Universität Augsburg
Lehrstuhl für Amerikanistik
Hauptseminar: „Recent American Fiction“
Dozent: Prof. Dr. Zapf
Referentinnen: Claudia Holzeder, Susanne Lettenmeier, Dan Li,
Andrea Weh, Verena Wiedenmann
SoSe 2005
07.06.2005
Stephen King: „One for the Road“
1. Biographical, cultural and literary profile
1.1 Biography
Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947. After his parents separated,
he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. He started writing at a very young age. He
graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the
high school level.
He and Tabitha Spruce married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher
immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and
savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967.
In the spring of 1973 he started writing as a full-time job.
Stephen King is a novelist, horror-, fantasy- and science fiction writer, a short story writer, scriptwriter and
film director.
1.2 Literal Profile
Influences
- horror stories from his father (H.P. Lovecraft) as well as radio horror shows and movies
- impressions from his youth, experiences as a blue collar worker
Style
- his ability to reconfigure old horror clichés into gripping, readable narratives; he uses strong,
memorable images
- he combines elements of psychological thrillers, science fiction, the paranormal and detective
themes into his stories
- he uses experiences and observations from his life, the stories are set in common everyday places,
he draws upon common fears
Themes
- the clash of reality and fantasy
- the question why there are horrible things – if there is a God
- the tremendous attraction that violence has on normally good natured people
2. The Gothic genre and typical elements in “One For The Road”
The Gothic genre was launched in England in the 18th century. The first significant Gothic novel was The
Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. Gothic fiction contains supernatural and terrifying elements to make
the reader feel fascinated and scared. Popular Gothic novels are Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram
Stoker’s Dracula. A lot of authors such as Edgar Allan Poe used Gothic elements. Today, Gothic forms can
often be found in literature, movies and video games under the labels “Horror” and “Science Fiction”.
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Examples of Gothic elements in “One For The Road”:
1) Darkness: The story plays at night; dark is equated with beauty
2) Vampires: A vampire can be considered as a sexual image between life and death, human and
animal that turns from sweetness to cruelty
3) Horror: Horror is evoked by the snowstorm, the dark setting and the vampires
4) Madness: Lumley thinks the two old men are “loonies”
5) Nightmares: At the time Booth tells the story, he still has bad dreams about the little girl
6) Death: Lumley fears that his family freezes to death; the words “dead” and “death” appear at various
points in the story
3. Textual Analysis
3.1 Plot
The last drink (one for the road) turns out to be a drink necessary to cope with a scary adventure. The
“road” is not the direct way home, but leads the main characters to Jerusalem’s Lot, a remote ghostly village.
 a typical short story plot
-
-
-
exposition (297): end of a winter evening at Tookey’s Bar, it’s a rough winter’s night and Tookey and
Booth have a last drink the very first sentence already hints towards the development of the
story, but can easily be “forgotten” over the following paragraph
conflict introduced (297): a stranger staggers in, snowed in and near to death
rising action (297- 311): the stranger, Mr Lumley, tells them that he got stuck with his car in a snow
drift and that he had to leave his wife and his daughter behind. When the name of Jerusalem’s Lot
comes up Tookey and Booth are really shocked but finally they agree to help him. After a difficult ride,
they find Lumley’s car empty. The traces in the snow lead Lumley into the arms of his wife who had
turned into a vampire. Tookey and Booth flee.
climax/ turning point (311): the little girl appears and is about to kill Booth, when Tookey kills her by
throwing his mother’s Bible.
falling action (311/312): Booth realizes that his friend had saved his life.
denoeuement (312): After a few years time he contemplates the whole story.
 three insertions
* (299) the narrator describes the bar and talks about his and Tookey’s “
passed away” wives, this description functions as a characterization and provides background
information
* (302-303) the story of the Lot is told and exemplified: Richie Messina never turned up again after
going to the Lot by night; here the explanation for the men’s fear and the fateful meaning of the Lot is
given
* (304) the whole story takes place during a “Maine blizzard”, this paragraph sets the scene and
makes the plot possible
3.2 Writing Style
in general:
- deal with not only supernatural but also realistic horror
- full of imagination
- some sort of relationship between different works
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-
principle of “ good stories come from free writing”
especially significant for the story:
- folksy, informal narration, incl. vulgar language
- visual perspective and large room of suspense
- life experiences make the works true to life
- use of vivid details
- use of metaphors
3.3 Time
-
the concrete time of the story: winter; the 10th of January; quarter past ten and later that night
the way of story-telling: the narrator tells the story as a memory in a simple straightforward way according
to just the same order how the incident happened
the tempos in contrast: comparing with Lumley in a hurry, the two old men took much time to think and
hesitate.( foreshadows the doomed result)
3.4 Space
-
the two main settings of the story: indoors (in Tookey’s Bar) - outdoors (towards ‘Salem’ Lot, south part of
Falmouth, Maine)
the opposite elements of the two settings: indoors - outdoors, warmth - coldness, safety - danger,
people/voice - no one, light/fire - darkness, life - death
3.5 Narrator
1st person narrator (beginning?! - first appears in line 9), rather reliable, also addresses the reader directly
3.6 Characters
Booth:
o Over 70 years old, grown up in Maine; he’s a widower, rather shy, congregational raised but
nevertheless superstitious
o Relationship with Tookey: old friends, he asks Tookey for directions, Tookey gives him confidence, he
relies on him and he is finally saved by him
o Relationship with Lumley: thinks that Lumley is a typical stupid city fellow, he looks down on him, but
still he pities him
o Booth and the story: he’s the narrator, he is deeply involved in the story and even afterwards he is
affected by it (nightmares)
Herb Tooklander: “Tookey”
o 66 years old; owner of Tookey’s Bar
o Like Booth very religious but on the other hand superstitious
o Country gentleman: offers his assistance to rescue the woman and the child, although he knows that
it’s probably too late; calm, courageous person
o Relationship with Booth: he is the one who gives the orders and makes the important decisions
o Dies two years after the incidents in Jerusalem’s Lot
Gerard Lumley
o Traveller from New Jersey
o Wealthy city fellow, who doesn’t know how to behave in a Maine winter night
o Very upset and hysterical when he realizes that his wife and little daughter have disappeared
o Considers Booth and Tookey as fools, doesn’t believe in the existence of vampires
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Janey Lumley
o Gerard’s wife; typical city woman, beautiful and exotic appearance
o Has already become a vampire
Francie Lumley
o The Lumleys’ 7-year-old daughter
o Has also become a vampire
Richie Messina
o Loudmouthed truck driver
o Doesn’t believe in the existence of vampires; wants to prove that people have just invented these
spook stories by spending a night in Jerusalem’s Lot
o Never seen again
3.7 Symbols
one for the road > this “last drink”, which normally marks the end of an evening, turns out to be the
beginning of a nocturnal adventure; it is a means for resuscitation (Lumley) and for giving strength
and courage (Booth, Tookey)
- Douay Bible, crucifix > these religious tokens stand for the superstition which reigns among the
locals
- sugar, horse, baby > stand for Lumley, who is fragile, fierce and on the same time dependant on
Booth and Tookey
- red eyes/ the Lot > concrete representation of the concept of evil
- the empty car/ the girl’s coat > the vestige of the horrible things that have taken place
-
3.8 Themes
Maine – New Jersey: Both Tookey/Booth and Lumley despise each other’s origins and have different ways of
approaching a problem. Still they have to cooperate in finding Janey and Francie.
Belief in God – Belief in supernatural phenomenons: People in Maine wear religious signs to protect
themselves from vampires. By throwing a Bible at the little vampire girl, Tookey saves his friend from her.
Old age/Death – Eternity: Tookey is already dead and Booth expects to die soon as well. In contrast to that,
the vampires live on until eternity.
4. Topics for a discussion
Why does Booth tell the story? Why did he keep this secret for such a long time?
Literature:
Collings, Michael R. The Shorter Works of Stephen King. San Bernardino, Cal.: Borgo Press, 1985.
King, Stephen. Das Leben und das Schreiben. München: Heyne-Verlag, 2002.
Mulvey-Roberts, Marie, ed. The Handbook of Gothic Literature. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
Russell, Sharon A. Revisiting Stephen King. Westport, Conn. [u.a.]: Greenwood Press, 2002.
http://www.stephenking.com (02.06.2005)
http://www.planetpapers.com /Assets/3616.php (02.06.2005)
http://www.essays.coo/free-essays/c5/ena195.shtml (02.06.2005)
http://www.wwnorton.com/nael/romantic/topic_2/welcome.htm (03.06.2005)
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