Title: It
Author: Stephen King
Published by: Hodder and Stoughton
Published on: 1986
Pages: 1376 pages
Your hair is winter fire, January embers. My heart burns there, too.
Part 8, Chapter Four: Ben Hanscom Takes a Fall
I have a feeling that people with coulrophobia, or phobia of clowns, must have seen the movie/miniseries It when they were kids. Because dude, Pennywise is scary. Anyone saying otherwise is just acting tough. No matter how delicious Bill Skarsgård is.
Okay, scary but delicious still
It tells the story of 7 misfit children and their battle with a demonic entity haunting the town they lived in. In a gist. But it is told in 2 timelines: 1958 and 1985.
In the opening chapter, we meet Georgie Denbrough, a 6 year-old boy playing in the middle of the rain with his paper boat. He was then lured into the sewer by a clown, who later ripped his arm off and left him to die. Georgie wasn't the only kid to die this way, though. Derry, Maine, the town the story is set in, had had mysterious murders and killings, mostly on children and teenagers. Even comparing Derry's cases to other cities in the US, it had the absurdly highest number of cases, yet always went unsolved and left cold. Pennywise the Clown was the reason why.
Georgie's death affected the family he left behind. His parents grew cold and distant towards Bill, his older brother. Wanting justice, Bill set out to find out who killed his little brother. He was later joined by his friends, classmates, acquaintance -- and these kids soon formed a little group and called themselves The Losers Club.
Credits to Sommum on DeviantArt
They didn't just try to defeat the big bad evil in their hometown; they also fought off bullies in the form of The Bowers gang. In a way, they're meant as the antithesis of The Losers Club. The most prominent is of course Henry Bowers, the sadistic leader. As the story progresses, Henry became more insane, he even scared his sidekick, Vic. Too bad the later couldn't find it in him to ditch Henry, to his own regret.
For some reasons that the fandom claims as the power of friendship, It was afraid of the Losers. It seemed to always find a way to repel them off his track, mostly by using Henry and his gang. The Losers then found out that once every 27 years, It fed on children (sometimes young adults too) to satiate its hunger before going on a hibernation. The cycle had been repeated for as long as the Earth existed. In a pseudo-end to the 1958 plot, The Losers managed to stop It and send it back to hibernation. However, deep down they knew that the cycle would start over. They then made a blood oath to return when the time came.
By the year 1985, each of the Losers found success in their respective career. Bill was a writer, Richie a disc jokey in LA, Beverly a fashion designer, Ben became an architect, Stan an accounting partner, and Eddie ran a limousine business. Only Mike decided to stay in Derry. The twist? Except for Mike, they all forgot about their childhood in Derry, even forgot about each other. And it wasn't even that kind of adult "OMG it's been so long I only remember fragments" forgetting, no. They had no idea, until one phone call from Mike came and memories began rushing back.
Because of course, It was back. And now, the Losers decided to finish it all for good. Before It even had a chance to grip them in its power.
EGGLYSIS
It is my first foray into Stephen King's universe and maaate, it is thicccc!
The story is a pop culture classic, and only by reading it I knew just how much. The Losers Club is pretty much the inspiration behind the Stranger Things gang, and don't get me started on Pennywise. You may haven't heard of It, but you certainly have encountered stories of creepy clowns. I wondered what went on Stephen King's mind to create a main villain like, uhm, it. ;)
But as most Stephen King books are, the theme of the story is actually something else other than the horror itself. In The Shining, it's alcoholism and the struggle to beat one's own demon. In Doctor Sleep, it's also alcoholism, but at the same time embracing the unknown and letting go of the past. In It, it's about growing up from your childhood and becoming an adult. When the adult Losers explained how vague the memory of their childhood in Derry was, it got me questioning whether I still remember the memory of my own childhood. Those long semester holidays, cycling my way around the neighbourhood with my friends, even those vacations... dammit, I don't think I'm even still in touch with any of my childhood friends. Where are they? How are they? Have you ever wondered about yours?
I also love how King explicitly states that all the horrific things people do in Maine was actually It's influence. But if you look at it closely, those things are racism, prejudice, abuse, bullies, ignorance... aren't those just the stuff in our supposedly normal society as well? And if It was behind them all, who was It precisely? It's basically a shapeshifting entity that claims the shape of anything a person fears the most. So, sort of like Boggart in the Harry Potter universe. And if just like Boggart, means that It was fear itself. And aren't those things mentioned above -- racism, prejudice, abuse, etc -- all began from a place of fear?
Btw, have I mentioned how perfect the children and adult cast for the most recent It movies by Andy Muschietti?
Overal, It...
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