Doctor Sleep

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologues 1-3

Part 1, Chapters 1-3

Part 1, Chapters 4-6

Part 2, Chapters 7-9

Part 2, Chapters 10-12

Part 3, Chapters 13-17

Part 4, Chapter 18-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Themes

Addiction and Shame

As in many of Stephen King’s novels, alcohol use disorder plays a large role in Doctor Sleep. Much of the tension in The Shining resulted from Jack Torrance’s addiction to—and removal from—alcohol, a situation that was greatly exacerbated during the disastrous stay at the Overlook Hotel.

Even though Danny promised himself that he would never be like his father, as an adult, he has an alcohol addiction as well. While he does not become abusive—although he is shown early on in the aftermath of a bar fight—Dan uses alcohol for at least two reasons. He has alcohol use disorder, but he is also dependent on alcohol to subdue the effects of his shining. If Dan drinks, he has fewer visions, and the ones he does have are less potent and draining. When Dan decides to go into recovery, he faces the fear of losing the shield that the substance provides.

Even the shield is illusory and ineffective against the worst of Dan’s troubles. Dan does not receive any benefit from drinking, other than the temporary blurring of his nightmares. Alcohol addiction costs him steady employment, his self-respect, the chance at a healthy relationship, and more. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that ensures that he continues to commit shameful acts, which guarantees that he continues hating himself, making it more difficult to face his situation and move toward recovery.

Dan’s addiction to alcohol is what provokes him to take Deenie’s money, leaving Tommy behind to play alone in a house with access to cocaine. At his 15th anniversary with AA, Dan tells the story about Deenie and quotes the adage that “[w]e’re only as sick as our secrets” (515). Dan’s secrets are what cause both his isolation from people without the shining and the shame he feels at his actions.

Recovery from addiction, for Dan, Casey, the author Stephen King, and many others, requires support. In the case of Doctor Sleep, that support largely takes the form of AA. Casey describes relapse as something inevitable without help: “We all have a bottom. Someday you’re going to have to tell somebody about yours. If you don’t, somewhere along the line, you’re going to find yourself in a bar with a drink in your hand” (192).

Cycles of Violence

Dan had an abusive father with an alcohol addiction. Jack Torrance was the product, in large part, of abuse at the hands of his own father with an alcohol addiction. This generational damage follows Dan into his life as an adult.

In contrast, Dick Halloran was the victim of an abusive grandfather, but there is never any sign that he was a violent man. Dan, however, knows he has a temper, and he is never more likely to lose it than when he drinks. He knows he is capable of a rage that disturbs him at times. He asks himself in at least one moment of anger: “How much of his father’s son was he? In how many ways?” (193). He has to admit that he has an addiction to alcohol like his father. Also, like his father, Dan is squandering his potential and his life until he settles into his work at the hospice.

Dick Hallorann recognizes this, which is why he insists that Dan settle somewhere and face his demons. He wants Dan to break the cycle started by his father at the Overlook Hotel. Casey also wants Dan to break the cycle of alcoholism, which leads to self-loathing and violence. Dan does not want to pass on his damage to any child he might have. The return of the Overlook’s ghosts is a trigger that drives him towards the need to drink, which in turn, feeds other dark behaviors.

Dan steals from Deenie because his alcohol use exacerbates his anger and self-loathing—feelings that his father also experienced at the Overlook. Dan’s suffering occasionally veils him from the feelings of others, which is why he feels little hope at ever breaking the cycle if he must deal with the shining.

The True Knot represents the formal pursuit and agenda of a violent cycle. They are unapologetic in their desires and their own addictions. Without their dependence on steam and violence, they would be forced to live normal lifespans, and be subject to the same weaknesses and indignities as typical mortals.

At the novel’s conclusion, Dan sees his father at the Roof O’ The World. They acknowledge each other and Dan is able to forgive him. It is unclear whether the reader should expect this reconciliation to sustain Dan throughout his life, but he knows that Jack may have found a chance at peace. This implies an optimism for Dan’s future, particularly when combined with his future responsibility for Abra, who is susceptible to the same challenges. However, the concept of time and life as a wheel reminds him that negative cycles have as great a chance at repeating themselves as positive cycles. He must remain wary of the bad and relish the good cycles when they are present.

Mentorship

Early on, Dick tells Dan that a teacher appears when the pupil most needs their guidance. For much of the novel, and certainly in The Shining, the consequences of inadequate or negative mentorship are more concrete than the influence of a good mentor. Jack Torrance was never able to fulfill his role as Danny’s father, and there is no sign that his own father did better by him. Jack died when Dan was young, but not before modeling the most grotesque, violent behavior, including the attempted murder of Danny and his mother. Many of the mentors Dan encounters in Doctor Sleep serve as a composite of the father figure of which he was deprived.

Dan’s mother Wendy did the best she could, but the aftermath of The Shining left her damaged as well and she had no means of advising Danny about his special talents. Dick Halloran teaches Danny about the shining, helps him devise the lockboxes, and communicates to him through Eleanor about how to destroy the True Knot. Casey serves as a mentor for Dan as someone in recovery from alcohol addiction and provides specific support and behavior modeling as his AA sponsor. Casey is a useful mentor because he is also in recovery and has paid the consequences for his addiction.

However, Abra, as the youngest member of the group—as well as the strongest—requires the greatest need for a mentor. Her mother and father are caring, devoted, and dedicate themselves to her health and happiness, but they are not able to help her navigate her abilities. Dan steps into the role of Abra’s mentor in the use of the shining, but he is also aware that she will have to learn—and fail—at many lessons on her own.

When Dan shares his story about Deenie at his 15th AA anniversary, he models the behavior that those who desire sobriety could emulate. Many of the most important lessons that characters learn in Doctor Sleep are taught to them by other people.

In comparison, Rose is a leader and mentor of the True Knot, but she rules through fear as much as through love. She models a viciousness that holds longevity as a good in its own right, regardless of who must suffer for their ends.

At the novel’s conclusion, Dan visits with Abra, who is already experimenting with alcohol and who is already concerned about her temper. He listens to her, he gives counsel that is achievable but not easy, and most importantly, she knows that he will always be there to teach her anything he can, and to do anything she asks of him. Positive mentorship assumes a level of optimism for the future because it aims at the development of the next generations. In Doctor Sleep, mentoring is also an act of love. The characters would not go to such lengths to support and help each other if they did not love one another enough to improve their lives.