i think you have this story pegged exactly right. The degradation of isolation, especially rural isolation and the horror of an isolated, rural alcoholic and what such a person can become.
The blob to me is a manifestation of permanent insanity.
On a happier note, there is an actual Slime Museum in downtown Manhattan that little kids love. All the slime is brightly colored, and non toxic. I haven't been, but my wife has taken our young nieces, and they've loved it.
Gray Matter is my favorite story from Night Shift (all of which I re-read every Spooky Season). To me, the blob is all the chaos which exists outside of humanity's carefully curated civilization; war, pestilence (tech run amok, as you noted) etc. I especially like the explanation of how Richie got the bad beer down his gullet in the first place. For some reason "Christ, that aint right!" sets me laughing every time.
To me this blob felt like a slug. Having just dealt with slugs eating ALL my red cabbage, I think I have them on the brain. But they too love the dark, are super slimey, leave trails, and will eat virtually anything given half a chance.
And slugs love beer, many gardeners create beer traps for them. If I do that next year, I'll be sure to think of this story.
Shaina, once again I cop to not having read the assignment. So far behind with what I have already committed to read. But I can not miss out on your report on these books and stories. You manage to make me feel like I was there looking over King's shoulder as he wrote. The story synopsis is so concise but complete, and the pertinent discussion points along with clarifying quotations are very insightful. I risk an inadvertent insult but with a little tongue in cheek, I say each of these are like Clif Notes on steroids! Sorry, I am quickly using up my time, having admitted not doing the assignment.
I'll be brief on the questions put to us readers. Using an adolescent child as a trapped co-dependant victim seems to compel urgency to engage where the natural tendency is to stay far away from another person who is on a self destructive path, lest it be infectious. If the same individuals had acted when they first knew their drinking buddy was on a downward slide and putting his child at risk, maybe the monster could have been contained.
Now, I grew up in the '50s knowing the blob and also the radioactive creatures that threatened our existence without much trepidation. But some of the other messages about universal threats to our world due to misuse of technology were quite frightening. Most people could tell the difference between corny screen monsters and realistic visions of the misuse of science.
Hi Shaina,
i think you have this story pegged exactly right. The degradation of isolation, especially rural isolation and the horror of an isolated, rural alcoholic and what such a person can become.
The blob to me is a manifestation of permanent insanity.
On a happier note, there is an actual Slime Museum in downtown Manhattan that little kids love. All the slime is brightly colored, and non toxic. I haven't been, but my wife has taken our young nieces, and they've loved it.
Gray Matter is my favorite story from Night Shift (all of which I re-read every Spooky Season). To me, the blob is all the chaos which exists outside of humanity's carefully curated civilization; war, pestilence (tech run amok, as you noted) etc. I especially like the explanation of how Richie got the bad beer down his gullet in the first place. For some reason "Christ, that aint right!" sets me laughing every time.
To me this blob felt like a slug. Having just dealt with slugs eating ALL my red cabbage, I think I have them on the brain. But they too love the dark, are super slimey, leave trails, and will eat virtually anything given half a chance.
And slugs love beer, many gardeners create beer traps for them. If I do that next year, I'll be sure to think of this story.
Shaina, once again I cop to not having read the assignment. So far behind with what I have already committed to read. But I can not miss out on your report on these books and stories. You manage to make me feel like I was there looking over King's shoulder as he wrote. The story synopsis is so concise but complete, and the pertinent discussion points along with clarifying quotations are very insightful. I risk an inadvertent insult but with a little tongue in cheek, I say each of these are like Clif Notes on steroids! Sorry, I am quickly using up my time, having admitted not doing the assignment.
I'll be brief on the questions put to us readers. Using an adolescent child as a trapped co-dependant victim seems to compel urgency to engage where the natural tendency is to stay far away from another person who is on a self destructive path, lest it be infectious. If the same individuals had acted when they first knew their drinking buddy was on a downward slide and putting his child at risk, maybe the monster could have been contained.
Now, I grew up in the '50s knowing the blob and also the radioactive creatures that threatened our existence without much trepidation. But some of the other messages about universal threats to our world due to misuse of technology were quite frightening. Most people could tell the difference between corny screen monsters and realistic visions of the misuse of science.