38 pages • 1 hour read
Stephen KingA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Firestarter acts as a capstone for the first major arc in Stephen King’s writing career. By the time it was released in 1980, King had published a string of best-selling horror and suspense novels, five under his name—Carrie (1974), Salem’s Lot (1975), The Shining (1977), The Stand (1978), and The Dead Zone (1979)—and two—Rage (1977) and The Long Walk (1979)—under a pen name. King was seen as a publishing phenomenon, and Firestarter received the widest paperback release in his career. The novel’s portrayal of government overreach and the ethical implications of scientific experiments spoke to contemporary paranoias. More so, Firestarter is the culminating effort of King’s early work. It develops several of his early themes, such as governmental overreach and problematic authority, in a final reckoning before King turned to less sociopolitical subjects in subsequent novels.
Charlie McGee, a young girl whose adolescence causes a spike in her pyrokinetic abilities, is a variation on one of King’s most iconic characters, Carrie White of the novel Carrie. Both characters follow a similar arc. They begin hopelessly mired in their abilities, and conclude in an apocalyptic release of power, devastating real and imagined enemies. Both are also raised by single parents whose strict approaches prevent them from actualizing their ability until it is almost too late.
By Stephen King
11.22.63
Stephen King
1408
Stephen King
Bag of Bones
Stephen King
Billy Summers
Stephen King
Carrie
Stephen King
Children of the Corn
Stephen King
Cujo
Stephen King
Different Seasons
Stephen King
Doctor Sleep
Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne
Stephen King
Duma Key
Stephen King
Elevation: A Novel
Stephen King
End of Watch
Stephen King
Fairy Tale
Stephen King
Finders Keepers
Stephen King
From a Buick 8
Stephen King
Full Dark, No Stars
Stephen King
Gerald's Game
Stephen King
Gwendy's Button Box
Stephen King, Richard Chizmar
Holly
Stephen King