Character Analysis Of Jack Torrence In The Shining By Stephen King

One of the main themes of the novel The Shining, by Stephen King, is expressed through the character of Jack Torrence, who unwittingly loses his temper on occasion and forfeits his common sense to commit borderline monstrous acts. Him, being a normally happy family man with a wife and son, can express the theme that “anyone is capable of going insane if pushed in the right direction”. One example of this occurring when Jack tells a doctor of the night he came home to find his son, Danny, has destroyed his office. His voice filled with regret, he tells the doctor of how “All I saw was read.It sounds so god-damn beastly when I say it out loud.I broke his arm turning him around to spank him.” (King 213). This pristinely supports the claim because, while he sorrowfully regrets it now, being back in his
Hide” situation is when, several months ago, he was fired from his teaching job for assaulting a student for slashing his tires. After firing him from the debate club, Jack found George Hatfield slashing his tires. Once again, “Jack had seen only red, and remembered very little from the encounter. And the next thing was Miss Strong holding Jack’s arms, screaming ‘Stop it, Jack! Stop it! You’re going to kill him!’” (King 164). This also supports the claim because Jack, when pushed far enough, becomes a completely different person, as he just beat a student half to death and hardly remembers it! This could be due to over-the-top rage, an unsound mind, or even maybe multiple personality disorder; all of which are serious problems. Jack’s “dark side” can be compared to a wild animal, because you never know what can send them on a dangerous rampage, either. For whatever reason, Jack Torrence, of all people, has something off about him. I believe this angry, monster side of him will only get worse as his isolated 5 month caretaker job progresses, and only strengthen the idea that anyone has the ability to do anything if pushed far