Suffer The Little Children (Stephen King) - Literary Analysis Coursework

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Suffer The Little Children – Literary Analysis

The simplistic opening in Suffer the Little Children gives the reader a good idea of the main character in one sentence. “Miss Sidley was her name, and teaching was her game.” Giving descriptions of the silent children provides more information; this teacher could be different to all the others. This is reinforced with, ‘Like God, she seemed to know everything at once.’ The omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent qualities she has overpower her physical frailties. This religious element of the story is now also understandable. In the Book of Daniel, Chapter 6, Jesus said “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven”. This religious connotation further keeps the story grounded in reality while, at the same time, moving it on to a different plane of perception. As ‘she could turn her back on her pupils with confidence’ we can see that fear is her success. ‘Her firm, no nonsense script’ shows that even her handwriting reflects her attitude and concrete persona.

There is a sense of part narration, as it is all from her perspective. She sees Robert wrinkle his nose in the reflection of her thick glasses, this innocuous action prompts a violent response ‘Robert would hang himself if given just a little more rope.’ After completing a sentence, he smiles a sinister ‘side-of-the-mouth’ smile, which is something that a normal child would fail to do. She then checks her glasses for any sign of a retort, ‘all but the barest corner of her eye on the word she was writing.’ It is then that Robert “changes,” the use of ellipsis allows the reader to imagine what had happened. The reader automatically searches for a reason for this sudden change, and thanks to hints from King, arrives at the conclusion that Miss Sidley is becoming senile. However, the story is not about insanity; instead, it is about the thin line between reality and fiction. King adds a different take on the theme, by suggesting that the story could be a product of Miss Sidley’s imagination, or a result of her senility; the reader is left to choose.

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Before she goes to bed, Miss Sidley switches on another light; trying to use light to banish the constricting darkness.

Imagery is very much a large part of the narrative features used in ‘Suffer the little Children.’ Robert’s eyes are described as being like ‘the mud at the bottom of a slow running stream’ suggesting a danger of drowning, that there could be hidden danger in the depths. The children seem to have been underestimated by the narrator. The look that Robert gave her wouldn’t leave her mind, stuck there like ‘a tiny string of roast beef between two ...

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