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.