The Shining: Chapter 38 Summary & Analysis

Down in Florida, Hallorann has been smelling oranges for at least a half hour. But since Hallorann is at a fruit and vegetable stand, he doesn’t really think much of it. It is December first, at precisely 4:30 p.m., EST. Hallorann is at the stand buying fruits and vegetables for the resort at which he’s working. He didn’t have to come to the stand himself, he could have sent one of his helpers, but he wanted to get out. There was a lawyer in town and Hallorann wanted to get a will. He went to the lawyer before the fruit stand, and had him draw up a will. Hallorann only has his car and about $9,000 in the bank, but he wants it to go to his sister in the event of his death.

Hallorann isn’t sure why he chose today to get his will squared away. He has been putting it off for years, but at 60 years old, Hallorann has recently been feeling his mortality. He leaves the fruit stand after loading his fruits and vegetables into the car and speeds down the highway. The smell of oranges becomes stronger, and Hallorann worries the oranges he just bought might be going bad. Suddenly, Danny’s voice shoots through his head “with a .45 caliber scream.” Hallorann loses control of the car and narrowly misses an accident. He pulls into an A&W stand to catch his bearings and orders a root beer float.   

Sitting at the A&W stand, Hallorann thinks about Danny. There was obvious terror and panic in his voice. Hallorann looks at his arms. It is nearly 80 degrees, but he has goosebumps. He can’t believe he left Danny at the Overlook, shining like he does. Something bad was bound to happen, Hallorann thinks. As the server comes with Hallorann’s float, Hallorann is screeching out of the parking lot.

Hallorann tells his boss at the resort that his son has been shot and is in critical condition in Denver, Colorado, and he gives Hallorann three days off. As Hallorann is leaving the resort, he is struck again with the smell of oranges and Danny’s cries for help inside his head. Danny’s cries are so loud and powerful, Hallorann is thrown back against the side of the building, the will falling from his pocket. He picks up the envelope and suddenly realizes what it all means. He is having premonitions of his death. He wonders if he is really willing to die for three white people he doesn’t even know. But, Hallorann thinks, he knows Danny. Still, he wishes bitterly that this was all happening to someone else.

Hallorann goes home to pack and thinks about Delores Vickery, a former maid at the Overlook. She had an experience in the hotel and said something about it to the other maids and even the guests. When Ullman found out, he fired her. Delores came to Hallorann in tears one day, not because she was fired, but because she saw Mrs. Massey’s dead and bloated corpse in the bathtub of room 217. Impossible, Hallorann had said. Mrs. Massey’s body was already removed. He never really liked Delores. She was young, about 23, and she shined a bit, although she didn’t know it.

Delores was a “lazy goof-off,” and she spent all her time smoking and reading in the linen closet. Of course, when Ullman did his rounds, she was always working hard, her cigarettes and magazines safely hidden away. Delores was so terrified after seeing Mrs. Massey’s corpse that she cared very little when Ullman fired her.

Hallorann doesn’t know why Delores came crying to him when she saw Mrs. Massey’s corpse, other than that a shine always knows a shine. He decided to check out the room himself. When he went into 217 that night, he expected to see Mrs. Massey’s corpse in the tub. He’d had other experiences at the hotel, like a recurring dream about some kind of costume party and shouts to “unmask.” A few times, he saw the hedge dog move outside, and he even had a terrifying experience in which he became trapped in the attic. He knew the guests had experiences, too. They checked out abruptly for seemingly no reason, and many kids refused to go to the playground.

Since Hallorann expected to see Mrs. Massey’s corpse, he wasn’t completely terrified. He was scared all right, but terror didn’t come until Mrs. Massey smiled at him and began to chase him. Now, Danny is alone and shining in the hotel. Hallorann finishes packing and looks at his watch: 5:30 p.m. He grabs an overcoat from the closet and scans the room, wondering if he is forgetting anything. Yes, he says. He goes to his dresser and grabs the will.