I just read a book called The Shining by Stephen King. It was about a man, Jack Torrence, who watched a hotel called “The Overlook Hotel” while the owner was away for the winter. Jack brought his wife and kids to the hotel with him. In the past, Jack had a drinking problem, but he hasn’t been drinking for a while now. People might think that Jack would be the one that has power throughout this text, but I think that it is his 5-year-old son, Danny who has control. Throughout this text   Danny’s parents’ actions revolve around him.

            One place that this is shown is when Danny comes out of room number 217 with bruises on his neck. Wendy, Danny’s mom and Jack’s wife, immediately assumes that it was Jack that hurt Danny since he had done so 3 years earlier. She snatches Danny away from Jack and takes him to hide. Jack knows that he didn’t do anything, and it makes him crazy. It drives him to drink for the first time in a really long time. This is an example of how Danny has the power in the text because Wendy tries to run away with Danny based on something that happened to Danny.

            Another thing is that in the book, the author gives you the message that Jack and Wendy do love each other, but not very strongly.  At least that is how I interpret it. The main reason that they are staying together is for Danny. Danny loves them both so much.  He would hate it most if his parents got divorced. Wendy feels that Danny loves Jack more though.  That brings her even closer to the family, because she wants Danny to love HER more. Jack feels that Wendy is trying to steal Danny from him, so he tries to get closer to Wendy so that she can’t steal Danny away. Danny brings the family together, so whatever he does makes his parents do things.

            The final and obvious reason why I think Danny has power in the text is because Danny literally has a power. He has the Shining. He has a little friend named Tony that shows him things. Danny can read minds and control things, and see ghosts and such. He can tell things that are happening right now, even if the incident isn’t where he is. He can communicate with someone else with the Shining by sending thoughts to them. In a way, he can also read the future. At first Wendy doesn’t believe that Danny has a power, and she has a doctor look at him. As the story continues however, she grows to believe Danny, and she asks him questions about his father. One thing she asks him  “Is your father drinking again, Danny?” Danny has power in this part of the text because his mother acts based on Danny’s literal power.

            In the book, there are many examples of where Danny has power, whether it is literally a power or, just being in control, he has it. Jack and Wendy are married, but the real reason why they are still together is because of Danny. He brings the family together. He is also the reason why his parents do the things that they do. Many people think that Jack might have power, but they are wrong. Danny is the one with the power.

8.     What really hard things are happening in this text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

         In the book The Shining by Stephen King, there are some very hard things that are taking place. One of these concerns centers on child custody. One of the main characters in the book is Jack Torrence. He has had a drinking problem in the past, but for a while he has been “dry as a bone.” In Jack’s drinking days, his wife Wendy wanted to take Danny, their son, away from him. Although when Jack was getting drunk, he still had the right to his kid just the same as Wendy did. It wasn’t fair for Wendy to steal Danny away from Jack no matter what the circumstances were because Danny is as much Jack’s kid as he is Wendy’s kid.

         The first time that this problem occurred was when Jack had his last drink. The last time he drank was when Danny spilled Jack’s beer on the play that he had been working on for a while. Since he wrote it on a typewriter, there were no other copies, so Jack lost his temper. Being drunk, he broke his young son’s arm. That was when this problem came into play. Wendy was both frightened and furious. She wanted to take Danny away from Jack. Although what he did was very wrong, he still had the right to his kid. It was only one mistake.

         This type of problem happens in the real world too, but mostly when parents are separated. For example, my family’s friend is struggling with the issue of child custody. Although our friend isn’t a drunk, the problem is similar in a way. His ex-wife has a boyfriend who has a job opportunity in Michigan. She wants to take our friend's daughter to live with her there in Michigan, and leave our friend alone in Vermont. That is not right. Someone can’t take away a child from someone else just because they want to move. Our friend has a right to his child and is devastated about the situation. Although the circumstances are a little different in my book, this connects to my book because Wendy wanted to take Danny away from Jack, and in real life, this lady wants to take away our friend’s daughter from him.

         Jack, in my book, has been sober for a long time now, but his wife is still hesitant to believe it. Danny mysteriously has these bruises on his neck, and without any thought at all, Wendy assumes that these bruises came from Jack, and quickly snatches Danny away from Jack. Jack knows that he didn’t do anything, and Wendy’s action drives him crazy. This shows the custody issue because Wendy is ready at a moments notice to run away with Danny.

         In The Shining, many problems happen, but the one that sticks out to me the most is that dealing with child custody. In the book, Wendy wants to take Danny away from Jack, and in real life, these actions take place as well. This is a problem that is happening throughout my book and in the real world, and reading this book makes me notice that this problem happens a lot more than I would have thought.