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Chapter 40
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Shining, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality
Precognition, Second Sight, and the Shining
Family
Isolation and Insanity
Alcoholism and Abuse
Time
Summary
Analysis
Danny wakes with a start from a dream. He dreamed that the Overlook exploded and was burning. The animal topiaries outside were charred and dead, and as Wendy and Danny watched the hotel burn, Jack ran out, his clothing and hair on fire. That was when Danny woke. Wendy is still sleeping, so he obviously didn’t scream. He feels as if some great disaster has narrowly been avoided, and he travels in his mind, looking for Jack in the hotel. Jack is in the lobby, thinking about the “Bad Thing.” As Danny listens in to his father’s thoughts, a loud and evil voice interrupts. “GET OUT OF HIS MIND, YOU LITTLE SHIT!”
Danny’s dream is perhaps another premonition of the future, especially considering that it lines up with Jack’s own vision of the boiler exploding.. Likewise, Danny feels like a disaster has been avoided because the boiler nearly exploded tonight. Again, the “Bad Thing” is alcohol, and Danny knows that Jack is thinking about drinking. Presumably, the voice that breaks into Danny’s head is the voice of the hotel itself. It tries to keep Danny away from Jack long enough for Jack to get drunk. If Danny goes to Jack before then, Danny might be able to talk him out of it, or cause Jack to reconsider based on his deep love for Danny.
Themes
Danny gets out of bed and goes out to the hallway. He rounds the corner and sees a dogman guarding the stairs to the lobby. The dogman is a human in some kind of mask, but he is vicious, and there is blood smeared all over his face. He growls at Danny, and Danny bravely demands to get by. The dogman threatens to eat Danny, and Danny loses his nerve and runs back to the short hallway where the resident quarters are. He can hear the dogman talking drunkenly, and when he looks back around the corner, the dogman is on all fours, growling.
The dogman seems to be trying to keep Danny away from Jack. Again, if Danny goes to Jack, it is highly likely Jack won’t go into the Colorado Lounge to drink. The hotel can’t possibly convince Jack to kill Danny if he is sober. The hotel’s entire plan hinges on Jack getting drunk, so the dogman blocks Danny’s path to Jack.
Themes
Danny runs back to his room, where Wendy is still asleep. The hotel doesn’t want him to go to Jack, but Danny knows that Jack will come to him, sooner or later. Danny begins to cry. They are all going to die, he thinks helplessly. He closes his eyes and tries to send another message to Hallorann, but he falls through the darkness and is chased by the figure with the roque mallet. Danny screams and forces himself back to reality. He climbs into bed with Wendy and cries. The hotel won’t let him call Hallorann either.
Danny knows that Jack will come to him sooner or later, in order to kill him. While Danny admits that Jack is going to kill them, he still doesn’t identify the figure with the mallet as Jack. On some level, Danny is still struggling to admit to himself that Jack would actually want to kill him, and he appears to have blocked this out, even though he knows deep down that it’s true.
Themes
