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Mrs. Davis
AP English 12
12/15/14
Analysis #2
In the article, “Stephen King's Bookish Boys: (Re)Imagining the Masculine,” the author,
Kate Sullivan, analyzes Stephen King’s “The Body” through a Queer Theory perspective.
Sullivan believes, “King's works further suggest that the solution… lies in the establishment of
male-male intimacy, ideally in the form of all-male communities, and in a broadening of the
definition of acceptable masculinity.” In order to defend her claim, Sullivan examines scenes in
which the male characters are intimate and bond through hardships. She also reveals the
characters’ feminine qualities.
Throughout her article, Sullivan provides different details which reinforce her idea that
King’s work aims to redefine masculinity. She shows the process of how the boys decide to turn
more homosocial in their relationships. One of the earliest points made being the absence of a
male role model for each of the boys; one father neglects their child, another mutilates his, the
third is never around, and the last one beats his kid. After discussing the absence of the fathers,
Sullivan moves on to discuss how the boys bond with each other by facing different obstacles.
The article is coherent by providing the author’s belief, supporting it, and then concluding.
Sullivan’s formatting would be beneficial to anyone who has not read the book as it mentions
key elements of the story throughout while going into detail with useful quotes which logically
support Sullivan’s reasoning.
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A critical element which made Sullivan’s article stand out was her evidence because
while originally believing the Queer Theory would be derived from improbable reasoning, one
will discover the feminist presence to be frequently occurring throughout The Body. Intriguing
statements were made such as “Rather than having an ideal patriarch to identify with and
emulate, Gordie and Chris must look to each other for support,” where Sullivan would detail
further. In addition, Sullivan sees the book as “rather than a story of brave, empowered men,
much of the narrative revolves around the boys' inability to behave bravely at all,” because the
boys struggle and strive to make it through some rather simple tasks which fear makes infinitely
more difficult.
While the Queer Theory perspective may provide a slightly limited viewpoint, the
evidence supporting the claims is significant and does not completely side track one from the
true intentions of the book. If one were to only read this article, the person may take away a
restricted belief of the book because some details are not mentioned in perfect context. Sullivan
believes there is a “difficulty in expressing male love/desire,” which I would not have noticed
whilst reading the book. While evidence is provided, how true the belief is can be mostly deemed
an opinion as the boys may or may not have had male love and desire for one another.
According to Kate Sullivan’s analysis of The Body, the journey of four young boys
represents their search for “proper masculinity.” Sullivan claims that through the novel, King is
critiquing, “hegemonic masculinity that precludes meaningful male-male relationships in general
and the patriarchal ideal of fatherhood specifically.” Through her article, Sullivan brings
attention to how contemporary manhood is a crisis and cultural problem through King’s story.
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Works Cited
Sullivan, Kate. "Stephen King's Bookish Boys: (Re)imagining the Masculine."Michigan
Feminist Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.