My worst job was at 14 working in an office for a company my father ran. My job was to file (this was 1976!) massive amounts of paperwork. The files were very stiff and sharp, I was clumsy (still am!), but wanted to be efficient. Result: a painful festival of paper cuts.
In King's short stories, there's usually not enough space for anyone to overcome the evil, so the evil usually wins. To challenge evil and defeat it generally needs a novel in King's world. I write this from memory so I'm happy to be corrected!
I love the layers of basement in this story. It like something of a journey closer to hell the deeper we go. It makes sense that King had worked in a place not dissimilar to this fictional mill, because the descriptions were so icky, accurate and I felt I needed a shower after reading. The foreshadowing is right from the start, as you say, and I wonder if this takes away the element of surprise, or is a great way to get readers to automatically relate to the situation, like with your boss?
I applauded Warwick’s demise. At first I thought Hall suffering the same fate was end and Warwick shared anger. But the idea that the working man is never on top grabs my attention!
I never had a job I didn’t like. The closest I can come is being a checkout clerk at a large grocery chain. Having to remember prices (even how to find the prices) was exhausting. But I got to talk with many great people.😁
Shaina, this was a great write up. I loved how you took time to show how the nature and descriptions of the rats change as they go deeper underground. It made me think of Dante descending into the underworld.
I'm sure you're right that there are some where good triumphs. But those may be the exceptions. Maybe the ones that stick in my mind are the ones with awful endings!
great write-up! our formative years also form and inform part of our writing, I started working construction, schlepping bricks and stuff at the age of 12 during summer to get some pocket money... you see a lot of stuff there.
Haven't read this short story, so thanks for the write up and thoughts :)
As for worst job, I've been lucky that the ones I've had have been pretty decent. However, the exception is certainly a small, local village pub that I worked in when I turned 18 in the UK. The landlady was a mean, horrible lady, and I didn't last more than about three weeks. I hated it. It ruined my dreams (lol) of polishing glasses behind a bar and idling chatting away with the locals. I'd never thought of her being in a story, but she could almost certainly feature in a story 😅
My worst job was at 14 working in an office for a company my father ran. My job was to file (this was 1976!) massive amounts of paperwork. The files were very stiff and sharp, I was clumsy (still am!), but wanted to be efficient. Result: a painful festival of paper cuts.
In King's short stories, there's usually not enough space for anyone to overcome the evil, so the evil usually wins. To challenge evil and defeat it generally needs a novel in King's world. I write this from memory so I'm happy to be corrected!
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I love the layers of basement in this story. It like something of a journey closer to hell the deeper we go. It makes sense that King had worked in a place not dissimilar to this fictional mill, because the descriptions were so icky, accurate and I felt I needed a shower after reading. The foreshadowing is right from the start, as you say, and I wonder if this takes away the element of surprise, or is a great way to get readers to automatically relate to the situation, like with your boss?
I applauded Warwick’s demise. At first I thought Hall suffering the same fate was end and Warwick shared anger. But the idea that the working man is never on top grabs my attention!
I never had a job I didn’t like. The closest I can come is being a checkout clerk at a large grocery chain. Having to remember prices (even how to find the prices) was exhausting. But I got to talk with many great people.😁
Shaina, this was a great write up. I loved how you took time to show how the nature and descriptions of the rats change as they go deeper underground. It made me think of Dante descending into the underworld.
I was a compositor apprentice at 16. The worst thing I had to suffer were 7 and a half minute tea breaks. Never a second longer or shorter!
I'm sure you're right that there are some where good triumphs. But those may be the exceptions. Maybe the ones that stick in my mind are the ones with awful endings!
great write-up! our formative years also form and inform part of our writing, I started working construction, schlepping bricks and stuff at the age of 12 during summer to get some pocket money... you see a lot of stuff there.
Haven't read this short story, so thanks for the write up and thoughts :)
As for worst job, I've been lucky that the ones I've had have been pretty decent. However, the exception is certainly a small, local village pub that I worked in when I turned 18 in the UK. The landlady was a mean, horrible lady, and I didn't last more than about three weeks. I hated it. It ruined my dreams (lol) of polishing glasses behind a bar and idling chatting away with the locals. I'd never thought of her being in a story, but she could almost certainly feature in a story 😅