There was a period in America’s history known as the Modern Era. In this age, the book industry was revolutionized, with new ways to write. One author went beyond the nom is Stephen King. He is a different kind of novelist, who desires to shake one down to their very soul. King once said, “I don’t want to just mess with your head; I want to mess with your life.” (1King) A brief look into his life and history as well as a few works will show evidence that he wants to incapacitate the reader from normal daily life.
There was two events that influenced Stephen the first was the launch of Sputnik I, the two world’s superpowers the United States of America and the Union Soviet Socialist Republics were locked in a space race, which was really a battle for superiority. With the launch of Sputnik shook Americans down to the core, due to the Soviet’s success of reaching orbit before America, a great fear swept the nation. In turn this lead to wide spread panic and constant bomb drills. The space race ended when America put a man on the moon, but the conflict did not end until 1990.
The other was the Vietnam conflict the two warring factions was the Communist North and the Democratic South, the South requested aid from America, which answered the call. Even though it technically not a war, multiple drafts were enforced, which enraged young men and women. Massive riots and protest broke out throughout the country, mainly due to the draftee’s inability to vote for the representatives that were sending them to war. Overall the casualties civilian and troops on both sides was an estimate 3.4 million lives.Stephen King was born on September 21, 1947 to Donald and Ruthie King, in Portland Maine, prior to this they adopted David King seven days …
…cyclopedia of American Literature. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
King, Stephen. The Drawing of Three the Dark Towers II. New York NY; Signet, 2013. PrintKing, Stephen. Duma Key. New York, NY: Signet, 2013. Print.King, Tabitha. “The Author.” www.stephenking.com. Web. 4 November 2013
MacNee, Mane J. “Stephen King.” Science Fiction and Horror Writers. Detroit, MI. International Thomson Publishing Company, 1995. Print.Moss, Joyce and George Wilson “Carrie.” Literature and Its Time Detroit, MI: Gale, 1997. Print.
Pringle, David, ed. “Stephen (Edwin) King.” St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost, Gothic Writers. Detroit, MI. St. James Press, 1998. Print“Shining.” www.barnesandnobles.com Web. 4 November 2013
“Shining.” www.imdb.com. Web. 4 November 2013
Whitelaw, Nancy. Dark Dreams The Story of Stephen King. Greensburg, NC: Morgan Reynolds Publishing, 2006. Print.