Fall from InnocenceExamining Stephen King’s The Body for the Novel Study

Stephen Who?Born 1947 in Portland, Maine.

Father left when he was young, leaving behind a plethora of science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels.

Lived on the edge of poverty until he 'made it' as an author.

Started career as a high school English teacher.

Battled and has overcome many ‘demons’ in his own life, as he struggled with severe drug and alcohol abuse during the 1980’s.

Well known works include Carrie, The Shinning, Dark Tower series, Misery, Lawnmower Man, Shawshank Redemption, Pet Cemetary.

What is The Body?• Bittersweet coming-of-age

story; most autobiographical work ever published by King.

• Heavily influenced by incidents from his own childhood, it gives a real taste of what it was like to grow up in rural America during the 1960s.

• Explores fuzzy territory wherein a boy enters manhood; the central experience which initiates these youngsters into maturity: confrontation with death.

King’s View of Society• A rather dark view of

society, full of mean, hypocritical and weak adult figures.

• No moral and emotional support provided for these youngsters, therefore it is necessary for them to establish non-familial bonds (friendships).

• Home = not the loving, nurturing place of the ideal childhood, but a place where drunken fathers and aggressive brothers threaten their daily existence.

The Treehouse• Functions as a

“necessary refuge from the irrationalities of Castle Rock parents”.

• The only safe place they have.

Key Aspects• Setting: Castle Rock,

Maine. Summer 1960. Population approximately 1280 (1959).

• Narrative: First person by Gordon Lachance (retrospective literature)

ThemesAdulthood vs Childhood

Reality vs Potential

Breaking Free from Stereotype

Works Cited

“Castle Rock (Stephen King).” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. March 11, 2014. Web. 16 March 2014.

Csetenyi, Korinna. “Fall from Innocence: Stephen King’s “The Body””. Americana E-Journal of American Studies in Hungary. V.II. Fall 2009. Web. 16 March 2014.