Stephen King, Misery

Michael J. Meyer (DePaul University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1987

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Stephen King’s

Misery

is perhaps best known for its film adaptation which won an academy award for Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes and revitalized the career of James Caan as Paul Sheldon. As with so many King novels, the film-makers decided to simplify the complex multi-level plot structure and eliminate the extensive parallel metaphors about the writing process. They concentrated instead on the horrific elements of the work, specifically stressing the physiological torture of Paul Sheldon by his Number #1 fan, Annie Wilkes, placing a special emphasis on Annie’s crippling blow to his injured feet with a dull ax.

Consequently, far less time is spent in the film on the psychological torture that Sheldon undergoes, an aspect that forms a major element of the written text. Perhaps this

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3149 words

Citation: Meyer, Michael J.. "Misery". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 December 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12647, accessed 23 April 2024.]

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