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splattergunk 's review for:
Rage
by Richard Bachman
Charlie Decker has a unique voice, a fucked-up sense of humor, and the sort of psychology that makes it debatable as to whether or not he’s an unreliable narrator. Charlie is a character who finds joy in toying with others and being in control. This is demonstrated in how he harasses and picks on the adults outside of the classroom and how he turns his peers against Ted Jones in a vicious act of mob mentality.
The raw nature of Charlie’s narrative and the stream of consciousness, matter-of fact-way he presents his thoughts and justification for things he does can easily inspire disgust in some readers while others may find it blunt and boorish in nature. Charlie seems to have the same thoughts of semi active nihilism you’d find in most jaded, troubled teenagers. His cavalier attitude and dismissal about the severity of the nature of events around him is morbidly humorous – so much so, you’d be forgiven if you, as the reader, were to laugh along with Charlie in certain moments.
The central theme to Charlie’s character is his rage. The abuse at the hands of his father while he was growing up and the subsequent dismissal of his issues and problems as they are waved off by other adults in his life while he was growing up, have turned Charlie into what he is by the opening of the story. Charlie is an intelligent character, but so too he is dangerous. He is borderline sociopathic, but he is also charismatic enough that he presents himself as relatable to the reader and his classmates with all the care and intent that Bachman (King) writes him to be. Just as his classmates identify with Charlie and are sucked up into his pseudo group therapy session, so too, do you become entranced, as the reader of the story, feeling as though you are one of the students in the room.
In all this madness, even the reader may see Ted Jones as the unreasonable voice in the mix. Ted is the one who is objectively against Charlie, just like the faculty and cops outside of the school. Charlie, though not entirely an outcast, has not been traditionally accepted by his peers (or so it would seem from the brief context we get in flashbacks and recollections told). Ted, though, is the perfect all-American boy.
In Charlie’s constructed world, he’s in charge and Ted is now the odd one out. Ted won’t conform to the group psychology of the classroom, and this makes him an enemy of Charlie. This makes Ted Charlie’s number one opponent in the eyes of Charlie. In Charlie’s constructed world, he’s the priest and the classroom is the confessional. Ted is a sinner, just as they are all sinners, but Ted still refuses to come to Church, to come to confession, so its up to Charlie’s new congregation to make sure Ted repents.
By the end of the novella, Ted is in a battered, catatonic state and is hospitalized due to the physical damage being so great. Charlie is in a mental institution by reason of insanity for the crime he committed, stating he “is slowly feeling like a person again.” Though, it’s truly questionable as to whether Charlie regrets what he did, and highly ironic that he feels inhuman when he is responsible for stripping Ted’s humanity from him. With Ted and Charlie both being placed in hospitalization, it has almost brought them to the same social, circumstantial, and situational level. In the end, Charlie didn’t end up any better off than Ted. Though I don’t suspect Charlie is insane and that Charlie even sees himself on the same level as Ted. Charlie seems incapable of understanding the scope and impact the consequences of his actions have had.
For a novella that is nearly 50 years old at the time of this review’s writing, it is nothing short of stunning and a cultural reflection as to how relevant this book remains. I’m not simply referring to gun violence and school shootings, though it would be unjust to not make note of that and to not refer readers to Stephen King’s 2013 Kindle Singles essay “Guns.” A writing by Mr. King against gun violence and why gun safety is so important. The other reason this story remains so relevant is the accurate portrayal of teenagers and social dynamics in high school. Strip away modern technology and at its core, you get similar conventions to the students and their behaviors and confessions in “Rage” sans the harrowing hostage situation. It’s also an all too accurate reflection of group mentality effortlessly rendered by tensions of a heightened circumstance.
The raw nature of Charlie’s narrative and the stream of consciousness, matter-of fact-way he presents his thoughts and justification for things he does can easily inspire disgust in some readers while others may find it blunt and boorish in nature. Charlie seems to have the same thoughts of semi active nihilism you’d find in most jaded, troubled teenagers. His cavalier attitude and dismissal about the severity of the nature of events around him is morbidly humorous – so much so, you’d be forgiven if you, as the reader, were to laugh along with Charlie in certain moments.
The central theme to Charlie’s character is his rage. The abuse at the hands of his father while he was growing up and the subsequent dismissal of his issues and problems as they are waved off by other adults in his life while he was growing up, have turned Charlie into what he is by the opening of the story. Charlie is an intelligent character, but so too he is dangerous. He is borderline sociopathic, but he is also charismatic enough that he presents himself as relatable to the reader and his classmates with all the care and intent that Bachman (King) writes him to be. Just as his classmates identify with Charlie and are sucked up into his pseudo group therapy session, so too, do you become entranced, as the reader of the story, feeling as though you are one of the students in the room.
In all this madness, even the reader may see Ted Jones as the unreasonable voice in the mix. Ted is the one who is objectively against Charlie, just like the faculty and cops outside of the school. Charlie, though not entirely an outcast, has not been traditionally accepted by his peers (or so it would seem from the brief context we get in flashbacks and recollections told). Ted, though, is the perfect all-American boy.
In Charlie’s constructed world, he’s in charge and Ted is now the odd one out. Ted won’t conform to the group psychology of the classroom, and this makes him an enemy of Charlie. This makes Ted Charlie’s number one opponent in the eyes of Charlie. In Charlie’s constructed world, he’s the priest and the classroom is the confessional. Ted is a sinner, just as they are all sinners, but Ted still refuses to come to Church, to come to confession, so its up to Charlie’s new congregation to make sure Ted repents.
By the end of the novella, Ted is in a battered, catatonic state and is hospitalized due to the physical damage being so great. Charlie is in a mental institution by reason of insanity for the crime he committed, stating he “is slowly feeling like a person again.” Though, it’s truly questionable as to whether Charlie regrets what he did, and highly ironic that he feels inhuman when he is responsible for stripping Ted’s humanity from him. With Ted and Charlie both being placed in hospitalization, it has almost brought them to the same social, circumstantial, and situational level. In the end, Charlie didn’t end up any better off than Ted. Though I don’t suspect Charlie is insane and that Charlie even sees himself on the same level as Ted. Charlie seems incapable of understanding the scope and impact the consequences of his actions have had.
For a novella that is nearly 50 years old at the time of this review’s writing, it is nothing short of stunning and a cultural reflection as to how relevant this book remains. I’m not simply referring to gun violence and school shootings, though it would be unjust to not make note of that and to not refer readers to Stephen King’s 2013 Kindle Singles essay “Guns.” A writing by Mr. King against gun violence and why gun safety is so important. The other reason this story remains so relevant is the accurate portrayal of teenagers and social dynamics in high school. Strip away modern technology and at its core, you get similar conventions to the students and their behaviors and confessions in “Rage” sans the harrowing hostage situation. It’s also an all too accurate reflection of group mentality effortlessly rendered by tensions of a heightened circumstance.