The Shining
Shadow Land
“All cruelty springs from weakness” (Lucius Annaeus Seneca). So is true for Stephen King’s character Jack Torrence in The Shining. Jack’s character is weak and flawed and because of this he is unsuccessful at being strong. On the other hand, Danny, Jack’s son, is very innocent but very strong in character, which helps him to defeat the evil that lives in the Overlook hotel. Although there natures are very different, they both have many of the same traits, such as empathy, courage, and maturity. But where Danny uses those traits to help him in his journey, Jack’s weaknesses make his traits flawed, irrelevant, and lead to his downfall and death. Jack and Danny show that what we do with our weaknesses defines our character.
Both Jack and Danny are mature in different ways. Danny, who is very young, only fiver years old, shows a lot of maturity. Not only is he very smart, but he also has a strong sense about what is morally right. Danny’s main concern is his family, and he uses his maturity to help him to decipher what to do in strenuous situation (180). On the other hand, Jack has all the intention of being a mature responsible person, but he can never fully achieve this because of his flawed character. Jack always tries to do right by his family, he even took a job so he could start over, and he stopped drinking. But despite his best efforts he can not handle all of it and manage his life the way Danny can. Jack can not come to terms with the fact that he has a problem with drinking, “It had nothing to do with willpower, or the morality of drinking, or the weakness or strength of his own character. There was a broken switch inside, or a circuit breaker that didn 't work.”(160). This shows that Jack has not yet come to terms with the fact that he has a drinking problem, he just thinks he was made that way. In order to be strong you have to accept your weaknesses and Jack clearly has not dealt with his own to be the type of man he
“All cruelty springs from weakness” (Lucius Annaeus Seneca). So is true for Stephen King’s character Jack Torrence in The Shining. Jack’s character is weak and flawed and because of this he is unsuccessful at being strong. On the other hand, Danny, Jack’s son, is very innocent but very strong in character, which helps him to defeat the evil that lives in the Overlook hotel. Although there natures are very different, they both have many of the same traits, such as empathy, courage, and maturity. But where Danny uses those traits to help him in his journey, Jack’s weaknesses make his traits flawed, irrelevant, and lead to his downfall and death. Jack and Danny show that what we do with our weaknesses defines our character.
Both Jack and Danny are mature in different ways. Danny, who is very young, only fiver years old, shows a lot of maturity. Not only is he very smart, but he also has a strong sense about what is morally right. Danny’s main concern is his family, and he uses his maturity to help him to decipher what to do in strenuous situation (180). On the other hand, Jack has all the intention of being a mature responsible person, but he can never fully achieve this because of his flawed character. Jack always tries to do right by his family, he even took a job so he could start over, and he stopped drinking. But despite his best efforts he can not handle all of it and manage his life the way Danny can. Jack can not come to terms with the fact that he has a problem with drinking, “It had nothing to do with willpower, or the morality of drinking, or the weakness or strength of his own character. There was a broken switch inside, or a circuit breaker that didn 't work.”(160). This shows that Jack has not yet come to terms with the fact that he has a drinking problem, he just thinks he was made that way. In order to be strong you have to accept your weaknesses and Jack clearly has not dealt with his own to be the type of man he
Cited: King,Stephen. The Shining. New York, NY: Pocket books, 2001. Print