Pet Sematary by Stephen King | Teen Ink

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

September 6, 2013
By CorruptiveInsanity BRONZE, Charleston, West Virginia
CorruptiveInsanity BRONZE, Charleston, West Virginia
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

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"I am a man of simple taste. I like gunpowder, and gasoline, and dynamite. And you know what they all have in common? They're all cheap'- Joker, 2008


Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary is a horror novel released in 1983, written by the prolific writer Stephen King. The book takes place in Ludlow, Maine. It revolves around the Creed family, which consists of father Louis (who is a doctor) his wife Rachel who became terrified of death after her sister died their young daughter Ellie and infant gage. They are neighbored by the elderly Crandall family, Jud and Norma. The Creeds own a cat named Winston Churchill.
The ordeal starts when they move in. Jud warns the family to stay away from an extremely busy highway near the house. To accentuate the point, he shows the family the titular “Pet Sematary’, an area built for children to bury the pets claimed by the highway. At the college he works at, Louis is given a dying man into his care. The man’s last words are to not, under any circumstance, to venture past the Pet Sematary. The man never met Louis before this occurrence.
Months later, while Rachel and Ellie were gone, Louis finds the family cat dead on the highway. Jud realizes the huge impact this would have on Ellie. He decides to take Louis past the Pet Sematary and into the nearby woods. Louis ignores the warning he was given and follows Jud. This leads to Jud burying the cat in an Indian burial ground and leaving. The next day, Louis finds Churchill alive and well, though slightly more aggressive. Louis, in shock, questions Jud. He finds that many people used the area to resurrect animals in Jud’s prime. Louis asks if anyone ever tried to resurrect a human. Jud says no, but Louis thinks he is lying.
The book deals with heavy themes of death, superstition, and insanity. It also accurately portrays how people act in a crisis. It makes the reader asks questions about death and what they believe. One very important quote from the book is the line “Sometimes, death is better’. The book has conflicting character traits, from Louis’s tragic determination, Rachel’s horror of the inevitable, and Ellie’s denial. The characters are realistic and relatable, some likeable, some hate able, and some horrifying.
The book is not for those who do not enjoy thematic both frightening and depressing. Do not expect to come out charmed and happy. Fear is certainly subjective, and if you are a realist who scoffs at the idea of any sort of resurrection or the like, this no the book for you. But if you want a very deep commentary on death, or want to feel fantastic terrors, Pet Sematary is the book for you. This book will keep you reeling, and will make you think about things that you may thought you knew about your own personality


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