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BOULDER LITERATURE – SKIP TO A PAGE
ANGELL, PEARL & LITTLE GOD ⎔ BEACH GIRLS ⎔ BOO ⎔ CAESAR ⎔ CHINA FLIGHT ⎔ CHRISTMAS BOOKS ⎔ DEATH DEALERS ⎔ DENVER POST ⎔ DR. NYET ⎔ EUROPE ⎔ FOURTH GHOST BOOK ⎔ GINGERBREAD MAN ⎔ GOLF LIKE THE GREATS ⎔ GOOD NEWS BIBLE ⎔ HOLDING ON ⎔ IN THIS HOUSE OF BREDE ⎔ KING OIL ⎔ MANIPULATOR ⎔ MY NAME IS ASHER LEV ⎔ NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS (RED & BLUE) ⎔ NO END TO THE WAY ⎔ ORANGE WEDNESDAY ⎔ PEANUTS ⎔ SQUARESVILLE ⎔ TEENY WEENY ADVENTURES ⎔ TIGER OF THE SNOWS ⎔ TOWER ⎔ TRAPEZE ⎔ WISH CHILD ⎔ YOUNG JETHRO ⎔ UNIDENTIFIED
The gingerbread man story dates back at least to 1875 (the art of making gingerbread men goes back another 300 years), and involves a gingerbread man/boy coming to life and running from the old woman who made him and her elderly husband. As they give chase, the sweet child runs away from all manner of pursuers until finally a fox gobbles him after offering a ferry ride across a river. So, it’s probably a thinly-veiled metaphor/warning for children who want to run away from their creators. What’s interesting is that Candy Land (the specific version of the story that The Shining is invoking) inverts this somewhat. Two human children, a boy and girl, are tasked with running toward the gingerbread man/boy, who has his own house now. If that was Kubrick’s way of suggesting Danny wouldn’t have to “run, run, run” as fast as he could, if he just stayed in Boulder, he certainly hammered the point home by hanging two paintings foxes outside the 237 bathroom.
Also, the original purpose of gingerbread figures was to appear in the likeness of important guests at Queen Elizabeth’s court. Outside room 237, possibly right through the wall from one of the fox paintings, is a drawing referencing King William IV. And the film does reference such folks when Wendy says “Royalty?” and Ullman replies, “All the best people.” Right after he says that we hard cut to Danny throwing darts in the games room. So maybe all these clues are meant to help us understand that Danny is gingerbread-man-esque.
It is, after all, standing outside a similarly placed bathroom in a similarly shaped suite that Jack pretends that Danny and Wendy are edible.
Next literary reference: The Door
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OTHER MAIN PAGES FOR SHINING ANALYSIS
THE MIRRORFORM ⎔ THE BEATLES ⎔ THE RUM AND THE RED
BACKGROUND ART ⎔ OVERLOOK PHOTOGRAPHS ⎔ GOLDEN SPIRALS
PHI GRIDS ⎔ PATTERNS ⎔ VIOLENCE AND INDIGENA ⎔ ABSURDITIES
THE STORY ROOM ⎔ ANIMAL SYMBOLS ⎔ THE ANNOTATED SHINING
EYE SCREAM 