57 pages • 1 hour read
Stephen KingA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The patriarch in King’s 1981 novel Cujo, Vic Trenton reappears as the protagonist and narrator of the story “Rattlesnakes.” Because the story is a sequel to Cujo, Vic’s character arc builds upon the novel’s events. In Cujo, Vic’s wife, Donna, and young son, Tad, become trapped in their car at an auto mechanic’s yard during a heat wave because the mechanic is away and a rabid, increasingly vicious Saint Bernard is present. Vic is out of town during the incident. His relationship with Donna is strained because he discovered she was having an affair. Vic’s son, Tad, dies of heatstroke in the car. At the moment of Tad’s death, Vic hears Tad’s voice, which becomes the seed of his grief over the next 40 years.
Vic is a dynamic character whose journey forces him to confront lingering emotions related to his family, which thematically underscores Dealing With the Consequences of Death as an overarching theme in You Like It Darker. The story reveals that in the years between Cujo and “Rattlesnakes,” Vic refused to acknowledge his son’s death, leading to his divorce from Donna. Several years later, they remarried but never discussed Tad until the moment Donna had a vision of their son on her deathbed.
By Stephen King
11.22.63
Stephen King
1408
Stephen King
Bag of Bones
Stephen King
Billy Summers
Stephen King
Carrie
Stephen King
Children of the Corn
Stephen King
Cujo
Stephen King
Different Seasons
Stephen King
Doctor Sleep
Stephen King
Dolores Claiborne
Stephen King
Duma Key
Stephen King
Elevation: A Novel
Stephen King
End of Watch
Stephen King
Fairy Tale
Stephen King
Finders Keepers
Stephen King
Firestarter
Stephen King
From a Buick 8
Stephen King
Full Dark, No Stars
Stephen King
Gerald's Game
Stephen King
Gwendy's Button Box
Stephen King, Richard Chizmar
Aging
View Collection
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Daughters & Sons
View Collection
Family
View Collection
Fate
View Collection
Fathers
View Collection
Fear
View Collection
Good & Evil
View Collection
Grief
View Collection
Hate & Anger
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Mortality & Death
View Collection
Order & Chaos
View Collection
Safety & Danger
View Collection
The Power & Perils of Fame
View Collection
Truth & Lies
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection
War
View Collection