Mortality Quotes in The Shining

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

Quote #4

Those were the times that his mind would turn thoughtfully and sanely to the gun or the rope or the razor blade. (5.25)

Jack is describing the self loathing he feels when he comes home from nights of drunken carousing to find Danny and Wendy asleep on the couch waiting for him. But, by the time the next night rolls around he always feels better about himself and ready to repeat the whole process.

Quote #5

"Because each man kills the thing he loves." (26.30)

Jack hears his father speak these words from the radio. It's unclear whether these are repetitions of words his father actually said, or if they are new. The line is actually a quote from Oscar Wilde's The Ballad of Reading Goal.

Quote #6

"My own girls didn't care for the Overlook, sir. One of them actually stole a pack of matches and tried to burn it down. I corrected them. I corrected them most harshly. And when my wife tried to stop me from doing my duty, I corrected her." (44.66)

By "corrected" we know Delbert Grady means "killed." The undead version of Grady definitely wants Jack to follow in his footsteps. In spite of the horror of this, Grady's lines are so outrageously evil they lend the story some comic relief.