The Underlying Message of Horror

The secluded world shaped by illusion is described as “fiction which holds the truth inside the lie” (King) in “Suffer the Little Children” and “Autopsy Room Four,” two short stories written by Stephen King. The world around us can be more than just what we perceive. In fact, illusion and misperception create the central conflict in “Suffer the Little Children” and “Autopsy Room Four.” King, who writes “with energy, drive, and a wit and grace” (Nelsonm), incorporates dialectal language or oppositional patterns of illusion and reality to effectuate the suspenseful moods of his short stories. In “Suffer the Little Children” and “Autopsy Room Four,” the tension between perception and illusion emerges through the different forms of irony, symbolism, and motifs.

King’s abortive and tough background triggered him to harbor scorn for certain actions he completed in his own past and write about themes which are relevant to his own experiences. Inclined to begin his writing career after discovering a paperback version of H.P. Lovecraft collection of short stories, he started crafting comic books. Fascinated by the illustrations on the covers of each of the collection’s stories, the willful and motivated King, made the decision to pursue a career as a writer. As King’s life developed, it made a bewildering turn of events. In adulthood, King’s life veered onto a path of self-destructive behavior. His life consumed with alcohol and drugs. During this period, he began to have a contained fictional world, where his life was devoted to writing, alcohol, and drugs like marijuana, cocaine and sleep aids. King wrote about his descent into the darkness of addiction in his memoir, On Writing. Upon reading what he wrote, family and friends intervene...

... middle of paper ...

...ritings and all of Stephen King’s works.

Works Cited

Lüstsed, Marcia Amidon. How To Analyze the Works of Stephen King. Edina, MN: ABDO Pub., 2011 Print.

Nelsonm, Harols. “Stephen King: Overview.” Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers. Ed. Laura Standley Berger. Detriot: St. James Press, 1994. Twentieth-Century Writers Series. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

“Stephen King.” Contemporary Authors Online. Detriot: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.

“Stephen Edwin King.” Contemporary Popular Writers. Ed. Dave Mote. Detriot: St. James Press, 1997. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.

“Stephen King Quotes.” BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers. Ed. Laura Standley Berger. Twentieth-Century Series. Detriot: St. James Press, 1994.From Literature Resource Center Web. 11 Apr. 2014.