Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
The connection between the works of horror writers Richard Matheson and Stephen King. Matheson's novel 'I Am Legend' inspired King's 'Cell' in various ways, from themes and character development to narrative style. The document also discusses how Matheson's ideas for vampires and zombies influenced each author's portrayal of these creatures.
Typology: Study notes
1 / 48
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature
Stephen King is known for being one of the most prolific writers of the present day. He has published a great number of novels, short stories, and even few screenplays. His career seems to be very much similar to the one of Richard Matheson. He was also a writer, and wrote both – books and screenplays. Matheson was born earlier than King, and it seems that it was predestined for him to be King’s inspiration. They both said that their ideas for books come from everyday situations.
who was talking on her cell phone, and King asked the magical question –
phone that she couldn’t resist, and she had to kill people until somebody killed her?” (Simpson 133). Similarly, Richard Matheson asked the same question, when he got the
It took many years before Matheson turned the idea into a book, but when it happened, it was a pivotal moment for the horror genre and literature in general. When Richard Matheson died in 2013, Stephen King wrote on his
Firstly, the thesis focuses on the lives of the two authors, trying to find any connections or similarities that could be clues to their intertwining. The first chapter also offers few of the King’s insights on Matheson’s writing, which will be useful later in the thesis. Secondly, the thesis examines the concept of the monsters occurring in both books, the vampires and zombies, respectively. At first, the conventional – or mainstream – perception of both types of the creatures is evaluated, and then it is compared to the particular type of the monster in each book. That is, the conventional vampires are compared to Matheson’s vampires, and conventional zombies are compared to King’s zombies. Also, I will try to explain the reasons for any similarities between King’s zombies and Matheson’s vampires that do not correspond to the usual perception. In third chapter I will focus on the main characters from both books. I will try to examine their motivation and what social aspects effected their behaviour and therefore their success or failure at the end of the book. The last chapter will deal with the different narrative approaches used by both authors.
1 .1. Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson was born on 20 February 1926 in Allendale, New Jersey. He was one of the most influential writers and screenwriters of the middle of the 20th^ century. As Stephen King says about him in the “Afterword”
die. In the early 1950s, when (... ) the [horror] genre was languishing in the horse attitudes, Richard Matheson came like a bolt of pure ozone lightning” (161). In an interview with the Archive of American Television, Matheson says that as a young child, he enjoyed drawing small cartoon stories. He was taught by his mother how to play the piano and when he was older, he started to write his own music. He was also “an avid reader” and his mother took him to the library very often. His talent of storytelling became evident very soon, because
Although Matheson’s name does not have that famous, recognizable “ring” as Stephen King’s name for many people, his work is firmly embedded into the American literary and television culture. He not only inspired many of the
Cameron Diaz, based on his short story “Button, Button”, originally published in
says, it constantly rained and it was cold. After he returned, and got his degree in journalism, he moved to the warm California (TVLEGENDS 13:23). He then started to work on his writing career, while also having a job at the Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica. His stories were published
transfer his writing from a hobby to a career. It was so popular, that it was
was the one who adapted the script for the movie. After this huge success, he wrote many more novels and even more short stories, many of which were adapted to a movie. It is undeniable that his legacy is omnipresent in this industry, even though not always visible. 1 .2. Stephen King Stephen Edwin King was born on 21 September 1947 in Portland, Maine. He is one of the most famous contemporary writers, and who is also commercially successful. He was the second son of his parents, his older brother David was adopted. The father left the family when Stephen was only 2 years old. Their mother dedicated her life to her children, making sure “that they never went to bed hungry” (Simpson 5). This is similar to what happened to Matheson, as his family was also left by his father at a very young age. This might suggest, that
the fact that they were both heavily influenced and encouraged by their mothers also influenced their way they took in life. When both writers were young, women were usually the gentle and delicate ones. This might strengthen both writer’s creativity and artistic skills in general, because those were the skills usually associated with women, after all.
his earliest memory comes from the age of around 3, and it is about him imagining to be someone else (4-5). This suggests, that ever since he was a child, he was a very creative individual with strong imaginative abilities. These abilities were later boosted even more; during the year, which should have been King’s first grade at school, he suffered from a lengthy series of illnesses and subsequently missed most of the school because of that. As he describes himself: “Most of that year I spent either in bed or house-bound. I read my way through approximately six tons of comic books. (... ) At some point I began
Nevertheless, thanks to his mother, King was encouraged to invent his own
King often drew the inspiration from the everyday life. His family moved a lot when he was younger, and when they lived in Connecticut, his brother and he discovered “a huge tangled wilderness area with a junkyard on the far side
In this chapter, I want to research the standard concept of vampires and zombies. Both creatures are deeply rooted in contemporary culture, and one might say that they are not much different from each other. However, there are few distinctive elements that are connected only with one or the other, and I would like to highlight those. Then, in each of the subchapters, I will examine the concrete type of monster from the description given in the respective book, and compare the author’s approach to the standardized one. 2.1. Vampiric Stereotypes Vampires have become very popular both in literature and television. The full definition of a “vampire” as listed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “the reanimated body of a dead person believed to come from the grave at night and suck the blood of persons asleep.” The Vampires were always associated with the horror and gothic genres, but its popularity has been growing in the last years. From the first “proper” vampire, Count Dracula in the novel of the same name by Bram Stoker (1897), it has changed so much in some cases, that Mr. Stoker might be appalled. As a matter of fact, its popularity has grown so immensely, that the poor creature can be found as a transformed form of a
series. Some might even argue if those “monsters” are still worthy of calling themselves vampires. Therefore, it is sometimes hard to categorize such a popular monster, because the more writers have borrowed its concept into their
(ability to create and control fire), and almost all vampires are described as very smart or cunning. He can see very well in the dark, which is very useful, because “[h]is power ceases, as does that of all evil things, at the coming of the day”. Which brings this small list to the disadvantages of being a vampire. His movement capabilities are quite limited, because he cannot enter any household unless someone who is in charge in the household invites him in. However, he can – and would - trick people into inviting him, because after the invitation is uttered, the vampire can come and go as he pleases. He can change into animals only when he is in his place of rest, otherwise “he can only change himself at noon or at exact sunrise or sunset.” Some vampires can find ways of protecting themselves against the sunlight, for example wear protective
precisely at noon. A vampire has also a problem with running water, which he can cross only when the water is in a slack state. And of course, probably the most famous weaknesses of all, the garlic makes his powers disappear. Because the vampire is a creature of the night, and thus a creature of evil, sacred objects affect him as well. The degree of influence of such things again depends on the writer’s consideration, Bram Stoker decided, that crucifix does not deprive the vampire of his powers, but does not allow him to approach the possessor. The ways of killing a vampire irretrievably are not many. The first is to run a stake through him, the second is to cut off his head, third is to drown the vampire, the next is to set him on fire (which probably will not be possible if the
vampire masters pyrokinesis), and the last is to shoot him with a silver bullet. Any contact with silver usually causes the vampire’s skin to burn. There are many other attributes connected with vampires, but they are usually described differently by various authors and therefore they will not be mentioned in this thesis. 2.2. The Zombie Evolution There are two, even though very similar, definitions of a “zombie” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “a dead person who is able to move because of magic according to some religions and in stories, movies, etc.” and “a will-less and speechless human in the West Indies capable only of automatic movement who is held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated”. These definitions suggest, that zombie does not possess a will of its own, but usually acts on the commands of its master. Up to this point all definitions and portrayals are mostly in agreement, but the creation of a zombie is where
Voodoo rituals: “Originating in West Africa as the worship of the python deity, Voodoo was brought to Haiti and the southern United States, particularly the New Orleans area” (6) The theory is, that the master – a witch or a sorcerer, usually – performs an act of necromancy, and revives a dead body. The dead body, or a zombie, then serves its master as a slave, who does not have any will of its own. Furthermore, it seems that there is more than one type of zombie, “the undead and those who died of violence” and the third type, a
Many books have been written and movies filmed in the nature of the zombie genre. The plot is usually quite simple – one person or a group of people find themselves in a strange situation or place – for instance, in a dark cellar or a cemetery at night. They are then attacked by monsters, who kill some of the people. Then the people suffer from a shock and disbelief – monsters are not real, are they? When they reconcile themselves with the fact that zombies are real, there are two options of how the story can continue. The first ending is a happy one – people find ways to fight zombies, kill every single one of them and survive. The second is also a happy one, for the zombies – they manage to wipe out all the people and declare the rule over the whole world. Especially popular has become the theory of zombies being not just dead reanimated bodies, but infected living people. The perfect example of this is the
It is an apocalyptic film about zombie infection that outbreaks around the world. Zombies can infect anyone by biting them. The infected person becomes one of them within seconds. The person does not have to be dead prior to becoming a zombie, as was the tradition before. Because it is caused by an infection, it might be curable and the main characters try to fight it, which they succeed in the end. As was said, zombies have become really popular, not only in film or
dancing zombies and the zombie dance is now deeply rooted in the Western cultures. Apart from this, many people are very fond of zombies and they
participate in an organized gatherings known as “Zombie walks”, where they dress up in zombie costumes and make-up. 2. 3. Vampires as Portrayed by Matheson In this subchapter I am going to describe the vampires that appear in
vampires described in subchapter 2.1. Matheson calls the creatures in his novel vampires (pp. 6) and therefore, even if they have features usually connected to other type of monsters, the examination’s approach will not change. The first feature that is mentioned in the novel is that Robert Neville, the main character, has to be in his house by nightfall, which is the “time of their arrival” (Matheson 1). This suggests that the novel will follow the classical vampire as the reader is already familiar with. The vampires would be away during the day and come out during the night. Neville would put a mirror on the front door, however, this item is not very helpful. Vampires in this book are also very clever, just as their Gothic ancestors. They throw rocks at the house until the mirror breaks down. What Neville finds more useful than mirrors, is garlic: “Garlic always worked” (Matheson 2). Neville lists basic knowledge of vampire’s weaknesses: “(... ) their staying inside, their avoidance of garlic, their death by stake, their reputed fear of crosses, their supposed dread of mirrors” (Matheson 16), but immediately he clarifies the real weaknesses that he was able to confirm: According to legend, they were invisible in mirrors, but he knew that was untrue. As untrue as the belief that they transformed
