Before the time period, women were expected to stay home and stay with their families. Perhaps, King added Wendy’s desire and achievement of leaving her husband at the end of the book as a supportive point with Female rights. Lastly, in the 1970s the anti war movement continued to persist (“The 1970s”). The Shining had a great number of violence in Jack’s encounters with Wendy and his son Danny. These violent encounters contradict the anti war movements of the time period and King’s protests in college. Clearly, Stephen King’s era influenced his