What do you think is the author’s goal in writing the book you are reading?
The “Pet Sematary” is a unique literary experience in which Stephen King’s real life story is portrayed through the altered lens of a fictional family and the horror archetype. Readers are transported into a small house in Maine, with its dangerous dirt road and secretive pet sematary, a house that Stephen King once frequented. The book was meant, as Stephen King has personally articulated, to be an autobiography of sorts for his own life, and parallels to Stephen King’s life can indeed be found all throughout the novel. Louis Creed’s journey from the big city to a farmhouse in Maine derives from Stephen King’s own experience of moving back to his former University in Maine to teach. Furthermore, even the dangerous dirt road of the Pet Sematary is based on the road where King’s daughter, Naomi, lost her pet cat and the Pet Sematary is an actual cemetery the children of that neighborhood made. Through writing this book Stephen King hoped to give his devoted readers an insight into his own story while also giving them a new one to ponder, and in the case of the Pet Sematary, I believe he succeeded.
After you have articulated your view on your book, in your ISLE journal, tell a friend about it. Then, write a brief summary that explains what book they are reading, along with what deeper goal is in their book, based on what your partner said.
Note: I am writing on Nick Bauer’s book “Crater” although I do not know if he is writing on the Pet Sematary.
The novel “Crater” by Homer Hickam, is a novel about the laborious life of miners on the moon, set 300 years in the future. It follows the story of Crater and his fellow protagonist, Petro, both teenage moon miners trapped within the sudden “gold-rush” taking place on the moon. However, the rush is not for gold, but a rare material called helium-3, which has become incredibly sought after by major corporations on Earth. The two live in the moon colony aptly named, Moontown, where they feel shackled by the limitations and norms of the mining life on the moon. This breeds discontent for their surroundings and curiosity of their solar system within the two boys. Urged by the incessant need to break free of the chains the boys feel, they eventually leave Moontown, to explore the unknown.
As I discussed with my partner on the topic, this novel draws many connections to Homer Hickam’s actual life, as the Pet Sematary does for Stephen King. Homer Hickam’s life can be easily seen in this novel when looked at without the futuristic lens. For example, Hickman’s life on Earth as a child was very similar to Crater’s life on the moon. Hickman was forced, as Crater is, to mine in his local town (for coal instead of helium) and Hickman himself was uninterested in simply pursuing a life in mining, as he was expected to do by his town. As Stephen King used a façade of horror to showcase his own life in the Pet Sematary, Homer Hickam uses one of the future to paint a picture of his childhood. To conclude, Hickman’s goal in writing the book was also to give his readers insight into his own life.
The “Pet Sematary” is a unique literary experience in which Stephen King’s real life story is portrayed through the altered lens of a fictional family and the horror archetype. Readers are transported into a small house in Maine, with its dangerous dirt road and secretive pet sematary, a house that Stephen King once frequented. The book was meant, as Stephen King has personally articulated, to be an autobiography of sorts for his own life, and parallels to Stephen King’s life can indeed be found all throughout the novel. Louis Creed’s journey from the big city to a farmhouse in Maine derives from Stephen King’s own experience of moving back to his former University in Maine to teach. Furthermore, even the dangerous dirt road of the Pet Sematary is based on the road where King’s daughter, Naomi, lost her pet cat and the Pet Sematary is an actual cemetery the children of that neighborhood made. Through writing this book Stephen King hoped to give his devoted readers an insight into his own story while also giving them a new one to ponder, and in the case of the Pet Sematary, I believe he succeeded.
After you have articulated your view on your book, in your ISLE journal, tell a friend about it. Then, write a brief summary that explains what book they are reading, along with what deeper goal is in their book, based on what your partner said.
Note: I am writing on Nick Bauer’s book “Crater” although I do not know if he is writing on the Pet Sematary.
The novel “Crater” by Homer Hickam, is a novel about the laborious life of miners on the moon, set 300 years in the future. It follows the story of Crater and his fellow protagonist, Petro, both teenage moon miners trapped within the sudden “gold-rush” taking place on the moon. However, the rush is not for gold, but a rare material called helium-3, which has become incredibly sought after by major corporations on Earth. The two live in the moon colony aptly named, Moontown, where they feel shackled by the limitations and norms of the mining life on the moon. This breeds discontent for their surroundings and curiosity of their solar system within the two boys. Urged by the incessant need to break free of the chains the boys feel, they eventually leave Moontown, to explore the unknown.
As I discussed with my partner on the topic, this novel draws many connections to Homer Hickam’s actual life, as the Pet Sematary does for Stephen King. Homer Hickam’s life can be easily seen in this novel when looked at without the futuristic lens. For example, Hickman’s life on Earth as a child was very similar to Crater’s life on the moon. Hickman was forced, as Crater is, to mine in his local town (for coal instead of helium) and Hickman himself was uninterested in simply pursuing a life in mining, as he was expected to do by his town. As Stephen King used a façade of horror to showcase his own life in the Pet Sematary, Homer Hickam uses one of the future to paint a picture of his childhood. To conclude, Hickman’s goal in writing the book was also to give his readers insight into his own life.