What is King's fascination with abusing dogs?

[TheWalkingDude]

Killing/cruelty to animals in fiction/film is always somehow more emotive than the killing of or torture of humans. I don't know about in the States, but here in the UK 5 times more is given to animal welfare and rights charities than to human rights organisations like Amnesty. It's a bizarre thing - people love dogs more than they love other people. So if you really want to show a character is cruel and heartless, have them kick a dog. Kicking a human seems to offend/rile readers far less. Illogical, but true. King, being a good writer, knows this and plays on it.

[cfin5256]

IMO, it's just characterization. If you were writing about serial killers, you could do so without touching on animal abuse being a large indicator, but adding it to the writing is a great opportunity to add depth of character or influence your reader for or against said character. JMO.

[JAMESTHEKINGFAN]

Um, first of all: It's a book. It's not like King is personely going and killing dogs. Ms. Mod is right. I'm not going to repeat her answer.

I KNOW it's a book; people sometimes write about themes they are fascinated about. Just because people don't do things themselves doesn't mean that they're not fascinated in the concepts. I just wanted to figure what literary motive King had for the devices he used to write.

[no bounce no play]

I'm one of those people who are ultra sensitive about dog deaths. I can watch slasher flicks and laugh, but I can't watch Disney movies. Old Yeller was especially disturbing I think its a cheap ploy on Disney's part to pull at heartstrings by killing an animal. I get it that SK is demonstrating a psychopath's evil nature by having the character abuse a dog but Patrick Hockstetter made me so angy, I had to skip over the part in IT where Hockstetter stuffed the puppy in the fridge.

[Mary Strickland]

Stephen King would not harm any pet or animal, period. He is a soft hearted and caring person. You will never hear in the news that he mistreated any person or animal, hurt his wife or kids or grandkids, that is just a given. If you don't get that from reading his work, you aren't paying attention. He is more solid than John Wayne!!

[JAMESTHEKINGFAN]

Stephen King would not harm any pet or animal, period. He is a soft hearted and caring person. You will never hear in the news that he mistreated any person or animal, hurt his wife or kids or grandkids, that is just a given. If you don't get that from reading his work, you aren't paying attention. He is more solid than John Wayne!!

I do get it, I was just asking what characterization he was creating with the scene I had just read. Gee, I didn't realize one question would cause so much anger among readers.

[michal]

I think that your disgust really proves the point. For me human horrors in books and movies they're... well... Not that bad. I've heard it and seen it all before, haven't I? But when I think about a helpless animal being abused, it really moves me. I cried in the scene from the Dead Zone (and again in Under the Dome on a similar scene and even at the end of Gerald's Games. I felt bad for that dog as well.
Point being?
It's a good literary technique to make you feel.

[skyrow]

"It" with the dogs in the fridge was a little gross but hey, it's SK you learn to expect he grotesque, if he didn't write stuff like that would you be as interested to read his works???

[MyLife4YouSK]

Don't rent Marley and Me! dear God., ::sniff sniff:: My son Jake(11) actually cries during sad scenes with dogs. He says he's gonna miss our dog when he's gone but why does he bug him so much when he's here! lol KIDS!

[Pucker]

I do get it, I was just asking what characterization he was creating with the scene I had just read. Gee, I didn't realize one question would cause so much anger among readers.

The scene in question is not designed merely to show that Greg Stillson is a psycopath. There is a very specific reason it is important for us to know that he cannot control his temper.