Misery and Christine Book Messages!

[nitroglyn]

Hello all! I have a question for all.. I've read the books Misery, Christine, The Shining and Carrie, but I cannot seem to find the message embedded for society in the books Misery and Christine. Christine = greed? Misery? Would appreciate your thoughts and support. Thanks in advance!

[Srbo]

Misery would be about a super obssesive fan, no ?
And the message then would be not to be like Anne...?

Christine ?
Yeah, probably greed..

[Moderator]

Both quotes below are from Stephen King: The Art of Darkness by Douglas E. Winter (a great reference book that I use often):

Christine

"King suggests a fusion of man and machine, as if the implications of extreme materialism were coherence with the products by which we identify ourselves -- and tapping what he described in Danse Macabre as a deep, almost primitive unease about the cars we zip ourselves up in, thereby becoming anonymous . . . and perhaps homicidal. "

"In Christine, the metaphor for dehumanization coexists with an older, more primeval fear -- that of internal evil: the upsurge of the animal, the repressed unconscious, the monster from the id; or in this case, the monster from the fifties."

Misery

I would agree that Misery is a story of obsession and the lengths to which someone might go to feed their obsession and the psychological effect it has on the target of that obsession.

[Mr.Bobbo]

Well,

I think you've got to tread lightly when looking for specific 'themes' (and I use the quotation marks on purpose here, like Charles Foster Kane was caught in a lovenest with a 'singer'--get it?) in Steve's work. I could be wrong about that, and yes--there are many exceptions to this loose rule of thumb.

MISERY, to me, way back in '89 or so, was all about Fame, and its cost to the individual, in every sense: the artist (or "famous" artist), and audience, or individual reader (in this case, what if he/she is as loony as a bowl of fettucini with no sauce at all?!)...all from a strictly literary point of view. That is, from a famous writer's point of view, juxtaposed against an insane reader's vantage point, we can see the themes played out in near-Gothic form. There is also some stuff Steve did NOT intend present, and I'll stand by this, though the man has never mentioned it publicly. Themes involving feelings of paranoia, inadequacy, and dependance on drugs...all before HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, and all very substantial parts of this fine work. I remember, at the time, being amazed by his inclusion of the hard cover vs. paperback dilemma (Annie didn't know yet that he'd killed the character Misery off, you'll remember, because her budget constraints dictated that she waited for paperback releases, despite her "need" for the Story)...that is PURE STORY, kids, and I revel at every little drop of it in Steve's work. But yes: for me, Fame is the word if you're looking for an overall theme for MISERY.

Now, CHRISTINE is a different duck, altogether. I believe it changed what we knew as mainstream, modern Horror fiction altogether. And I'll leave this investigation and discovery to you, Original Poster (because I KNOW you'll have something to say about it)...but the theme that really sticks out, to me, in situations of family, romance, material possession, et cetera, is LOYALTY. Don't you think? Let me know, I'll be lookin' for ya.

Both fine works of modern fiction, and especially in light of CHRISTINE, it's when I stopped thinking of Stephen King's works in terms of a single genre. The man is a very talented, very effective storyteller, Horror be damned. Yes? Selah.


Okay,
Bobbo

[Mr.Bobbo]

Hey,

This is a "new" feature, eh? Thanks right back at ya, pard. Nice to be noticed, for sure, and I hope to be reading you again soon! 'Bye for now.


Okay,
Bobbo

[nitroglyn]

Wow! Alot of responses! Keep them coming guys! I am starting to see a better picture!! They all sound so right, but if the choice was to pick a main theme, what would be the best shot!