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English III – American Literature
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Independent Reading Assignment:
Sample
Donald Duck
Mr. Teacher
English III
00 October 2013
Independent Reading Assignment
Title
Joyland
Author
Stephen King
Setting
Most of the
story takes place in a small North Carolina town called Heaven’s Bay;
specifically at an amusement park called Joyland. The
story is set in the early 1970’s.
Characters
Devin
Jones – Main character and narrator. Devin is a college
student who travels to North Carolina to work at Joyland
for the summer. Dynamic
Annie
Ross
– Single mother of Mike; estranged from her father, who is a famous
televangelist. Annie saves Devin in multiple ways. Dynamic
Mike
Ross
– Son of Annie; suffers from a form or muscular dystrophy (terminal). Mike has
“the sight” and can view glimpses of the future and from people’s minds.
Dynamic
Tom
Kennedy – Devin’s friend who he meets and works with at Joyland; becomes Erin’s boyfriend. He’s the only character
to “see” the ghost of Linda Gray. Dynamic
Erin
Cook
– Devin’s friend who he meets and works with at Joyland;
becomes Tom’s girlfriend. She assists Devin in his research into the killer of
Linda Gray. Dynamic
Lane
Hardy – Carny at Joyland;
operates the Carolina Spin. He teaches Devin “the talk”. He later is revealed
to be the killer. Dynamic
Linda
Gray
– Murdered Joyland patron; focus of the story as the Joyland ghost.
Conflict
Primary conflict – Devin struggling
to find the killer of Linda Gray and put her soul at rest.
Secondary conflict – Devin dealing with
a broken heart.
Main
Events
The story
begins by introducing the main character, Devin Jones, and his break up with
his girlfriend, Wendy. To cope, he leaves town for the summer to go work at an
amusement park in North Carolina, Joyland, where he
becomes a Happy Hound and occasionally has to “wear the fur”, which he is very
good at. At Joyland, Devin learns how to be “carny”.
He finds out about the ghost of Horror House and is curious. Several times
throughout the summer, Devin becomes the hero by saving lives. Towards the end
of the summer, Devin, Tom, and Erin decide to ride the Horror House ride, where
Tom “sees” Linda Gray. At the end of the summer, Tom and Erin go back to school
and Devin stays behind to work a year at Joyland and
try to solve the mystery of Linda Gray.
At the
beginning of the fall season, while walking to work, Devin meets Annie and Mike
Ross on the beach. Mike suffers from MS and Annie is an overprotective mother.
Devin soon learns that Mike has “the sight” and Mike gives Devin insight into
the murder. Through their interactions, Devin becomes close to Annie and Mike,
eventually convincing Annie to let him take Mike to Joyland.
Mike has the time of his life at the park, but at the end, a creepy occurrence
happens at the Horror House when a car rolls out of the ride by itself. Devin
sees a headband of the ghost’s in the car and Mike sees Linda himself, setting
her free. For his attention and what he
has done for Mike, Annie offers herself, taking his virginity.
Climax
Back at the bed and breakfast where
he is staying, Devin pieces together the solution to the murder of Linda Gray.
As soon as he does, the murderer, Lane Hardy, calls Devin on the phone and
forces him to meet him at the park during a tropical storm (or he will hurt
Mike and Annie). Lane, holding Devin at gunpoint, forces him into the Carolina
Spin as the storm beats at the high flying machine. Just as Lane is about to
kill Devin, Annie shows up and uses her sharpshooting skills to kill Lane and
save Devin.
Conclusion
Lane is
revealed to be the Carny Killer. Annie has saved Devin from a murderer and a
broken heart, but no further romantic relationship can continue, because of
Mike’s illness. Mike dies shortly after. Devin goes back to school to become a
writer.
Your Opinion
Joyland is a fun and easy read. While King borrows heavily
from his previous works, he still manages to keep it fresh and entertaining. I
would definitely recommend this novel to a friend.
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