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Summary: Have you ever had to endure the boring, dark environment of a night shift? Well this man named Hall did. He worked at a mill at night. At the beginning of the story, it seems like there is nothing interesting in his life. He is just a boy in college, throwing cans at rats, walking through the halls, and hating his boss. He calls his boss Mr. Foreman and he is a very interesting antagonist. Mean, mocking, and tough. In the story you can see why Hall hates him boss so much but when Mr. Foreman (Warwick) offers up a job that has an amount of money Hall can’t refuse, he takes it. What is this job? Cleaning out an old basement that hasn’t been touched in about 12 years. It can’t be that bad right? Just clean out the basement by Thursday and be done with it right? Wrong. Little do these men know that there is a mass amount of rats. Not just any normal rats, but enormous rats that have been down there for years. Possibly centuries. Two men have to go home due to the rats. Both got bit. Warwick pushes on. During lunch, Hall notices a wooden door. Hall forms a plan. A plan of vengeance, and wrath. He tells Warwick all about the trapdoor, and the legal prospect behind it. Eventually, through the clever approach, Hall eventually convinces Warwick to go down with him, and another one of his workers, Wisconsky. When they get down there, they discover at true horror for rat phobias. They see hundreds, if not thousands of rats. But not just rats, but mutant rats. They are huge. A foot long at the least! Eventually Hall snaps, and makes Warwick walk into a pit with the largest rat anyone has ever seen,” It was a huge and pulsating grey, eyeless, totally without legs. When Hall's light struck it, it made a hideous mewling noise. Their queen, then, the magna mater” (King). Ultimately, Warwick it eaten alive by the monstrous rat. While Hall is trying to escape, he is attacked by a ton of rats. He snaps. He laughs crazily, and he too dies. The story ends with the other men standing up by the door. Getting ready to go down to find the 3 missing men. Little do they know, they too are walking to their dooms.
How is this story horror?
This book is written by Stephen King if you didn't know. I'm assuming most of us know that Stephen King is one of the most well known horror authors. King knows a lot about the elements of horror, and plays them very well into his stories, including this story. Lets first take a deeper look at the setting. This story takes place at a factory during the night. Normally horror stories take place during the night. It's dark, and a lot of things happen at night because it's easier for things to hide in the dark. Not only that, but as the story progresses, the story explains how the area of the factory that these men are cleaning looks. It's old, and abandoned. Not only this, but while I was reading I caught a little foreshadowing. The main character, Hall, really expresses his fear of rats, and the other men do as well while they are cleaning the basement. I thought that this could have been foreshadowing because the amount of expression towards the disliking of the rats really makes the subject of rats stick out;therefore, the reader can see that there is a possible chance of the rats being a serious threat to the characters. I can also connect these terms to another story I read by Edgar Allen Poe. This man is another iconic author, and the story we read by him is called "The Cask of Amontillado". This is a story about a man who's friend insults him. So, he does what any other normal person does. He lures him into a catacomb of some kind while he's drunk and buries him alive. Both the Grave Yard Shift and "The Cask of Amontillado". Like "The Graveyard Shift", "The Cask of Amontillado" also has a very dreary setting. Where the main character takes his friend to is very dark. It's only dimly lit by little torches. Not only that, but there is a lot of dripping water, and mold everywhere. Both stories also have foreshadowing. With "The Graveyard Shift" it is the fear of the rats, but with "The Cask of Amontillado", it's not fear, but the foreshadowing is sensed while both of the men were walking down the passage way, and the thoughts of the main character really trigger a feeling of dread, and something bad was about to happen,“we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was." I thought that this was foreshadowing because this is a hint of the main character's sanity slipping away. And when someone's sanity is slipping away, the result is usually not a very good one.
5 Lit. Terms:
Round Character: A round character is a character that has a lot of detail and personality. I chose the main character, Hall, because this character has a lot of interesting details. For example, an obvious one is that this man is crazy. After all, he did push his boss into a hole where his boss is eaten alive. Hall's sick intention makes him a very interesting, and the readers are therefore more drawn to the character due to his sick intentions,"'Keep going,' Hall said. He felt something bursting up inside him, something lunatic and dark with colours. You are going to break before I do, Mr Foreman, so help me God" (King).
Protagonist: The protagonist is the main character of the story. Most of the time, the main character is the "good guy", but sometimes the protagonist is not. Hall turns out to be a bad guy, but is still considered the protagonist because of the fact that the story is based around him, his actions, and his thoughts.
Antagonist: The antagonist is the character that is against the protagonist. The antagonist is normally viewed as the "bad guy". The boss, Warwick, is at first, viewed as mean and sloppy, but as the story continues, the reader soon comes to realize that the main character is actually the evil, sick character," 'Harry hasn't sent down an order for twenty minutes,' Hall answered, thinking: Why couldn't you stay the hell put and drink your coffee?" (King). This quote shows that Hall doesn't like his boss very much.
Denoument: The Denoument is the falling action of the story. The falling action is the part of the plot that takes place right after the climax, which is the turning point of of the story. I would say the the denoument of the story is when Hall is trying to escape the cellar full of the rats, and is being eaten alive. This is right after Warwick is eaten alive, and I think that this is the climax because it's the most intense part of the story.
Resolution: The resolution of the story is how the story ends. Some stories end happy, some end sad, and some end as a cliffhanger. This normally happens when that book is one of a series. I think the resolution of this story is when the other men that didn't go down with Hall, start to walk down the stairs to the cellar with the rats because that is when the most intense parts of the story are over, and the story ends.
How is this story horror?
This book is written by Stephen King if you didn't know. I'm assuming most of us know that Stephen King is one of the most well known horror authors. King knows a lot about the elements of horror, and plays them very well into his stories, including this story. Lets first take a deeper look at the setting. This story takes place at a factory during the night. Normally horror stories take place during the night. It's dark, and a lot of things happen at night because it's easier for things to hide in the dark. Not only that, but as the story progresses, the story explains how the area of the factory that these men are cleaning looks. It's old, and abandoned. Not only this, but while I was reading I caught a little foreshadowing. The main character, Hall, really expresses his fear of rats, and the other men do as well while they are cleaning the basement. I thought that this could have been foreshadowing because the amount of expression towards the disliking of the rats really makes the subject of rats stick out;therefore, the reader can see that there is a possible chance of the rats being a serious threat to the characters. I can also connect these terms to another story I read by Edgar Allen Poe. This man is another iconic author, and the story we read by him is called "The Cask of Amontillado". This is a story about a man who's friend insults him. So, he does what any other normal person does. He lures him into a catacomb of some kind while he's drunk and buries him alive. Both the Grave Yard Shift and "The Cask of Amontillado". Like "The Graveyard Shift", "The Cask of Amontillado" also has a very dreary setting. Where the main character takes his friend to is very dark. It's only dimly lit by little torches. Not only that, but there is a lot of dripping water, and mold everywhere. Both stories also have foreshadowing. With "The Graveyard Shift" it is the fear of the rats, but with "The Cask of Amontillado", it's not fear, but the foreshadowing is sensed while both of the men were walking down the passage way, and the thoughts of the main character really trigger a feeling of dread, and something bad was about to happen,“we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was." I thought that this was foreshadowing because this is a hint of the main character's sanity slipping away. And when someone's sanity is slipping away, the result is usually not a very good one.
5 Lit. Terms:
Round Character: A round character is a character that has a lot of detail and personality. I chose the main character, Hall, because this character has a lot of interesting details. For example, an obvious one is that this man is crazy. After all, he did push his boss into a hole where his boss is eaten alive. Hall's sick intention makes him a very interesting, and the readers are therefore more drawn to the character due to his sick intentions,"'Keep going,' Hall said. He felt something bursting up inside him, something lunatic and dark with colours. You are going to break before I do, Mr Foreman, so help me God" (King).
Protagonist: The protagonist is the main character of the story. Most of the time, the main character is the "good guy", but sometimes the protagonist is not. Hall turns out to be a bad guy, but is still considered the protagonist because of the fact that the story is based around him, his actions, and his thoughts.
Antagonist: The antagonist is the character that is against the protagonist. The antagonist is normally viewed as the "bad guy". The boss, Warwick, is at first, viewed as mean and sloppy, but as the story continues, the reader soon comes to realize that the main character is actually the evil, sick character," 'Harry hasn't sent down an order for twenty minutes,' Hall answered, thinking: Why couldn't you stay the hell put and drink your coffee?" (King). This quote shows that Hall doesn't like his boss very much.
Denoument: The Denoument is the falling action of the story. The falling action is the part of the plot that takes place right after the climax, which is the turning point of of the story. I would say the the denoument of the story is when Hall is trying to escape the cellar full of the rats, and is being eaten alive. This is right after Warwick is eaten alive, and I think that this is the climax because it's the most intense part of the story.
Resolution: The resolution of the story is how the story ends. Some stories end happy, some end sad, and some end as a cliffhanger. This normally happens when that book is one of a series. I think the resolution of this story is when the other men that didn't go down with Hall, start to walk down the stairs to the cellar with the rats because that is when the most intense parts of the story are over, and the story ends.