Literature Analysis #6: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King (Notes)

June 1988
Protagonist: Trisha McFarland

• She is upset her brother and mom ate always arguing, this is partly what leads her to get lost.

~She loves Tom Gordon

" Count your blessings." Trisha is trying to find any piece of strap of hope to hold onto.

                ~ She is lost and there is a tiny voice telling her that she is going to die. 

• Its sad that she has been lost for about 15 minutes and no one notices. 

Trisha's Reactions

• She first tries to hold onto hope of being found
• When that fails, she imagines the worst - even her death. 

~ In general, I think this is what humans tend to do. When one thing doesn't go as planned, they start assuming the worst.

*Trisha decides she needs to save her supplies she has. She has come to realize that she may not be rescued

            -She turns to her walkman for comfort.

"Now back to the shittiest day a little girl had..."

             ~ hahaha

Point Of View

Third person omniscient

Setting

Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, forest

Imagery

Most of the book is vivid descriptions of the forest. This creates a dark atmosphere

"...unaware she was sobbing..."

Allusion: V.C. Andrews (pg 61)
     ~She generally writes about tragedies  and horrible situations
                  -This fits in with the atmosphere of the novel
Flashbacks-To her childhood and life as if she is going to die. 


The Subaudible

• What keeps people from dying in their sleep
• A force of good; Almost a God-like figure

                            - This idea/concept helps her to keep moving on in the forest. 


She is listening to a baseball game on her Walkman. She believes that if Tom Gordon wins the game, she will be saved.
                - He loses the game


A sort of animal is following her around the forest
                 - A "thing"


Pg 97-105: Trisha is starting to show real signs of fright
                ~ She sees slaughtered animals and slash marks on trees


"  'Lost and sitting in my own crap, ' Trisha said. She began to cry again, then also to laugh as it struck her funny." Pg 145
             -This is a very bittersweet moment for her
                           ~Change in tone                             


-She's getting very ill and throwing up 
-She is slowly losing the hope she ha (Pg. 156)


"I'm going to die in the woods." 
       -This is now a statement. She truly believes she is going to die


Pg 171- "Wasp Priest"

• He appears to her
• Allusion to The Lord of the Flies????

She constantly dreams of Tom Gordon now.....gives her will to keep going on.

"I want my Mother! I want my Brother! I want to get out of here, do you hear me?"

Possible Themes: 

-The vulnerability of human beings

-Courage

"At last it pointed at her one razor-claw hand- she is mine, she is my property..."

-The animal is getting closer each day

Climax:

• Trisha finally faces the monster animal

                  ~It is a North American black bear

                 ~ She is braver than ever and even taunts the bear to kill her

-Trisha is now a much stronger person after her experience in the forest.

She pretends to be in a baseball game and nearby hunters shoot the beat

Overall, I think this entire novel illustrates/represents the adversity and obstacles that people have to overcome. 

Symbolism/My interpretation

Forest: the darkness that people go through and how they feel 

           - Forest sets for a dark tone in the novel and provides a dark, dramatic setting

               ~ She could have gotten lost in a city, but it would not have provided same atmosphere

Bear: The actual problem that keeps following a person around and constantly lingers

              - The bear followed Trisha around the entire time

Climax: Bear vs. Trisha

            -The problem is finally faces

In the end, everything is fine. The darkness is left behind.

Tom Gordon: Represents "the light."  What helps someone get through adversity.

When Trisha faces the bear, she is a changed person and at the end of the novel even a here. 

     - She is finally able to be a strong person.