Possession

Throughout the class we have talked about possession. Possession of land, of spirits, of thought, of beliefs, of desires, and now, the Shining, seems to be of body....However is it is not just of body. And there seems to be a strong correlation between possession and obsession and between possession and concession. At the beginning of the class we examined how men came to the United States and desired to possess the land and the resources of this new world. It was so possessing in their minds and souls that the became obsessed with the ideas of expansion. The created myths and ideals about witchcraft and religion. The Shining does not seem to be any different. Jack is a man who has never taken possession of his own beliefs or thoughts or actions. He is possession less. While at the Overlook he seems, through insanity, to take possession of his manhood and his environment leading to the detriment of his family. Jack's character in the book is very typical for a man of his time...he was working hard but floundering about trying to find his way after a devastating but deserving dismissal from his school. He is married with the pressures of providing for his family. He was raised by an abusive dad and a mother who could not or did not protect him because she could not protect herself. He was angry and filled with hatred. He self medicates with alcohol to avoid dealing with any feelings. He desperately wants to be considered a man. He must prove his masculinity. Because of Jack's past he refuses to take responsibility for any of his actions. He sees his anger and abuse as a sort of separate being from himself. He always "others" it. There are multiple times throughout the book that Jack discuss this alter personality or being..."For he still felt that the whole range of unhappy Stovington experiences had to be looked at with Jack Torrance in the passive mode. He had not done things; things had been done to him" (159). Jack refuses to take responsibility for his freewill. This can be expected, however, from person who has grown up in an abusive family and continues to perpetuate the cycle of abuse in their own adult life. Never are they the problem, they are merely a victim to the circumstances they are in. Jack ponders why he so unhappy and why he is driven to alcohol and he states, "Hadn't it been the woman he was married to?"(579). He is blaming Wendy for his problems...he sees himself as the victim. Jack also identifies his short-comings with the characters in his plays and stories, "That sick happiness at George's retreat was more typical of Denker in the play tan of Jack Torrance the playwright" (167). In class we discussed how this book was a modern day telling of a Poe-type story. Jack develops a relationship with the hotel. The spirit or manager of the hotel. He is possessed by the ideal of the hotel. As the hotel takes over Jack is unable to sleep...through insomnia Jack is taken to new places. Jack's insomnia leads to rebellion, hyper vigilance, and a very spastic energy. He can not reason. He is working with a primal energy within his corrupted body and spirit. He no longer needs alcohol to avoid his feeling for he is splitting with reality. He freewill is without restraint and he is feeling complete liberation from morality and sanity. Jack is a type of distorted Emerson...he believes as he is possessed that he is his own star. The problem is that his mental state leads to chaos and disaster. Why is Jack so available for possession? In class, many talked about how they thought Jack was such a jerk...yes he definitely was. However when children are subjected to violence all of their lives it affects them permanently. Jack never was allowed as a child to develop his own personality or psyche. He was crushed by his father. He never developed the skills to lead or be assertive. He was diseased or decayed before he was ever a man. This made him an easy target for the spirits of the hotel. He was vulnerable the leadership. It is like the saying, "Stand for something or fall for anything". Jack had no clue what to stand for. When the hotel began to help him assert what he believed to be his manhood he fell for the terror of it. He went overboard. He became a monster. I think what also makes this story so scary or disturbing to us is how ordinary the characters and places are. How Jack's life is so ordinary. That Jack resembles any ordinary man that we could run into on the streets. He presents as sane. He reminds me of serial killers such as Jeffery Dalmer. No one knows what lies beneath until it is exposed and then it is too late. In addition to the typical of Jack is the tools the hotel uses to affect Jack. All of the items we went over in class are so common, such as a scrapbook, or hedges, or a fire hose. Why would any of us think these would be tools of destruction? That is the disturbing part...for each of the items that may send us over the edge would seem just as innocent as these items. Have you ever looked at an item and became enraged? What was the item? Stephen King has done an excellent job of taking an everyday Joe and turning him into Manson... a cold, calculating, psychopath that will make others pay for his demise.