Friday, February 17, 2012
Tony
As I have no real prior knowledge of the Shining and am only on Chapter 24, I would like to talk about Tony. Tony, who seems to be some sort of ghost, or imaginary friend of Danny's comes and visits him from time to time. In Chapter 23 Danny confesses to his mother that he has "The Shining", the ability to read people's minds. His mother asks him, then, to ask Tony to tell them if they're safe at The Overlook. He responds on the verge of tears, saying that Tony didn't come that morning when Danny had asked. Is Tony not "allowed" in the Overlook because of the spirits? What do you guys think?
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Tony is weird, and I'm not sure that we're supposed to understand him, but to me it seems like he's danny's way of coping with something he can't understand like the shining.
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying that he turns to Tony for explanations of the paranormal?
DeleteI agree with Sam. Tony is simply Danny's way of dealing with the unexplainable, which is his ability to "shine". I don't necessarily believe Tony is not allowed in the hotel. Tony often appears during Danny's visions. Danny already knows that they are not safe in the hotel, because of past visions. Thus, when his Mother asked Danny to ask Tony if they were safe, nothing happened, because Tony is a product of Danny's subconscious, and there was no need for a "vision" at that time.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Sam's opinion of Tony. However after reading as much as we have as a group and after understanding a little bit more about the supernatural occurances at the overlook, I do believe that there is a force that may have the ability to keep Tony staying clear of the overlook. Also, Donovan made a good point saying that Tony's appearances are usually based on timing. The connections between the overlook and the book's characters are weird anyways, but we have yet to see if Tony has a positive or negative relationship with the hotel.
ReplyDeleteTony, as a storytelling device, is very compelling and can make the reader pretty puzzled as to what he is, his purpose, and what Danny ultimately thinks about Tony. I think that on first glance, it is fairly easy to attribute Tony's existence in Danny as simply a way of coping with and understanding something rather complicated for a young child. I'm not sure I would be able to understand fully the mechanism or meaning behind telepathic visions and supernatural control of my thought. However, I think Tony is best left a mystery unsolved until later points in the novel, as I'm quite sure more will be revealed.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed by the level of this discussion!
ReplyDelete