Imagery And Foreshadowing In Grey Matter By Stephen King

There is something supernatural going on through this ice cold snow town. In the story Grey Matter by Stephen King it starts off in a little convenience store called the Nite-Owl in the middle of a blizzard. The owner, Henry, is talking to his friends when a young man bursts into the store absolutely terrified, and it turns out his father is turning into a giant slug monster, from drinking some bad beer, Henry and the other two go to check on Richie, the boy’s father, with the intent of ending a terrible, human killing and eating monster that became of Richie, with a pistol in hand of Henry. The elements in this book are gloomy decaying setting, heroes, supernatural beings, and a damsel in distress. But how this all connects is the biggest,

and scariest thing.

In the book the way gloomy decaying setting is put into it is not through immediate imagery, but explanation and foreshadowing.

The explanation starts when the three men leave to bring beer to Richie, which is why his son, Timmy ran to the shop in the first place, though it was more to get help for his dad. It starts with Henry telling them that he wanted them to know just what was happening, fear on his face. The explanation was that Richie had some bad beer months back in October, which by this time it was mid winter, January or February. They were walking through the snow storm while talking and took their time going from the shop to Richie’s apartment. Richie had quickly fallen to do less work, just sitting in his chair watching tv, soon growing to hate the sunlight and covering the shades so he wouldn’t be blinded by it. By the time they were halfway there it turned into the point that grey goo, whatever it was, was seeping out of Richie, or more over covering him. It soon turned to broken light bulbs, boarded up windows, and a terrible smell, like fermented apples mixed with rotting bodies, all in a practically abandoned apartment building that was quickly becoming run down, and the two missing girls who disappeared one day in the winter. This all became true when the three men stepped inside to check the building out, planks nailed to windows blocking out light, lights broken and switches failed to turn it on, and the smell just as bad, and getting worse when they went to the basement to see Richie, or whatever was in his place. But there was Henry, and he was more than prepared to be the

hero.

The hero of the story is Henry. He is the hero for taking Timmy into the back room to help him, telling the two other men the story of what was happening to Richie, and for grabbing the gun at the beginning to kill whatever Richie had become. The Henry had at the beginning of the book pulled Timmy into one of the back rooms of his shop to take care of him and make sure that he was alright. He told the two other men the story of what happened to Richie so they knew exactly what happened and made sure they were prepared to see what had become of Richie. He is heroic for grabbing the gun in the beginning and was ready to do what he had to no matter what, inevitably shooting three bullets after the other two had left, and that was it. Silence after the gunshots and no one knew what had happened to him by that slimy supernatural beast.

The supernatural being in this book is Richie, or rather what he becomes. Richie was explained in the late beginning of the book to be a nice old drunk with a job he liked to get out of on a normal occasion. One day in October he had bought a case of beer and opened a can, though inside was a grey goo like substance rather than alcohol. Over the period of the story Henry was telling, Richie slowly got worse and worse, though drinking beer like always. He quickly began to lock himself up in his apartment and soon enough the grey matter took him over, he had a hatred to light, drank beer warm, ate small animals and soon enough teenagers, and soon enough just ended up becoming part of it, becoming a giant slug like monster and multiplying. All of this was too hard to watch for his son Timmy, who needed more help than anything to save his dad from what he became.

Timmy is the damsel of the story. He is needing to get help from Henry and the others for what his father became of through this story. Timmy had gone nearly running to the store to buy alcohol for his dad, though really to get help for him since he had become that monster. Timmy had gone running to the store and soon enough had been in tears and grey matter covered money in hand having to explain though heavy breath and watery eyes what had happened to his father. After he had explained to the best of his ability, he had been offered to be taken care of by Henry's wife in their apartment while Henry and the others take Richie his beer. This all ties up into one book.

The elements of gothic lit in grey matter are Gloomy settings, Heroes, Supernatural beings, and a Damsel in distress. This is all represented in the story told and how everyone in it acts or talks. The question though is how alcohol can change a person, for good or bad.