Download or read book Everyday Evil in Stephen King s America written by Jason S. Polley and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-06-03 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited collection variously interrogates how everyday evil manifests in Stephen King’s now-familiar American imaginary; an imaginary that increases the representational limits of both anticipated and experienced realism. Divided into three parts: I. The Man, II. The Monster, and III. The Re-mediator, the book offers rigorous readings of evil, realism, and popular culture as represented in a range of texts (and paratexts) from the King canon. Rich with images, a photo-essay, and appendices collecting classical texts and cultural detritus germane to King, this book moves away from viewing King’s work primarily through the lens of the “American gothic” and toward the realism that the suspense novelist’s voice (fictional and non-) and influence (literary and popular) indelibly continue to amplify, all the while complicating the traditional divide between serious literature and popular fiction. Stephen King remains perpetually popular. And he is finally receiving the academic treatment he has craved since the early 1980s. Yet still unexamined in the King critical canon is the suspense novelist’s fascination with “everyday evil.” Beyond rigorous interrogations of King’s fictional depictions of “everyday evil” by an array of scholars of different ranks living around the world (Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, the UK), the book, replete with 20 images, considers how King widens the parameters of literary production and appreciation. An integral part of the Americana that King’s five-decades-in-the-making canon configures, of course, includes King himself. King has long made use of self-referentiality in his fiction and nonfiction. Some of his nonfiction, several of our essays reveal, recirculates in paratextual form as “Prefatory Remarks” to new novels or new editions of older ones. The paratexts considered here (both across the volume and in the appendices) offer alternate ways by which to appreciate King and his sphere of influence (literary and popular). Said appendices are a grouping of King's paratexts on his writing as Bachman, appearing here, for the first time, as a cohesive collection. King's influence took off in the 1970s, as is further explored in the book-enveloping three-part photo-essay “King’s America, America’s King: Stephen King & Popular Culture since the 1970s.” About the transformative quality of “everyday evil,” the photo-essay tracks the cultural impacts of King first as an emerging author, then a pop culture phenomenon, and, finally, as an established American literary voice. Everyday Evil in Stephen King's America is designed to appeal to teachers and students of American literature, to Stephen King enthusiasts, as well as to acolytes of Americana since the Vietnam War.
Download or read book Everyday Evil in Stephen King s America written by Jason S. Polley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2024-06-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intro -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Figures -- Contributors -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction Shine On -- References -- Part I: The Man: King's America, America's King: Stephen King and Popular Culture since the 1970s -- King's America, America's King- Part 1: The Man. A Note on Paratexts -- Notes -- References -- 1. Thinner, the Auteur, and the Lived Macabre: The Kindness of Bachman/King -- Introduction: Realism and Reflexivity -- Vietnamization: Evil and Culpability -- Correction: Kindness and Sincerity -- Connection: Intimacy and Belief -- Conclusion: Devil and Clown -- Notes -- References -- 2. Evil (and) Influence: Ritual in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and Stephen King's The Long Walk -- Milieu and Methodology -- Compositional and Functional Literary Ritual Analysis -- Compulsion and the Order of Ritual Actions -- Scapegoating, the People Involved, and Their Social Roles -- Ritual Objects and Expelling Evil -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Special Collections and Archives -- Part II: The Monster: King's America, America's King: Werewolves as Paratextual -- Notes -- References -- 3. Why Think Evil? Evil Unbound in King's Misery -- The Unbounded Horror Narrative -- Incongruence as an Evil Aesthetic -- Irony and Suspense in the Unbounded Narrative -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 4. Conjuring the Dark Half: "Ghost-Writing" in Stephen King -- Writing as "Magic": King on Writing -- The Strange No Man's Land": The Dissociative Writer in King -- Death of the Author, Rise of the Specter: Writing as Séance -- Conclusion: The Medium Is the Message -- Notes -- References -- Part III: The Re-mediator: King's America, America's King: Legacy and Paratext -- Notes -- References -- 5. Inside and Outside Evil: Attachment Crisis and Occultism in Carrie, The Shining, and Doctor Sleep.
Download or read book Stephen King s Gothic written by John Sears and published by University of Wales Press. This book was released on 2011-06-30 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stephen King is the world's best-selling horror writer. His work is ubiquitous on bookstore, supermarket, and personal library shelves and has been faithfully adapted into some of the most iconic horror films of the twentieth century. This study explores his writing through the lenses of contemporary literary and cultural theory. Through analyses of some of his best-known work, including "Carrie" and "Misery," the authors argue that King offers ways of encountering and understanding some of our deepest fears about life and death, the past and the future, technological change, other people, monsters, ghosts, and the supernatural.This is the first extended critical-theoretical engagement with King's writing, and will be of interest to students, academics, and fans of horror fiction.
Download or read book Stephen King and the Uncanny Imaginary written by Erin Mercer and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-08-25 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering an insightful examination of Stephen King’s fiction, this book utilises a psychoanalytical approach drawing on Freud’s theory of the uncanny. It demonstrates how entrenched King’s work is in a literary tradition influenced by psychoanalytic theory, as well as the ways that King evades and amends Freud. Such an approach positions King’s texts not simply as objects of interpretation that might yield latent meaning, but as producers of meaning. King can certainly be read through the lens of the uncanny, but this book also aims to consider the uncanny through the lens of King. Organised around specific elements of the uncanny that can be found in King’s fiction, this book explores the themes of death and the return of the dead, monstrosity, telepathy, inanimate objects becoming menacingly animate, and spooky children. Popular texts are considered, such as IT, The Shining, and Pet Sematary, as well as less discussed work, including The Institute, The Regulators and Desperation. The book’s central argument is that King’s uncanny motifs offer insightful commentary on what is repressed in contemporary culture and insist on the failure of scientific rationalism to explain the world. King’s uncanny imaginary rejects dualistic notions of an experiencing self in an inert physical world and insists that psychic experience is bound up with the environmental. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of contemporary and popular literature, gothic and horror studies, and cultural studies.
Download or read book Hollywood s Stephen King written by T. Magistrale and published by Springer. This book was released on 2003-11-22 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the past three decades, Hollywood has faithfully adapted much of Stephen King's fiction into film. Of the many major films that have been made, not one has lost money. Part of this may be explained in terms of King's own popularity in American culture; he has been, after all, a best-selling writer since the late 1970s. But more interesting is what this cinematic fascination reveals about postmodern American culture. In the first overview of Hollywood's major cinematic interpretations of Stephen King, Tony Magistrale examines the various thematic, narrative, and character interconnections that highlight the relationships among his films. Opening with a revealing interview with Stephen King, the book takes us through chapters that explore such popular films as Stand By Me, Misery, The Shining, The Green Mile, and The Shawshank Redemption among others.
Download or read book Stephen King s America written by Jonathan P. Davis and published by Popular Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Follows themes relating to life in America as they thread through the many works of popular horror writer King. Among them are personal morality, childhood innocence and adult corruption, technology, capitalism, autonomy and conformity, and survival. Includes four interviews with experts on King's writing. Paper edition (unseen), $14.95. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Download or read book Stephen King s Modern Macabre written by Patrick McAleer and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-07-31 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Stephen King has continued to publish numerous works beyond one of the many high points of his career, in the 1980s, scholarship has not always kept up with his output. This volume presents 13 essays (12 brand new) on many of King's recent writings that have not received the critical attention of his earlier works. This collection is grouped into three categories--"King in the World Around Us," "Spotlight on The Dark Tower" and "Writing into the Millennium"; each examines an aspect of King's contemporary canon that has yet to be analyzed.
Download or read book A History of Evil in Popular Culture written by Sharon Packer MD and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-07-15 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evil isn't simply an abstract theological or philosophical talking point. In our society, the idea of evil feeds entertainment, manifests in all sorts of media, and is a root concept in our collective psyche. This accessible and appealing book examines what evil means to us. Evil has been with us since the Garden of Eden, when Eve unleashed evil by biting the apple. Outside of theology, evil remains a highly relevant concept in contemporary times: evil villains in films and literature make these stories entertaining; our criminal justice system decides the fate of convicted criminals based on the determination of their status as "evil" or "insane." This book examines the many manifestations of "evil" in modern media, making it clear how this idea pervades nearly all aspects of life and helping us to reconsider some of the notions about evil that pop culture perpetuates and promotes. Covering screen media such as film, television, and video games; print media that include novels and poetry; visual media like art and comics; music; and political polemics, the essays in this book address an eclectic range of topics. The diverse authors include Americans who left the United States during the Vietnam War era, conservative Christian political pundits, rock musicians, classical linguists, Disney fans, scholars of American slavery, and experts on Holocaust literature and films. From portrayals of evil in the television shows The Wire and 24 to the violent lyrics of the rap duo Insane Clown Posse to the storylines of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books, readers will find themselves rethinking what evil is—and how they came to hold their beliefs.
Download or read book Stephen King written by Suzan Wilson and published by Enslow Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the life of a popular novelist, from his childhood as an avid reader to his current success as a creator of horror fiction.
Download or read book Teaching Stephen King written by A. Burger and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teaching Stephen King critically examines the works of Stephen King and several ways King can be incorporated into the high school and college classroom. The section on Variations on Horror Tropes includes chapters on the vampire, the werewolf, the undead monster, and the ghost. The section on Real Life Horror includes chapters on King's school shooting novella Rage, sexual violence, and coming of age narratives. Finally, the section on Playing with Publishing includes chapters on serial publishing and The Green Mile, e-books, and graphic novels.
Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Horror Literature written by Mark A. Fabrizi and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-12-06 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stories of vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, goblins, mummies, and other supernatural creatures have existed for time immemorial, and scary stories are among the earliest types of fiction ever recorded. Historical Dictionary of Horror Literature is an invaluable aid in studying horror literature, including influential authors, texts, terms, subgenres, and literary movements. This book contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 400 cross-referenced entries covering authors, subgenres, tropes, awards, organizations, and important terms related to horror. Historical Dictionary of Horror Literature is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about horror literature.
Download or read book Stephen King American Master written by Stephen Spignesi and published by Permuted Press+ORM. This book was released on 2018-10-30 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fascinating facts, trivia, and little-known details about the Master of the Macabre’s life from the “world’s leading authority on Stephen King” (Entertainment Weekly). New York Times–bestselling author Stephen Spignesi has compiled interviews, essays, and loads of facts and details about all of Stephen King’s work into this fun and informative compendium for the author’s many fans, from the casual to the fanatical! Did you know. . . ? In his early teens, Stephen King sold typed copies of his short stories at school. King originally thought his novel Pet Sematary was too frightening to publish. King’s legendary Dark Tower series took him more than 30 years to write. Thinner was the novel that revealed his “Richard Bachman” pseudonym to the world. King wrote The Eyes of the Dragon for his daughter Naomi. He has never liked Stanley Kubrick’s film version of his novel The Shining. It took him four years to write what some consider his magnum opus, IT. The 2017 film version of IT has grossed more than $700 million worldwide. In addition to novels, King has written essays, plays, screenplays, and even poetry.
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth Century American Novel and Politics written by Bryan M. Santin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-10-12 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Surveying the relationship between American politics and the twentieth-century novel, this volume analyzes how political movements, ideas, and events shaped the American novel. It also shows how those political phenomena were shaped in turn by long-form prose fiction.
Download or read book Crafting Fear Stephen King s Path to Literary Success written by Victoria Phillips and published by Marcelo Marins Rodrigues. This book was released on 2024-10-25 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dive deep into the mind of Stephen King, the undisputed King of Horror, with "Crafting Fear: Stephen King's Path to Literary Success." This immersive exploration delves into the life, career, and craft of the legendary author, revealing the journey behind his unparalleled success. Go beyond the captivating tales and explore the man behind the myth. Discover how King's early life, personal struggles, and profound love for stories shaped his writing. Uncover the influences that fueled his imagination and learn about his formative years, from early writing attempts to the breakthrough success of "Carrie." Witness the evolution of his writing style, from small-town Americana to the intricate multiverse of "The Dark Tower," and uncover the secrets behind his unparalleled storytelling ability. Delve into the secrets of his craft with in-depth analysis of his writing techniques, psychological insights, and the impact of his narratives on the reader's experience. Explore the lasting impact of King's work on the literary landscape, the cultural phenomenon surrounding his novels, and the influence he's had on generations of writers. Discover the legacy of a master storyteller who continues to captivate and inspire readers worldwide. "Crafting Fear" is more than just a biography, it's a captivating journey into the heart of a literary icon, unveiling the secrets to his enduring success and the enduring power of fear in human experience.
Download or read book The Stand written by Stephen King and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2011 with total page 1474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A monumentally devastating plague leaves only a few survivors who, while experiencing dreams of a battle between good and evil, move toward an actual confrontation as they migrate to Boulder, Colorado.
Download or read book Dissecting Stephen King written by Heidi Strengell and published by Popular Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a thoughtful, well-informed study exploring fiction from throughout Stephen King's immense oeuvre, Heidi Strengell shows how this popular writer enriches his unique brand of horror by building on the traditions of his literary heritage. Tapping into the wellsprings of the gothic to reveal contemporary phobias, King invokes the abnormal and repressed sexuality of the vampire, the hubris of Frankenstein, the split identity of the werewolf, the domestic melodrama of the ghost tale. Drawing on myths and fairy tales, he creates characters who, like the heroic Roland the Gunslinger and the villainous Randall Flagg, may either reinforce or subvert the reader's childlike faith in society. And in the manner of the naturalist tradition, he reinforces a tension between the free will of the individual and the daunting hand of fate. Ultimately, Strengell shows how King shatters our illusions of safety and control: "King places his decent and basically good characters at the mercy of indifferent forces, survival depending on their moral strength and the responsibility they may take for their fellow men."
Download or read book It written by Stephen King and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-11-29 with total page 1488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It began--and ended--in 1958 when seven desperate children searched in the drains beneath Derry for an evil creature, but in 1985, Mike Hanlon, once one of those children, makes six phone calls and disinters an unremembered promise that sets off the ultimate terror.
