The Shining by Stephen King
Chapter 1
In the first chapter of the book, we are introduced to Jack Torrance. He is at the Overlook, a hotel in Colorado. He's being interviewed for the the job of being the hotels caretaker during the winter. We learn that Jack has had a difficult and shady past, including alcoholism, being fired from his teaching job for beating a student, and a time when he accidentally broke his son Danny's arm. This foreshadows that Jack can be a very troubled man. We are also introduced to Stuart Ullman, the manager of the Overlook and a man whom Jack has no liking towards what so ever. Ullman went over the Overlook's history and disclosed to Jack that the previous winter caretaker was also an alcoholic. He had murdered his wife and both his young daughters in a drunken rage, perhaps from cabin fever, and then killed himself. Ullman knew about Jacks troubled past and was seeking reassurance, as well as admitting a warning, that the 5 months of the winter could be long and harsh, with little to no communication with the outside world. Jack reassures who he refers to as the officious manager, stating that he hasn't had a drop of alcohol and that his family won't be subject to such an extreme case of cabin fever, because they are all very intelligent people who will have much to amuse themselves with, and that the job is the opportunity his family needs to become closer.
I was very intrigued after reading this first chapter. I was familiar with the plot and film, so I was curious to see if the book was any better. I actually finished the book and liked it better than the film. The organizational pattern I noticed most heavily was chronological order, used when Ullman was explaining the history of the hotel, and when Jack was thinking about his past.
The authors intent for this first chapter was to introduce one of the main characters, the main setting, and also to foreshadow events in the book.
