Indeed, King’s narrative, to be understood precisely, should be perceived as modern social satire, unearthing collective cultural anxieties and imaginations which are unconscious in everyday human existence. Hence, the terror of King’s narrative reflects the present difficulties of human social relationship.
In ‘The Shining’, the main characters are, by the same token, vivid. The father, Jack Torrance, is a writer who is impatient for the opportunity of peace and serenity to come for him to start all over again. He wasted his life by beating a student he saw gashing his tires. He is a man defenseless to his own surge of violence. On the other hand, the mother, Wendy Torrance, is a purely bighearted woman who hopes for a family that she could be proud of. She is constantly anxious, yet faithful to her husband. She is quite dull in comparison to other characters of King, but she plays a very important role in the story. Their son, Danny Torrance, is an extraordinary five-year-old boy who has the power of precognition and has invisible friends. Danny also blackouts frequently.
On the other hand, in the ‘Pet Sematary’, the characters are quite subtle compared to the characters of ‘The Shining.’ Dr. Louis Creed is a family man who is merely preoccupied with the busy highway that borders their new neighborhood in rural Maine. Unlike Jack Torrance, Dr. Louis has centered his life on his career and his family. he got everything figured out.