This is an Overlook Where No One Can Ever Come : A narratological analysis of the representation of the uncanny in The Shining

Abstract: This essay is a narratological analysis of Stephen King’s ​The Shining, ​and​ ​employs Mieke Bal’s categorization of focalization, description and discourse with the intent of establishing their function in representing the concept of the uncanny in the narrative. By analyzing these narratological functions and their interplay, several manifestations of the ordinarily elusive uncanny become evident. The novel, through the structuring of the narrative and use of forthright descriptions as well as the insight into the characters’ minds, continually manages to represent the disturbances of the familiar that characterize the uncanny.