Ending of Mist
Harriet Bower
Does anyone think that there was any hope in Harford or any hope in getting
there for that matter? Are we supposed to surmise our own ending for the
Mist or are we supposed to have a clue of Stephen King's intended ending from
the words "hope" and "Hartford".
My sister and I listened to this on audio on a long trip and it drove her
crazy that there wasn't a concrete ending. I've read it a couple of time, too,
and I was hoping (I like some semblance of a happy ending where at least
someone I like escapes) that they would find hope in Hartford.
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this matter?
Thanks,
Harriet Bower
Fairmont, West Virginia
Jill Warren
Harriet Bower writes:
Well, I try to be optimistic about the endings of King stories, because
a few of them tend to end on a downbeat...
So, I was hoping, much like the protagonist, that the mist's boundaries
ended well before Hartford. I thought that the mist surrounding the town was
causing some interference with the incoming radio broadcasts.
You're right, though there *is* no concrete ending. When I come across
stories like that (which is quite often), I make up my own. But King did
give us a hint of optimism at the end, so maybe we're supposed to go from
there, much as the characters in the story did.
But I was mighty peeved (saddened?) about the fate of Stephanie (I think
that's her name--the narrator's wife). Worrying about her kept me up for two
nights.
BTW, I love that audio dramatization of "The Mist." I wish someone would do
a few more of the short stories that way. I think "Children of the Corn"
would have been better done in this format. There's a few King stories, that,
while I'm reading them, I actually *hear* as a radio drama. I don't know why,
but they just play themselves out this way. "The Ledge" is another one.
Jill
Lance
Harriet Bower <U5...@wvnvm.wvnet.edu> wrote:
>Does anyone think that there was any hope in Harford or any hope in getting
>there for that matter? Are we supposed to surmise our own ending for the
>Mist or are we supposed to have a clue of Stephen King's intended ending from
>the words "hope" and "Hartford".
>My sister and I listened to this on audio on a long trip and it drove her
>crazy that there wasn't a concrete ending. I've read it a couple of time, too,
>and I was hoping (I like some semblance of a happy ending where at least
>someone I like escapes) that they would find hope in Hartford.
>Does anyone else have any thoughts on this matter?
>Thanks,
>Harriet Bower
>Fairmont, West Virginia
I thought it was great that there was no formulaic ending to The Mist.
I would have been dissapointed if there had been. It was as unsettling
as the ending to Hitchcock's The Birds and for me it added to the
enjoyment of the story.
Hope he doesn't write a sequel to it.
Lance
bev vincent
Harriet Bower (U5...@wvnvm.wvnet.edu) wrote:
: Does anyone think that there was any hope in Harford or any hope in getting
: there for that matter? Are we supposed to surmise our own ending for the
: Mist or are we supposed to have a clue of Stephen King's intended ending from
: the words "hope" and "Hartford".
: My sister and I listened to this on audio on a long trip and it drove her
: crazy that there wasn't a concrete ending. I've read it a couple of time, too,
: and I was hoping (I like some semblance of a happy ending where at least
: someone I like escapes) that they would find hope in Hartford.
: Does anyone else have any thoughts on this matter?
Well, Hartford is in Conneticut, and we all know that Connecticut
is famous for having all of those insurance companies and after
your village has been invaded by giant mutatant insects, we all know
that people are going to be filing some pretty major damage claims,
not to mention all of those life insurance policies that are going
kick in when your family and friends have been gobbled up by
pterodactyls.
I guess I'd have hope that Hartford was still there to fill those
claims under those circumstances!!
--
Bev Vincent
Houston, TX
Jon R.
> Harriet Bower (U5...@wvnvm.wvnet.edu) wrote:
> : Does anyone think that there was any hope in Harford or any hope in getting
> : there for that matter? Are we supposed to surmise our own ending for the
> : Mist or are we supposed to have a clue of Stephen King's intended ending from
> : the words "hope" and "Hartford".
>
> : My sister and I listened to this on audio on a long trip and it drove her
> : crazy that there wasn't a concrete ending. I've read it a couple of time, too,
> : and I was hoping (I like some semblance of a happy ending where at least
> : someone I like escapes) that they would find hope in Hartford.
>
> : Does anyone else have any thoughts on this matter?
I quite like open endings. I know - scholars often do, most people don't.
As I'm rather prone to optimism, my usual guess is that things turn out
all right. If I'm in a bad mood, angry with the world and so on, I
really hope the giant spiders got the bastards. Thus the story can serve
two functions.
If you want proof that the world survived, I'm afraid you'll have to
find the missing link between The Mist and another of SK's books, where
it is clear that the world did not end. (No, I doubt that there is one.)
SK and others tend to destroy the earth (or at least the human race)
more often in short stories than in novels, don't they?
I guess Douglas Adams is the recordholder, as he destroys the earth on
page 8 or something like that of a much longer series.
Jon R.
Jim McLean
In <4mvh5o$f...@usenet.srv.cis.pitt.edu>, jaw...@vms.cis.pitt.edu
(Jill Warren) writes (edited):
>BTW, I love that audio dramatization of "The Mist." I wish someone would do
>a few more of the short stories that way. I think "Children of the Corn"
>would have been better done in this format. There's a few King stories, that,
>while I'm reading them, I actually *hear* as a radio drama. I don't know why,
>but they just play themselves out this way. "The Ledge" is another one.
"The Mist" is about my favorite King story, but I can't take the
dramatization seriously. In the style of '50s radio dramas, the
characters are always shouting out descriptions of things to each
other -- "My God, they're some kind of giant, glistening, albino
insects!"
Now "The Mist" is already kind of a cheezy story in terms of plot
(that's part of what I like about it), and so was probably the
right choice for a semi-tongue-in-cheek 3-D SOUND! demonstration,
but the dramatization focuses only on the monsters-from-another-
dimension aspect, and (due to the lack of a narrator or internal
dialogue) leaves out the heart-wrenching personal aspects of the
story.
Jim McLean | There is no Truth, there are no Facts, just data to be
| manipulated. I can get any result you want; how much is
| it worth to you?
Kinet Chi
In article <3197C2...@nor.uib.no>,
"Jon R." <Jon.R...@nor.uib.no> wrote:
:>SK and others tend to destroy the earth (or at least the human race)
:>more often in short stories than in novels, don't they?
:>I guess Douglas Adams is the recordholder, as he destroys the earth on
:>page 8 or something like that of a much longer series.
True, but then he "chickened out" and brought the whole slimy planet (people
and all) back in book five! :(
(back on topic)
I really think that humanity had breathed it's last at the end of "the
Mist". There were no signs of life to be found up to that point and nothing
that implied to me that things would change. My vision is that of the lone
wanderer traveling forever in his quest for humanity until the day when his
already rocked mind gives way to insanity.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Do not think then that by non-action thou dost follow the
Way of the Tao, for thy Nature is action, and by hindering
the Discharge of thy Potential thou dost perpetrate and
aggravate the Stress."
-- Aleister Crowley --
"The Book of Wisdom or Folly"
Jon Skeet
>SK and others tend to destroy the earth (or at least the human race)
>more often in short stories than in novels, don't they?
>I guess Douglas Adams is the recordholder, as he destroys the earth on
>page 8 or something like that of a much longer series.
... as well as destroying planets and civilisations in bizarre
ways... dogs eating races, planets getting potted in intergalactic
bar billiards, etc. Classic stuff.
Jon
KaylieWlkr
In article <4n7e72$2...@uuneo.neosoft.com>, brv@indigo (bev vincent)
writes:
>Harriet Bower (U5...@wvnvm.wvnet.edu) wrote:
[snip]
>: the words "hope" and "Hartford".
>
>: My sister and I listened to this on audio on a long trip and it drove
her
>: crazy that there wasn't a concrete ending. [snip]
>: they would find hope in Hartford.
>
>: Does anyone else have any thoughts on this matter?
>
>Well, Hartford is in Conneticut, and we all know that Connecticut
>is famous for having all of those insurance companies and after
>your village has been invaded by giant mutatant insects, we all know
>that people are going to be filing some pretty major damage claims,
>not to mention all of those life insurance policies that are going
>kick in when your family and friends have been gobbled up by
>pterodactyls.
>
>I guess I'd have hope that Hartford was still there to fill those
>claims under those circumstances!!
>
>Bev Vincent
>Houston, TX
LOL
Oh, please, Bev say your tongue was in your cheek when you typed that.
Please. :D
LOL
Kimberley
(the weird mood continues...)
Never regret what you do.
Never do what you'll regret.
KaylieWlkr
>: My sister and I listened to this on audio on a long trip and it drove
her
>: crazy that there wasn't a concrete ending.
For some reason I'm reminded of Vern and Teddy in "Stand By Me" insisting
that there was more to the Lardass Hogan story than the ending Gordy told.
"Well, maybe he went out and had a cheeseburger to celebrate." LOL
Kimberley
Dark Penguin
In article <4n7pup$d...@rtpnews.raleigh.ibm.com>,
mcl...@bcrvm1.vnet.ibm.com wrote:
>"The Mist" is about my favorite King story, but I can't take the
>dramatization seriously. In the style of '50s radio dramas, the
>characters are always shouting out descriptions of things to each
>other -- "My God, they're some kind of giant, glistening, albino
>insects!"
>
>Now "The Mist" is already kind of a cheezy story in terms of plot
>(that's part of what I like about it), and so was probably the
>right choice for a semi-tongue-in-cheek 3-D SOUND! demonstration,
>but the dramatization focuses only on the monsters-from-another-
>dimension aspect, and (due to the lack of a narrator or internal
>dialogue) leaves out the heart-wrenching personal aspects of the
>story.
I gotta agree with you. As much as I liked the 50's B-movie quality of
"The Mist", I think the real strengths of the story are its unspoken
moments and vivid characterizations. Mrs. Carmody just doesn't come off
as frightening and ominous as in the book, for instance. And there's no
way the dramatization can convey the pain of the moment when the narrator
has to give his wife up for dead -- and live with the fact of never
knowing if she was or was not alive.
I'm looking forward to the film version by Frank Darabont (Shawshank
Redemption). If anyone can do true justice to the story, I think he can.
Bryan Byun bb...@earthlink.net
______________________________________________________
I'm not claiming that I'm right and that everyone else is wrong. All I'm
saying is when the Angel of the Lord appeared to me and allowed me to
read certain key passages from The Book of Life, it gave me an
"overview" that others may not have. -- Michael O'Donoghue
bev vincent
KaylieWlkr (kayli...@aol.com) wrote:
: In article <4n7e72$2...@uuneo.neosoft.com>, brv@indigo (bev vincent)
: writes:
: >Harriet Bower (U5...@wvnvm.wvnet.edu) wrote:
: [snip]
: >: My sister and I listened to this on audio on a long trip and it drove her
: >: crazy that there wasn't a concrete ending. [snip]
: >: they would find hope in Hartford.
: >: Does anyone else have any thoughts on this matter?
: >
: >Well, Hartford is in Conneticut, and we all know that Connecticut
: >is famous for having all of those insurance companies and after
: >your village has been invaded by giant mutatant insects, we all know
: >that people are going to be filing some pretty major damage claims,
: >not to mention all of those life insurance policies that are going
: >kick in when your family and friends have been gobbled up by
: >pterodactyls.
: >
: >I guess I'd have hope that Hartford was still there to fill those
: >claims under those circumstances!!
: LOL
: Oh, please, Bev say your tongue was in your cheek when you typed that.
: Please. :D
: LOL
Firmly.