You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
gross dude, really aged terribly, i can kind of see what king is going for but it just makes me feel ill to read
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Passages of this read like classic King, but it strains credulity more than once. Like his other early works, there are some silly mistakes, too. But as a psychological look at disaffected teens and their experiences, it works well. If there were another way to do this without the gun, it might have been a longer more interesting work. Out of print because of the school shooting setting. He wrote this his freshman year at college.
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I appreciate the rawness and attempt at being inside a traumatized, mentally ill high schooler’s head in this short story. The way King describes the mental struggles and flashbacks that the main character endured throughout this short story lead up to the significance of the title. Not to get psychological, but anger is more easily expressed than sadness and other emotions, so this title fit perfectly even in today’s society of young men suppressing any emotions. I’m not saying any actions in this story are justified, but one can begin to understand the rage.
“When you’re five and you hurt, you make a big noise unto the world. At ten, you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen, you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain. It’s the Western Way of Enlightenment. You begin to cram your fists into your mouth to stifle the scream. You bleed on the inside.”
It’s interesting to read this in the present day and be struck with the thought that nothing has changed in regard to school shootings and men’s mental health being stigmatized. Early life experiences, especially traumatic ones, stick with a child and leak into their early adulthood especially.
“When you’re five and you hurt, you make a big noise unto the world. At ten, you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen, you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain. It’s the Western Way of Enlightenment. You begin to cram your fists into your mouth to stifle the scream. You bleed on the inside.”
It’s interesting to read this in the present day and be struck with the thought that nothing has changed in regard to school shootings and men’s mental health being stigmatized. Early life experiences, especially traumatic ones, stick with a child and leak into their early adulthood especially.