Isolation Quotes in The Shining

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

He raised the radio up and brought it down, and it smashed on the floor […] (26.33)

When Jack breaks the radio after the phones have already gone out, he destroys the one thing besides the snowmobile which can link them to the Outside word. Interestingly, he does it completely in his sleep.

Quote #8

He flung the magneto as far out into the snow as he could. It went much further than it should have. (33.66)

This time Jack is under the evil influence of the storage shed (see "Setting" for more) and his conscious feeling that the Overlook is his last chance to repair his life. The magneto is crucial to the functioning of the snowmobile. When Jack tosses it, he cements their isolation.

Quote #9

Even with the volume turned up loud he thought he could still hear Daddy screaming at them and battering the pantry door like an animal in a zoo cage. (47.7)

When Jack is locked in the pantry, Danny's empathy with his dire isolation is touching and frightening at the same time. It makes us wonder if somehow, just somehow, it was Danny who lets Jack out, rather than Grady – but that's just too big of a stretch even in a book like The Shining.