The extract under the title “The Eyes of the Dragon” was written by one of the outstanding American writers in the modern literature – Stephen King, known for his huge contribution in horror fiction, compared with such names as Balzac and Dickens.

The extract under the study begins with the description of a young boy called Peter destined to be a king. It comes as no surprise he had a great number of servants to take care of him, but the most tender and vigilant of all was surely his mother – Sasha. She took it for granted to bring up her child in a manner worthy for kings only. Naturally she used all her talent, all her love and all her wit to raise the heir as well-bred and smart as possible. She was the only perfect teacher for him. To the boy’s mischief she died when he was only five and couldn’t realize everything properly, but those lessons she gave him stayed in his heart for ever.

They say “the child’s soul is blank as a white sheet of paper, what you write there will be kept till the end.” I guess this statement suits the text precisely and comes as the controlling idea of the whole narration.

Indeed, who knows better teacher and mentor for a child than its mother? Who knows all the specks and all the sores on a young body better than the woman who gave birth to the infant? No human creature. Small wonder that mothers love their children with all their heart, no matter what kind of child it is. The child is their flesh and blood, that’s the only sufficient reason.

So, the semantic arrangement of the text helps to bring the message out, which notes that we should never forget the people involved in our birth, having given us all warm feelings and letting us live. It notes we should treat them with profound respect and show unconditional obedience, be eternally thankful for all they do for us. Such a usual but extremely important moral among the lines of the author appears to be quite urgent and necessary nowadays.

Sasha’s every word and deed brings out the character's essential nature. Even reading the hero’s first recollections of his mother we start admiring her: “her remembered her dearly… he thought her sweet, tender, loving, full of mercy”. Everything proves she was so: “She wanted him to show up well, and to be mannerly.” Though many of the events and descriptions in the extract are seen through the main character's eyes, it is obvious she thought of him more than of herself.

The fact that Stephen King dedicated almost the whole passage to her wishes and responsibilities is the true evidence of his respect to the character as well: “…above all else, Sasha wanted him to be good. A good boy, she thought, would be a good King.” That’s why perhaps the author didn’t deprive her of wit: “…by the time the things degenerated to the food-throwing stage, she and Peter would long since have retired.” She first complimented him lovingly on his behaviour and then corrected where he went wrong.

To crown it all, she is the exact character worthy of the author's positive estimate. She enjoys all the sympathy of the readers and the author