“Night Shift” is a collection of horror stories written by Stephen King in 1978. This book became the first, which King wrote a foreword to, and it is necessary to mention that all the stories were aimed to get to know the depth of human patience. Mystical moments of the book were described with simplicity on the one hand and cynic horror description on the other hand. At first sight, it may seem that King is not interested in keeping the reader’s mental health in safety, as the descriptions are often too natural and frank as for the fiction.
Taking into account the language, which is used for the dialogues, and sometimes the author’s words, it is clearly understood that the book is written for those who would understand the delicate wordplays. Since King’s main characters usually use no literary language at all, it might seem impossible to find any official language in his stories, but it should be mentioned that even in spite of the unofficial language, the power of language is immense. When the official language loses its power and appears to be insufficient for the scenes, King retorts to slang, jargon, and other means to avoid literary canons. Using the special tone, he attracts concentration to language and acts as an intermediary, offering a network for different languages to interrelate (recreating the heteroglossic world and thus confirming that heteroglossia).
The voice that King’s narrators’ speak is empowered with the language that is highly spoken and easy to comprehend. As it has been stated, this language is full of extremely unofficial jargon and even cuts of informal culture â bits of rock lyrics, promotion of tinkles, and set phrases of exclusively TV origin. But it would be incorrect to suggest that this account is purely unsanctioned, missing any elevated language; it is in its place, first of all, a version of slang, an explanation that refracts it by means of literary lens: “The bulbs couldn’t banish the twelve-year darkness; it could only push it back a little and cast a sickly yellow glow over the whole mess” (Night Shift, 39).
As for the matters of plot, it should be stated that the plots are extremely different. Actually, some general features may be observed, but the differences are obvious, and all the stories are unique. These similarities are some sceneries (but this similarity depends only on one reader’s imagination), the features of the character of the characters (villains), and surely the moral sufferings of the victims.
Taking into account the numerous means, which King uses to create the atmosphere of mystery and horror, it is impossible to enlist them all. These are both literary and psychological means, and it is necessary to mention that all the means are totally unconventional, as King always aimed to evade the conservative literary traditions and overcome the borders of any format.
Conclusion
Stephen King is regarded to be the most outstanding author of the horror genre. In his novels and stories, he retorts to unconventional means to keep the atmosphere of mystery and simultaneously alive plot.
References
King, S. Night Shift. Signet publishing (1979).