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alatar · 01-20-2009, 10:55 AM

King may have been trying to create a Gollum-like character when he penned 'The Trashcan Man.' This semi-sympathetic character has many traits of Smeagol:

is persistent beyond human ability,

is single-minded though very clever,

is disfigured,

wants to serve the Dark Man in order to be a part of something

gets betrayed

with some deus ex machina, ends up toppling the evil of the era

should have been named 'Bumpty-bumpty-bump' much for the same reason Smeagol is named Gollum

Some of the characters on the bad side are really mean sick sociopaths that you can't help but root against. Not Trash, however. He burns down a few cities by igniting large oil containers, but he never actually tries to hurt anyone (though surely some do get hurt). He has a Ring-like obsession with fire, and that's why he burns. The Dark Man promises to allow him to burn the world, and so Trash signs on..."My life for you!"

Reading about Trash's life, you realize that he's one messed up person, but it seems that he never had a choice. His father - insane - was shot by the sheriff who then marries his mother. The locals torment him endlessly. Trash gets sent off to a treatment center that uses electrical shocks to rehabilitate him. He eventually makes it back home and, not being able to control his desire for fire, ends up in jail, where he learns a little information that helps him later - like about morphine and antibiotics, which comes in helpful when he scalds his arm.

Most of his fires are a desire for vengeance, like the town he burns down where his dad-shooting stepfather lived. He also burned down a church, as he believes that God never responded to his prayers.

In regards to the book, I noticed a few other comparisons with the English LotR. One is that the American stand in is way too gritty. When you read LotR, you imagine (maybe) what may be going on in the pits of Mordor, but in The Stand, you get to read about the evils that men do - it's not a book for children or younger adults. The grit takes the fantasy part away. That and the mixing of Christian mythology and some history, which, when you start thinking about it, doesn't make much sense. Maybe that's the trouble with trying to write a LotR in the Primary World.

Oh, and one more thing: I remember some 'discussion' regarding Gimli sprinting across Rohan, and the problems with the same. Well, The Stand has that controversy as well, as the Trashcan Man, wanting to pass as quickly as possible through the state of Nebraska (the home of Mother Abigail), pedals a bicycle 400 miles in three days!

01-20-2009, 10:55 AM	#4
alatar Doubting Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Heaven's basement Posts: 2,466	King may have been trying to create a Gollum-like character when he penned 'The Trashcan Man.' This semi-sympathetic character has many traits of Smeagol: is persistent beyond human ability, is single-minded though very clever, is disfigured, wants to serve the Dark Man in order to be a part of something gets betrayed with some deus ex machina, ends up toppling the evil of the era should have been named 'Bumpty-bumpty-bump' much for the same reason Smeagol is named Gollum Some of the characters on the bad side are really mean sick sociopaths that you can't help but root against. Not Trash, however. He burns down a few cities by igniting large oil containers, but he never actually tries to hurt anyone (though surely some do get hurt). He has a Ring-like obsession with fire, and that's why he burns. The Dark Man promises to allow him to burn the world, and so Trash signs on..."My life for you!" Reading about Trash's life, you realize that he's one messed up person, but it seems that he never had a choice. His father - insane - was shot by the sheriff who then marries his mother. The locals torment him endlessly. Trash gets sent off to a treatment center that uses electrical shocks to rehabilitate him. He eventually makes it back home and, not being able to control his desire for fire, ends up in jail, where he learns a little information that helps him later - like about morphine and antibiotics, which comes in helpful when he scalds his arm. Most of his fires are a desire for vengeance, like the town he burns down where his dad-shooting stepfather lived. He also burned down a church, as he believes that God never responded to his prayers. In regards to the book, I noticed a few other comparisons with the English LotR. One is that the American stand in is way too gritty. When you read LotR, you imagine (maybe) what may be going on in the pits of Mordor, but in The Stand, you get to read about the evils that men do - it's not a book for children or younger adults. The grit takes the fantasy part away. That and the mixing of Christian mythology and some history, which, when you start thinking about it, doesn't make much sense. Maybe that's the trouble with trying to write a LotR in the Primary World. Oh, and one more thing: I remember some 'discussion' regarding Gimli sprinting across Rohan, and the problems with the same. Well, The Stand has that controversy as well, as the Trashcan Man, wanting to pass as quickly as possible through the state of Nebraska (the home of Mother Abigail), pedals a bicycle 400 miles in three days! __________________ There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it.