Characters That Are Not Who They Seem to Be Essay Example

Introduction

When people meet new people for the first time, they conclude and even judge individuals by their clothing, speech or even character. People do not want to accept the truth because sometimes the truth always seems impossible. It is shocking when it is revealed that the person people considered kind or friendly is not what many people thought the person was. Every person has their values, aspirations, and abilities which have developed throughout their life course and the values inform a person's actions and thoughts and enable a person make decisions which are of great help like choosing careers, finding an individual's purpose and developing a sense of self. One can, therefore, venture in different life opportunities and life choices (Ed & Carol, 17). This essay focuses on how Stephen King in the "Night Shift" portrays the behavior of different characters in the short stories of the Boogeyman, The man who loved flowers and the Strawberry spring by Stephen King are not who they seem to be.

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The Youngman: in The Man who loved flowers

The young man is described by many people including the flower vendor and the old woman as a good-looking man, polite and friendly. He is believed to be in love and always smiling. What most people do not know is that the young man is acting out and he is not as friendly as he seems nor is he in love and that he is struggling with a mental disorder since he lost his lover Norma. Ten years have passed since his Norma died and he often thinks of her and misses her a lot. "He loved to see her eyes light up with the surprise and joy when he bought her a surprise"(Stephen 176). The young man has two personalities one in which during the day he seems a happy man and the other which many do not know is that he becomes evil once it gets dark. He is a psychotic, angry and a dangerous man who follows women looking for his Norma and ends up killing them with a hummer to avenge for the loss of his Norma. He has killed several times and even when the news is talked about it doesn't matter to him because he knows he is the murderer. "None of it seemed real, none of it seemed to matter" (Stephen 176).

Dr. Harper /the Boogeyman: in the Boogeyman

Dr.Harper listens to the Lester Billings explain how he felt guilty for his children's death although he didn't kill them but neglected them when they expressed their fear. He asks him several questions like "Do you mean you killed them or" (Stephen 55) and even avoids passing any judgments just like a good psychologist would do. Harper listens to his client carefully, and sometimes he seems to be lost in thoughts. After the death of Billings son, Dr. Harper suggests that he should make an appointment for further treatment and discussion. He assures Billings that he will help him get rid of his guilt if he wants to do so."I believe we can remove some of the guilt you've been carrying, but first, you have to want to get rid of it" (Stephen 60). Billings goes to the reception to make an appointment with the nurse only to find out that the nurse is missing. Upon going back to Dr.Harpers office, he finds that the psychiatrist is also missing and that the closet door at the office is a bit open. Its ironical for Billings to find out that he was standing face to face with the murder of his children the "Boogeyman" and the murderer of his children is none other than his trusted doctor Harper with whom he has always shared his problems with hoping to get better and he is not the person who he has always seemed to be.

Unnamed narrator/ "Springheel Jack": in The Strawberry Spring

During the false spring when the narrator was in College, several murders are committed and the narrator becomes fascinated with the murders and most people who fell victims of the murder were the women. The narrator would always go out every night and claims that he suffered from headaches which got cured when he went out. During his walk at night in the fog, every other person in the fog seemed uninteresting and ghostly to him. Every night the narrator went for a walk, in the morning he could wake up to the news that another murder has been committed and when he stayed indoors, such killings did not happen. Every person suspected of the murder could always be released when another murder is committed when they are still in jail. After eight years the strawberry spring returns, the narrator sees the name Springheel Jack and recalls those days in college. They could always go out at night until his wife started to suspect that he had another woman who he could go to see at night "I can hear my wife as I write this, in the next room, crying. She thinks I was with another woman last night" (Stephen 255).Its ironical in that the narrator was the serial killer on the loose and he was the murderer of all those innocent women's, yet he could not recall where he was that night the killings happened. He had been committing the murders since he was in college every night he went out.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is not appropriate to judge people based on actions or appearances. Individuals should first know people better without judging them first. It is always disappointing to see that a person who was thought to be nice is the opposite of that. Nice values are guidelines to clear life choices and opportunities.

Works Cited

Diener, Ed, and Carol Diener. "Most people are happy." Psychological science 7.3 (1996): 181-185. Retrieved on 20th January from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1996.tb00354.x

King, Stephen. The Night Shift: The Boogeyman. New York, Doubleday, 1978. Retrieved on 20th January 2019 from https://epdf.tips/night-shift-the-boogeyman.html

King, Stephen. The Night Shift: The Man Who Loved Flowers. New York, Doubleday, 1978. Retrieved on 20th January 2019 from https://www.essays24.com/essay/Analysis-of-the-Man-Who-Loved-Flowers-Stephen/76381.html

King, Stephen. The Night Shift: Strawberry Spring. New York, Doubleday, 1978. Retrieved on 20th January 2019 from https://www.revolvy.com/page/Strawberry-Spring

King, Stephen. The Night Shift: Strawberry Spring. New York, Doubleday, 1978. Retrieved on 20th January 2019 from http://adaptingstephenking.blogspot.com/2015/10/strawberry-spring.html