59 pages • 1 hour read
Stephen KingA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“Thought only gives the world an appearance of order to anyone weak enough to be convinced by its show.”
This epigraph at the front of the book comes from the essay “The Country of the Blind” by Colin Wilson. The implication is that human reason imposes a thin shell of apparent order on the universe, hiding the chaos underneath. This is particularly relevant to Ralph’s characterization, as he relies too heavily on that surface to make sense of the world and consequently makes critical mistakes.
“‘Doesn’t look like a monster, does he?’
‘They rarely do.’”
This exchange foreshadows Holly’s argument that serial killers like Ted Bundy are no more explicable than the outsider. Ralph accepts Terry as a monster but rejects the evidence of the outsider because it violates his sense of order. The description of Terry as a “monster” plays on the metaphorical usage of the word in a deeply ironic way; although Ralph doesn’t know it, the outsider is literally a monster that doesn’t look like one.
“Until the real killer of Frank Peterson was found—if he ever was—the people of Flint city were going to believe that Terry Maitland had gamed the system and gotten away with murder.”
Once an accusation is made, it tends to stick—sometimes even when the accused is formally exonerated. Most people won’t be in the courtroom to see the conflicting evidence in Terry’s case, but over 1,000 scenes, paralleling Ralph’s insistence on empirical evidence.
By Stephen King
11.22.63
11.22.63
Stephen King
1408
1408
Stephen King
Bag of Bones
Bag of Bones
Stephen King
Billy Summers
Billy Summers
Stephen King
Carrie
Carrie
Stephen King
Children of the Corn
Children of the Corn
Stephen King
Cujo
Cujo
Stephen King
Different Seasons
Different Seasons
Stephen King
Doctor Sleep
Doctor Sleep
Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne
Dolores Claiborne
Stephen King
Duma Key
Duma Key
Stephen King
Elevation
Elevation: A Novel
Stephen King
End of Watch
End of Watch
Stephen King
Fairy Tale
Fairy Tale
Stephen King
Finders Keepers
Finders Keepers
Stephen King
Firestarter
Firestarter
Stephen King
From a Buick 8
From a Buick 8
Stephen King
Full Dark, No Stars
Full Dark, No Stars
Stephen King
Gerald's Game
Gerald's Game
Stephen King
Gwendy's Button Box
Gwendy's Button Box
Stephen King, Richard Chizmar