The abuse part of the story is both physical and psychological: both Wendy and Danny are clearly scared of Jack, even before the hotel’s influence takes control of him, and yet they stay with him.Ī popular theory, and one that has gone very deep into the symbolism of The Shining, says that the film also addresses sexual abuse. Charles Grady killed his family with an axe, and Jack was on track to replicate that. The Shining 's Overlook H otel itself also has a history of cyclical violence: it was built over a Native American burial ground, and its existence is a testament to the violence of colonization. He might have had his anger under control for a while before taking the job, but he went back to it there. Jack is a recovering alcoholic and relapses at the hotel. When Wendy finds Danny after he enters room 237, he’s in shock and physically injured, and Wendy immediately blames Jack for it as he has hurt their son before. ![]() ![]() Jack had a history of anger issues and violence, mainly against his family. Of course, there are some more convincing (and coherent) than others, but The Shining is explained as, at its core, a story about violence and abuse and how these are often cyclical. Kubrick may not have been fully faithful to the source material when adapting Stephen King’s book, but he succeeded in making a film full of metaphors and symbolism that have made way for countless interpretations of its true meaning. ![]() The aforementioned sequel, Doctor Sleep, got a cinematic adaptation that serves as both a sequel to The Shinin g novel and Kubrick’s film, in a way. The Shining novel and film work best as separate pieces, with each ending having a different meaning. The meaning and topics addressed in the novel are very different from those in The Shining movie Stephen King hates so much, given Kubrick’s many changes to the story in order to fit his vision. Interestingly, in the 1997 Shining miniseries, which King himself wrote, there's a brief epilogue in which a graduating Danny is visited by the ghost of Jack, beaming with pride, suggesting that Jack's spirit was fully freed when the Overlook blew up. The three remain close, and Hallorann comforts Danny over the loss of his father and teaches him to fish. The novel ends with Danny and Wendy spending the summer at a resort in Maine where Hallorann works as head chef. As for Jack, he does die but not in the snow: a malfunctioning boiler explodes and kills Jack while also destroying the hotel. The hotel makes one last attempt to possess Hallorann, but he successfully manages to avoid it. Unlike the film, Hallorann in The Shining book doesn’t die and helps Wendy and Danny escape at the end. In the novel, Jack manages to fight the hotel’s possession long enough for him to tell Danny to run for his life. Kubrick's explanation for the Jack Torrance's appearance in the 1921 ballroom photo may be plausible, but it's also one of the few weaker elements of The Shining, as such a significant plot element could have been both further elaborated on and made more apparent. ![]() It's also not immediately obvious when rewatching with that knowledge (unlike, say, The Sixth Sense, where rewatching with the knowledge that Bruce Willis's character is also dead completely changes the viewing experience). While the explanation that Jack is in the photo at the end of The Shining because he's a reincarnated former employee makes sense, this isn't explained in the movie itself. Jack says he saw Delbert in the newspaper, and thus he is the reincarnation of Charles Grady. The ghost is Delbert Grady, and the past caretaker was Charles Grady. The reincarnated Jack explanation makes sense when going back to his conversation with Grady in the bathroom, where the butler tells Jack that he has “ always been the caretaker.” This explanation for The Shining ending also fits with the role of both Grady characters mentioned in the film: the past caretaker and the ghost.
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