The Character of Paul Sheldon in Stephen King's Misery

How the character of Paul Sheldon in the novel Misery is made believable

“He wished he was dead, but through the pain-soaked haze that filled his mind like a summer storm-cloud, he did not know he wished it.” (King, 3). Misery is a story that follows middle-aged novelist Paul Sheldon who is involved in a serious accident and barely comes out alive by being saved from his biggest fan, Annie Wilkes, who tends to his injuries. However, he soon learns that she wants him to write another novel just for her while he is kept prisoner in her isolated home, and if he refuses, she has many violent ways to spur him on. It is the purpose of this essay to determine how Paul Sheldon of the story Misery was made believable. The protagonist was made believable by his revealing thoughts, action and consequences, and story transition from his character.

The character of Paul Sheldon is made believable in this novel by expressing thoughts throughout the story and revealing his past and secrets slowly to the reader. One of the first disclosing thoughts Paul Sheldon has is “He had written THE END below and then had gone capering about the room — this same room in the Boulderado Hotel — and screaming Free at last! Free at last! Great God Almighty, I 'm free at last!” (14). This thought is telling the reader that the protagonist felt imprisoned by the novel and he had finally finished the series he had been writing, which he had begun to hate. The method of telling the reader this through thought is much more effective than any other technique because it can show passion from the thought which translates across easily. Furthermore, “Christ, she 's had a heart attack, he thought, and there was a moment 's alarm which was immediately replaced by joy. Let her have one! A big one! He would be more than happy to crawl to the telephone, no matter how much it might hurt. He would crawl to the telephone over broken glass, if that was what it took.” (25) This shows that Paul has gone through a drastic change in the short time and his thoughts are straying to a violent side with all the hate he has towards Annie. The language used here is very compelling because it implies that he has gone slightly mad with hate.

The action and consequences that the protagonist of this story goes through also contribute into making him feel believable and build up a personality. “He rolled back into the kitchen and opened drawers until he found the knives. He selected the longest butcher-knife and went back to his room, pausing to rub away the hub-marks on the sides of the doorway. The signs of his passage were nevertheless becoming clearer. “ (128) This was a very unexpected action from the protagonist since he has now taken steps towards potentially killing Annie which he would never be mentally capable of doing before his kidnapping. He has developed a different kind of needy personality after the actions of the kidnapping by being willing to do anything to escape. The consequences followed with Annie saying this, “I investigated under your mattress a little before I gave you your pre-op shot. I expected to find capsules; the knife was a complete surprise. I almost cut myself. But you didn 't put it there, did you? ' (136) The story’s plot is now dependent on Paul’s character since his personality has changed him into a violent person, which led onto Annie getting even crazier resulting in more action.

The final method which is used, is the character of the protagonist initiating the story’s progress. “He seized it and threw it at the window. Glass shattered outward. To Paul it was the most liberating sound he had ever heard. The walls came tumbling down, he thought giddily, and screamed: 'Over here! Help me! Watch out for the woman! .... The state cop stared at him. His mouth dropped open.” (260). This line tells the reader that the protagonist is breaking free from his mental imprisonment and he required a lot of bravery to call for help. If Paul Sheldon’s’ character was slightly less brave then he might not have called for freedom and would not have wanted to deal with the consequences which would have led to the story ending up completely different.

It was the purpose of this essay to establish how the protagonist from the novel Misery was made believable. Paul Sheldon is made believable in this novel by his personal thoughts, action and consequences, and story transition by his character. The theme of this essay being believable qualities shown through language, can be compared to the real world as we can all tell by the methods and styles people communicate in, if we find it believable or not.

Works Cited

King, Stephen. Misery. London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, 1987. Print.

Cited: King, Stephen. Misery. London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, 1987. Print.