Stephen King is a familiar name to almost anyone in American society. Even people who do not read many books at all, much less serious literature, know Stephen King to be the author of numerous horror novels and stories. According to the author information on his website (Author), King was born in Maine in 1947. His parents separated when he was young, and subsequently his mother raised him and his older brother, at times living with her parents to care for them in their declining years.
As noted on his website, after graduating from high school, King attended the University of Maine at Orono, where he wrote for the school newspaper and was active in student politics. He obtained a B.A. in English from the university in 1970, planning to teach high school English. After marrying a fellow university student, Tabitha Spruce, King worked manual labor because he could not find a teaching position. He also began selling short stories to men’s magazines. During the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English at a Maine public school, continuing to write fiction during the evenings and weekends (King website). In 1973, a major publisher accepted his novel Carrie and he received an advance for the paperback version that allowed him to begin writing full-time. Since then, he has written over 50 books, primarily novels and some nonfiction, along with numerous short stories. In 2003 he received The National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
King’s novel The Stand, originally published in 1978 and then republished in a complete and uncut edition in 1990, falls into the genre of post-apocalyptic fiction. As noted by Kumar, “Post-apocalyptic fiction presents different models after civilization tries to rebuild itself from ground zero. There are chiefly two protos – a savage after world or an idyllic Utopia through the rudiments of technologies and cultural vestiges” (67). Post-apocalyptic fiction is not a new genre. Kumar provides a brief history of the genre, noting that it began in 1826 with Mary Shelley’s novel The Last Man (70). The Stand fits into this genre because it describes the destruction of most modern civilization and then the attempts of survivors to reconstruct their own new civilization. Egan notes that many of King’s works focus on apocalyptic themes; he states, “One of King's favorite forms of horror is apocalyptic—he is adept at describing the end of the world and the destruction of life as we commonly know it. [In] The Stand
his apocalypticism is emphatic enough to become a primary motif” (214).
In the novel, King establishes the beginning of the apocalypse in the first few pages. The American military has developed biological weapons at a secret laboratory in the southwestern desert. A combination of mechanical failure and human error allows the most potent biological weapon to escape the controlled environment of the lab. A guard contaminated with this virus knowingly leaves the military base, enabling the spread of the virus to the entire world. As might be expected, government officials initially deny the existence and then the severity of this virus, a superflu, but to no avail. Within a short time, most of the population of the world dies, making the apocalypse complete. During the post-apocalyptic phase, scattered survivors quickly align themselves into two groups, one representing good and the other evil. The novel follows the choices the survivors make before the final confrontation between the two major forces, and then shows at least some of them turning away from even the small groups of society that have sprung up. Thus, post-apocalyptic society will not exactly mirror pre-apocalyptic society.
Much of the effectiveness of King’s literary style in The Stand derives from his use of fairly ordinary, relatable characters who face and survive the apocalypse. Although he takes care not to demonize scientists or intellectuals, or to glorify willfully ignorant people, the characters by and large represent fairly normal people of average intelligence, attitudes toward life, and appearance. They represent a cross-section of American population, with character flaws and strengths. Despite King’s frequent use of supernatural or paranormal plot elements in his works, most of the characters in The Stand do not possess any supernatural powers. Two major exceptions to this normalcy occur in the characters of Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg, the respective leaders of the good and evil forces. Both have the ability to “call” other humans to them and to influence their actions. The other characters have a heightened sense, in that they feel the call of these leaders and know that ultimately there will be a confrontation to decide what kind of society will exist after the apocalypse. Readers can identify with these characters as people similar to themselves, and imagine themselves dealing with a post-apocalyptic world.
Although the novel clearly sets up a good versus evil confrontation in its post-apocalyptic setting, King uses both religious and secular overtones in the characters and events. The apocalypse itself occurs not as a divine retribution against mankind, but as a purely secular event. Mother Abigail, for example, prays and makes religious references at different times, but other members of her group display little or no religious affiliation. Simply put, one does not have to be religious to be on the side of good either during or after the apocalypse. King also uses religious symbolism in ways that subvert it; as Egan notes:
Whatever his identity, Flagg indulges in a thoroughgoing parody of Christianity. His impregnation of Nadine, who has "a face very nearly that of a Raphael Madonna," mocks the virgin birth of Christ, his crucifixion of those who oppose him mocks Christ on Calvary, and his "conversion" of Lloyd Henreid and Trashcan Man into disciples mocks Christ's calling of his disciples (220).
Another religious parallel exists at the end of the novel, when the characters Stu and Frannie leave the newly formed society with their child, the first baby born alive after the apocalypse, to go live in a different part of the country, on their own. Unlike Adam and Eve after their own apocalypse, though, they make this choice deliberately and of their own free will; Stu reflects that ‘it would be better, much better, if they did break down and spread. Postpone organization as long as possible. It was organization that always seemed to cause the problem” (1134). With this idea, King seems to reject the notion that following an apocalypse, humans would be content to rebuilt society and civilization exactly the same. At the same time, by acknowledging that it is a postponement, he clearly does not see this particular post-apocalyptic society as a utopia.
King also makes excellent use of the post-apocalyptic landscape. Characters in large cities wander for blocks without seeing any other survivors. As the apocalypse unfolds, bodies pile up; one poignant example occurs when the character Frannie realizes she has to bury her father because there is no more organized assistance. She is now living in a world without morticians to take care of this task, and so must do it herself. As various characters travel, they see highways that are virtually impassible because of wrecked vehicles. Cities and towns lose electricity because no workers are left to maintain the equipment. The breakdown of the normal trappings of modern civilization seems complete; if the novel were set today, characters would most likely bemoan the loss of internet access, cell phones, and power sources for their iPods.
Character development in The Stand focuses on suffering during the apocalypse itself and redemption during the post-apocalypse stage. Three characters have definite redemption arcs. The depiction of Frannie Goldsmith as a flawed character because she is pregnant and unmarried reflects the moral sensibilities of the time in which the novel was written. Even today, though, readers can understand her pre-apocalypse sorrow at disappointing her parents and empathize with her as she determines post-apocalypse to survive and make a good life for herself and her baby. Harold Lauder was viewed contemptuously pre-apocalypse; post-apocalypse, he allows his jealousy to convince him to plot against other survivors and help kill some of them, but ultimately he regrets his actions and wishes he could retract them. Larry Underwood reacts to pre-apocalypse commercial success as a singer with the stereotypical dive into an alcohol and drug-induced haze, but when he emerges from the apocalypse, he takes control of his life, makes valuable contributions to the group of survivors, and sacrifices himself to save those survivors.
When reading King, it is easy to question why his novels appeal to so many readers given that he writes so frequently about horror and apocalyptic events. Hohne comments that in the novels, King uses some characters who speak in local dialects or slang, and these characters are frequently more direct and truthful than characters who speak the very formal language of government or military (95). In using this strategy, King plays to the mistrust that many people have of big organizations or government as not being truthful or working in their best interest, especially during times of crisis. King makes a point in The Stand of establishing that the official government and military figures lie to the general public, and in fact kill some individuals to prevent the truth from getting out about the unfolding apocalypse. It is lone individuals, at least until the situation is completely out of control, who insist to anyone who can listen that the apocalypse is coming. But why do readers want to read about an apocalypse and its aftermath? Smith analyzes King’s appeal this way:
In The Stand, King makes it easy for readers to imagine themselves as part of the group who endure the apocalypse and create a new post-apocalyptic society. Readers can identify with the survivors and imagine themselves in their position, knowing that at times they might perform better and think more intelligently than the actual characters, and at times admiring the characters for their perseverance. Ultimately, King engages his readers by inviting them into an adventure that holds both horrors and rewards. In The Stand, readers can see the end of life as we know it, and realize that the ending allows us to restructure our society in ways that might be better.
Works Cited
Egan, James. "Apocalypticism in the Fiction of Stephen King." Extrapolation (Kent State University Press) 25.3 (1984): 214. Supplemental Index. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
Hohne, Karen A. "The Power of Spoken Word in the Works of Stephen King." Journal of Popular Culture 28.2 (1994): 93-103. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
King, Stephen. The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition. New York: New American Library, 1991. Print.
Kumar, Rajesh. "Apocalypse and After: Fictional Representations." Labyrinth: An International Refereed Journal of Postmodern Studies 2.3 (2011): 67. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
Smith, Greg. "The Literary Equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries?: Academics, Moralists, and the Stephen King Phenomenon." Midwest Quarterly 43.4 (2002): 329. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.
“The Author.” StephenKing.com. n,p, n.d. 2 Dec. 2012.
