Figurative Language In The Shining By Stephen King

The shining is a horror fiction novel by the author Stephen King. Stephen King is famous for his novels in the horror genre and The Shining is just one of the many thrilling books he has written. The Shining tells the story of a family of three: Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy Torrance, and their son Danny Torrance and the winter they spend at the Overlook Hotel. The Shining tells a great horror story, but what makes it a memorable book is the amount of detail that Stephen King provides the reader with. He uses many great forms of figurative language in his book to really let the reader experience the true horror and fear that the characters experience. Furthermore his great description of the Overlook Hotel really makes the reader feel as if they are there. The three main forms of figurative language that Stephen King utilizes are symbolism in the word redrum, imagery in describing the main setting of the book the Overlook Hotel, and the tone of the book which he uses to build the tension of the book and the characters. Stephen King illustrates many forms of symbolism throughout …show more content…
In The Shining the King is constantly changing the tone of the novel for all three of the Torrances and this makes the book seem like its in first person even though it is not. For Danny’s character the tone is very innocent, naive, and childlike which describes his emotions to the reader. For Jack the tone is angry, frustrated, and tired and these tones really reflect his character well because he is impatient and he is also a recovering alcoholic trying to avoid drinking. For Wendy the tone in the beginning of the novel is worried and troubled as she is unsure about spending the winter at the Overlook, but towards the end of the novel her tone becomes triumphant because she overcomes her fear of the relationship between her and Jack. These changes in the tone allow the reader to identify the changes in the characters as the novel