Through the usage of bitter diction, metaphor, and tender diction, King illustrates a gender dynamic granting men control in which Jack struggles to conform and Wendy is successful in following. By using resentful language, King indicates that as Jack deals with control, he tries but fails to obtain control. While speaking to Al on the phone, Jack thinks, but does not voice, “First Ullman, then Wendy, now Al. What was this? National Let’s Pick Jack Torrance Apart Week?” (275). Feeling hostile, Jack bitterly thinks to himself that everyone around him is “picking him apart,” a resentful way to mean criticizing him. As a stereotypical male, Jack is supposed to be regarded with authority, not belittled like he currently is. His inner resentment …show more content…
Furthermore, King reinforces Jack’s struggle with control through metaphorical representation of Jack handling his anger. While heatedly speaking with Al, Jack “tried desperately to think of Danny and Wendy...He told himself he would...beg Al...but still the words struggled to pour out, and the hand holding the hot wires of his rage felt greased” (276). The “hot wires” representing Jack’s anger being “greased” demonstrate that Jack’s hold of his rage is slippery and wavering, indicating that he lacks control of his temper. He desperately tries to place his family first but he struggles to do so, highlighting his little control. Men in this time were expected to maintain their composure and control themselves, though Jack’s crumbling power over himself shows that he is unable to fulfill basic expectations of a male: being in control. In opposition to Jack’s battle with power, King uses warm, maternal diction to illustrate Wendy’s success in dealing with control as a woman was expected to. When Danny admits that he would rather stay with his father than his grandmother, Wendy addresses her son as “honey,” before “softly” saying to him, “All right, that’s what we’ll do...We’ll