'A Literary Analysis Of Stephen King's Rest Stop'

Stephen King’s “Rest Stop” Literary Analysis
Horror and fantasy are Stephen King’s specialties; writing about ones worst fears, or most adventurous dreams. As for his short story, “Rest Stop”; it captures what a well-educated man with split personalities reacts when brought to a difficult point in life. He is famous for not only writing novels and short stories, but creating such stories to make them become hits in the box office. The way his stories can end up grasping reader’s attention and bringing them into the story, there for making him the best horror/fantasy author of all time.
According to Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015, Stephen King was born September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine. His parents Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King
split up when Stephen was young making him and his brother travel between Indiana and Connecticut until graduating from high school in 1966. Staying near his mother and brother in Maine while going to college; he attended the University of Maine in Orono. There he served on the student government and wrote for the schools paper. While in college he wrote his first short story appearing in “Startling Mystery Stories”. Stephen King graduated in 1970 with hopes to become an English teacher, but had no luck. He went to work in a laundry and continued to write in his spare time. In 1973 he sold his first novel “Carrie”, and many other famous novels came after. “Salam’s Lot” (1975), “The Shinning” (1976), “Firestarter” (1980), “Cujo” (1981) and “It” (1986). He also published four books under the alias Richard Bachman thinking the public would not like two books written by the same author in a year. Those four are, “Rage” (1977), “The Long Walk” (1979), “Roadwork” (1981) and “The Running Man” (1982).
The short story “Rest Stop” was very interesting; it was easy to keep going always questioning what would happen next. Was this story going to be like one of his others full of blood and guts maybe a ghost or two? The main character was an English teacher from the University of Florida. He may have had some mental issues as he was not sure what personality to be, but it seemed to work out for the best in this case. Who was he going to be Rick Hardin or John Dykstra?
A thought could come to mind; that maybe Stephen King, publishing under another name, was not just to fool the public, but so no one believes that a novel was better, but maybe he also could not decide on who he wanted to be. Take the story of Rick Hardin, who plays the tough guy which we all do. But there is a side to everyone that is that; some may keep hidden while others leave it all on the table. Rick was also the funny guy, the entertainer. John was the content kind of dorky guy. John or Rick were heading home from the bar, and consuming a few more beers than usual. “And Hardin might have drunk the beers in the Pot o' Gold, but if a Florida state trooper produced the dreaded Breathalyzer kit in its little blue plastic case, it was Dykstra's intoxicated molecules that would wind up inside the gadget's educated guts.” This shows how different the personalities are. Driving down the interstate and realizing he had to pee he pulls off to a rest stop. He was thinking about writing a novel, and was throwing thoughts through his mind. John/Rick did not sign the contract for the following school year so he can become a full time writer.
When pulling into the rest stop the only other car in the parking lot was a PT Cruiser.
He stepped out of his car and when he locks it with his key fob his thought was “and for a moment he saw his shadow in the brief flash of its headlights.., only whose shadow was it? Dykstra's or Hardin's?” This was one of many points where he shows his split personality. He also says that Rick Hardin was left miles behind at the party where he had given a speech. “John Dykstra never would have worn faded jeans and cowboy boots to a public function, especially one where he was the featured speaker, but Hardin was a different breed of hot rod.” As he is walking to the restroom he sees a poster full of missing children. “How many of the kids in the photos, he always wondered, were buried in the damp, sandy soil or feeding the gators in the Glades? How many of them were growing up in the belief that the drifters who had snatched them (and from time to time sexually molested them or rented them out) were their mothers or fathers?” This such a scary thought and it brought up what if this story is about a missing child? But as he moves on towards the men’s room he hears a voice from the women’s. "No, Lee," she said. "No, honey, don't." He froze where he was. There was a slap and then a thump. He claims himself as John right now as he states the he is listening to the “unremarkable sounds of abuse.” He then start to imagine what she may look like what color is her hair. He then hears a Lee’s
voice say “Fuckin’ hoor.” He immediately claims that both Lee and the woman must be drunk from the way they speak. He hears another smack and then Lee says "Fuckin' little hoor." And John then decided that Lee must be uneducated as well since he meant whore. John then describes what he thought Lee may look like. The woman speaks again and in John’s head he is thinking lady don’t just shut up. “Don't do that, lady. Don't you know that only makes it worse? Don't you know he sees that runner of snot hanging out of your nose, and it makes him madder than ever?” He explains that Lee’s lack of emotion in his voice could mean the worst for the lady. John thought what was his place in this what should he do. He wasn’t going to be able to go to the rest room and take a piss that he had wished. The woman then cries "Lee-Lee, don't hurt me, okay? Please don't hurt me. Please don't hurt the baby." He says that it feels like he had been there standing listening for almost twenty minutes but it had only been about forty seconds. He stands there for a little while longer listening to her cry for Lee to stop and her get wacked a few more times. John thinks about going to his car and leaving, and avoiding the news and newspaper for a few days. John’s other side Rick decided to show up and press the alarm on the car to distract Lee-Lee. As Lee stepped out of the restroom to see what was going on leaving Ellen behind. Rick kicked Lee in the thigh making him fall to the ground. Rick then yells at Ellen "Come out of there, Ellen," said the man who had hit him. "We have no time to fool around. Come out right now." Rick and Ellen go back and forth she make sure he isn’t hurt. Rick then makes Ellen leave in the PT Cruiser or he would take Lee’s head off with a tire iron.
Till Rick leave the scene, he never refers to himself as Rick.
The man that sandbagged Lee, or just the man. Which was misleading for a little thinking that someone else had arrived at the scene. Finally when Rick decides that he has had enough and will walk back to his car he refers to himself again. It was like he was lost as Rick and not himself, and when he was finally coming down from that adrenaline rush he became John again. “Then, all at once, his stomach was in his throat, still full of the chicken and potatoes he had eaten at the Pot o' Gold.” This shows that once coming back to normal it made him sick like it would do to any normal person who would experience something like
that.
This story is so real and could happen to anyone and maybe it did. Stephen King makes it so almost anyone could relate and be intrigued by his work. Taking a regular English teacher and putting him in that situation. Makes you wonder that maybe we all have a Rick deep down inside and if we were in a predicament like this we would want him to show up. He is and always be a wonderful author; who may have a little freaky side to him, but will always keep his audience guessing.