"I'm your Number One Fan!
“ANNIE OH PLEASE PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!”(King 205). These words are screams of mercy coming from Paul Sheldon as he pleads to Annie as she is about to amputate his left leg out of anger. Losing a leg is the most damage Paul has endured.
This horrifying story begins with Paul Sheldon, an author well known for his bestselling series of historical romances. Paul’s plan is to drive to a small town in Colorado to deliver his final book. Unfortunately, he encounters a complicated problem. He swerves off to the side of the road during a blizzard. He’s unconscious. Eventually he wakes up in a strange secluded farmhouse and immediately feels unspeakable pain. Due to the car crash, he has a crushed knee and two shattered legs. Paul is in a decent, modern bedroom. Then a woman enters the room. She is big and middle-aged. She has dark, long hair. Her name is Annie. Annie introduces herself to Paul and tells him how she saved his life from his car accident and brought him to her house. She’s been giving him medications to ease the pain every hour. Annie also tells Paul that she is his number one fan.
Annie reads Paul’s final book. Paul thought she would be happy with it. Unfortunately, Annie doesn’t like his book at all because her favorite character, Misery, dies. Throughout the novel, Annie forces Paul to write another book. Annie is an evil person. She punches Paul’s knees, amputates his thumbs and leg, doesn’t give him pain medications, and even handcuffs him so he won’t go anywhere. Will Paul finish a book in time? Will Paul survive? Or will Annie go so far as to kill him and herself? This terrifying story has many strengths the reader will enjoy, one being character development. In fact, character development is used to give the reader an understanding of how dangerous Annie is. For example, Annie is shown as Paul’s number one fan. She reads all his books over and over. She knows all his characters and events that occur in Paul’s series, so when Annie’s favorite character, Misery
, dies, she is devastated. This event is significant because the moment Annie finds out her favorite character dies, she forces Paul to write a new story so that Annie’s favorite character lives. Paul has to come to an agreement with Annie in order to stay alive. This event is an example of excellent development of characters because Annie is shown as a short tempered, overactive woman. Therefore, Annie is dangerous.
Another example of character development is when describing Paul. The narration is set as third person limited, therefore, readers will see Paul’s thoughts and feelings. With the knowledge of Paul’s thoughts, readers will care for the well-being of Paul, hoping he’ll make smart decisions to stay alive. For example, a cop visits Annie’s house in search of Paul. Paul hasn’t seen a cop in months and thinks about whether to scream for help or not. What Annie might do if he does scream is unknown. This event is an example of excellent development in character because the reader learns how Paul thinks in dire situations. In conclusion, one of the strengths in Misery is character development because it builds fear from Annie and fear for Paul. Another strength this thrilling story has is imagery used to horrify the reader. For example, Annie is described as a dangerous person in a way when she held up a rat in front of Paul. She kills the rat and the novel describes how she does it slowly and painfully. This event is an excellent example of imagery because it describes how Annie kills the rat. This detail sends a message to the reader describing how dangerous and terrifying Annie is. In conclusion, imagery is a strength in Misery because of its use of horror. Audiences should waste their money on this terrific and terrifying story, Misery, because of how it grabs the reader and makes him continue reading to see what happens next. With the use of character development and imagery, Annie terrifies the reader by what she does to Paul. Also, the reader cares for the wellbeing of Paul because of what he thinks and does in order to stay alive. In conclusion, I recommend Misery because of its compelling story.
