The Shining

88 pages • 2 hours read

The Shining

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1977

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1, CHAPTERS 1-4

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Reading Check

1. Which equipment must Jack maintain as his most important priority as hotel caretaker?

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Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What clues does the author include to suggest Danny has special mental abilities?

2. In what ways has Jack struggled to meet The Responsibilities of Parenthood?

PART 1, CHAPTERS 5-7

Reading Check

1. What did Jack Torrance inadvertently break while trying to attend to a knocked-over beer?

2. What did Al Shockley hit with his car while driving drunk?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What early writing successes did Jack enjoy, and how did these successes affect his life?

2. How do Jack and Wendy manage to avoid divorce after Jack’s outburst of violence?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 8-10

Reading Check

1. What sight causes Danny to tremble because he realizes Tony has warned him about it?

2. Which type of athletic court is situated in the center of the topiary garden on the Overlook grounds?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What do Dick Hallorann and Danny have in common?

2. How do Wendy’s thoughts of the Donner party lend to the unsettledness of the novel?

Paired Resource

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Stetson

This short story tells the tale of a woman who has a presumed nervous disorder and is confined to her room by her husband, a physician. She becomes increasingly obsessed with the wallpaper and later believes that a woman is trapped in the walls.
This short story best relates to the theme Mental Health and the Line Between Reality and Fiction.
In what ways does this short story parallel the Torrances’ isolation and beginnings of mental decline?

PART 2, CHAPTERS 11-13

Reading Check

1. What is “the shining?”

2. What part of the hotel does Dick Hallorann warn Danny to avoid?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Dick Hallorann tell Danny about his visions’ ability to predict the future?

PART 3, CHAPTERS 14-18

Reading Check

1. What attacks Danny in his room?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Jack’s habit of rubbing his lips relate to The Consequences of Addiction?

2. What does the scrapbook reveal about the hotel’s history?

PART 3, CHAPTERS 19-23

Reading Check

1. What does Jack notice is changing around him as he sits on the playground?

2. What does Jack tell Ullman he is going to write a new book about? (Chapter 21)

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Jack believe he was motivated to call Ullman and begin trouble?

2. Why does Wendy begin to worry that Jack is drinking again?

Paired Resource

“Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction”

This TED talk demonstrates how drug use causes changes in the brain that lead to addiction and explains what makes young users particularly vulnerable. (For a shorter viewing, stop the video at 6:47.)
This video connects to the theme The Consequences of Addiction.
How does Jack demonstrate his alcohol addiction, and how does he struggle in his attempts at sobriety?

PART 3, CHAPTERS 24-25

Reading Check

1. What does Danny find in room 217?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does the first snowfall have both a positive and negative effect on the occupants of the Overlook?

2. What leads Danny to close his eyes when he is seemingly in the most danger in room 217?

PART 4, CHAPTERS 26-32

Reading Check

1. What appears on Danny’s neck?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is the loss of the CB radio significant?

2. What changes does Jack notice in the Colorado Lounge, and how does he respond to them?

PART 4, CHAPTERS 33-37

Reading Check

1. What is the meaning of the word “REDRUM”?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does the motif of lavish parties recur in this section?

2. What is Jack’s most likely motivation for wanting to destroy the snowmobile?

Paired Resource

“What Horror Films Teach Us About Ourselves and Being Human”

This TED talk discusses the lessons that readers and film viewers can learn from the horror genre, such as the themes related to their daily lives and how this genre may be used as a mirror. (The most relevant section is from 8:00-14:41.)
While there is no specific theme relation, this is highly related to the book’s genre and does touch on alcoholism.
What does The Shining teach us about ourselves? What questions does it ask about society that cannot be addressed in other stories?

PART 5, CHAPTERS 38-42

Reading Check

1. Whom does Danny call with his shining for help?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do the references to the hotel’s boilers contribute to the mood of potential danger?

2. What does Danny believe has changed regarding the Overlook Hotel and its capabilities?

PART 5, CHAPTERS 43-47

Reading Check

1. What does Grady imply when he tells Jack to “correct” Danny the way that Grady “corrected” his daughters?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do Wendy’s observations about the Overlook also blur The Line Between Reality and Fiction?

2. How does Jack access alcohol?

PART 5, CHAPTERS 48-52

Reading Check

1. What promise does Jack make to Grady to coerce him to open the pantry door and let Jack escape?

2. Who arrives in Sidewinder and subsequently drives his car off the road?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does the Overlook use to block the road leading to its entrance?

Paired Resource

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke

This poem examines the complicated love between a son and father through a troubling description of their “waltz.”
This short poem connects to both The Responsibilities of Parenthood and The Consequences of Addiction.
In what ways does Jack and Danny’s relationship compare to the relationship in this poem? How is their relationship different?

PART 5, CHAPTERS 53-58

Reading Check

1. Who shows Danny how to escape, urging him to run away?

2. How is the Overlook Hotel destroyed?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How do Jack’s final actions toward Danny relate to the theme The Responsibilities of Parenthood?

Recommended Next Reads

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

This complex and unsettling novel tells the story of a family who moves into a house that’s larger on the inside than it is on the outside. As they explore the ever-expanding, labyrinthine corridors, they uncover dark secrets and are haunted by their discoveries. This book’s format includes footnotes, multiple narrators, and unconventional typography.
Shared themes include Mental Health and the Line Between Reality and Fiction.
Shared topics include haunting, isolation, psychological horror, and supernatural elements.
House of Leaves on SuperSummary

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

In a post-apocalyptic world where something outside impacts people’s mental health and drives them to violence upon sight, Malorie and her children must navigate a treacherous river while blindfolded to find safety.
Shared themes include The Responsibilities of Parenthood and Mental Health and the Line Between Reality and Fiction.
Shared topics include fear, isolation, and unseen horrors.
Bird Box on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

PART 1, CHAPTERS 1-4

Reading Check

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8,800+ In-Depth Study Guides
4,700+ Quick-Read Plot Summaries
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1. Vent the pressure of the boiler (Part 1, Chapter 3)

Short Answer

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1. Danny often sees an imaginary friend named “Tony” who depicts violent images such as a hammer and the word “REDRUM.” Additionally, Danny can partially read other people’s minds. His mental peculiarities worry his parents. (Chapter 4)

2. Jack’s struggles with alcoholism and anger management lead caused him to unintentionally break Danny’s arm, which caused him great shame. (Chapter 2)

PART 1, CHAPTERS 5-7

Reading Check

1. Danny’s arm (Chapter 3)

2. A bicycle (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Jack published several (four) early stories in increasingly prestigious publications, which raised his reputation and got him hired at Stovington Preparatory School. (Chapter 6)

2. After injuring Danny, Jack surprises Wendy by stopping drinking completely. His dedication to sobriety is genuine, and their marriage survives. (Chapter 6)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 8-10

Reading Check

1. The Overlook Hotel (Chapter 8)

2. Roque (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. Both can read minds. (Chapter 10)

2. The repeated references to the Donner Party, some of whom suffered death while others resorted to cannibalism to survive, raise the prospect of a cold, deadly, and tragic winter. The fact that the Torrance family is about to face a similar winter alone—albeit under different circumstances—creates an unsettling tone. (Chapters 8 and 10)

PART 2, CHAPTERS 11-13

Reading Check

1. Mind reading (Chapter 11)

2. Room 217 (Chapter 11)

Short Answer

1. While some of Danny and Mr. Hallorann’s visions come true, it is repeatedly mentioned that not all of them come to fruition, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Furthermore, the shining causes Danny to experience hallucinations that or may not be real. (Chapters 11-12)

PART 3, CHAPTERS 14-18

Reading Check

1. Wasps (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. Jack rubs his lips when he struggles with sobriety and wishes he could have a drink. (Chapter 18)

2. The hotel has a lewd, sordid, and violent past which may imply that these traits continue today. (Chapter 18)

PART 3, CHAPTERS 19-23

Reading Check

1. The hedge animals may have moved. (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. Jack thinks he calls Mr. Ullman because—deep down—he believes he wants to get fired from his job since he dislikes the Overlook Hotel. (Chapter 20)

2. Wendy notices that Jack is constantly chewing Excedrin, holding back his temper, and using more profanity than usual. (Chapter 21)

PART 3, CHAPTERS 24-25

Reading Check

1. A naked woman in a bathtub (Chapter 25)

Short Answer

1. The family views the snowfall as a relief, a thing of beauty, and an opportunity for Danny to ride his sled. On the other hand, it constricts the family and makes them feel as though they are trapped in a “monster.” (Chapter 24 and 25)

2. Hallorann had told Danny that the ghosts could not hurt him, so Danny closes his eyes to pretend as though he were dreaming or only seeing things in his imagination. (Chapter 25)

PART 4, CHAPTERS 26-32

Reading Check

1. Bruises (Chapter 27 and 32)

Short Answer

1. The CB was the contact the Torrances had with the outside world. (Chapter 26)

2. Jack sees a bustling masquerade party in the lounge, which has been stocked with bottles of liquor. He sits at the bar and orders a drink from the ghostly hotel bartender, Lloyd. (Chapter 28)

PART 4, CHAPTERS 33-37

Reading Check

1. “MURDER” backwards (Chapter 37)

Short Answer

1. The hotel scrapbook depicted various elegant parties and their sinister aftermaths. (Various chapters)

2. The snowmobile is their last access to the outside world, so Jack, who is under the malevolent influence of the hotel, would naturally want to eliminate it. (Chapter 33)

PART 5, CHAPTERS 38-42

Reading Check

1. Hallorann (Various chapters)

Short Answer

1. Jack notices that the boiler is rapidly increasing in pressure—over the allotted safety levels—and Danny dreams of the hotel in a fiery explosion. (Various chapters)

2. Initially, Hallorann claims that the hotel and its spiritual occupants cannot hurt Danny; however, Danny believes that this has changed as he has become injured. (Chapter 41)

PART 5, CHAPTERS 43-47

Reading Check

1. Jack must kill Danny. (Chapter 44)

Short Answer

1. Wendy reports hearing the noise of a party and smelling gin in the ballroom of the Overlook Hotel, suggesting that the hallucinations cannot be entirely within Jack’s head and blurring Mental Health and the Line Between Reality and Fiction. (Chapter 46)

2. Jack orders martinis at the Colorado Lounge, from the bartender Lloyd, who encourages him to drink. (Chapter 43)

PART 5, CHAPTERS 48-52

Reading Check

1. Kill Wendy (Chapter 48)

2. Dick Hallorann (Chapter 49)

Short Answer

1. The Overlook Hotel screams racial slurs at him and sends the hedge lion to attack him. (Chapters 49 and 51)

PART 5, CHAPTERS 53-58

Reading Check

1. Jack (Chapter 55)

2. It explodes. (Chapter 56)

Short Answer

1. Despite being possessed by the hotel and having lost control of his mind, Jack regains partial control and destroys himself with the mallet to protect his son. (Chapter 55)