Grief Of Louis Creed In Stephen King s Pet Sematary

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36582/jotell.v4i4.12281

Keywords:

Pet Sematary, Louis Creed, Dual Process Model, grief, bereavement, psychological analysis, Stephen King

Abstract

This research explores the psychological transformation of Louis Creed the protagonist in Stephen King s Pet Sematary through the lens of the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement developed by Stroebe and Schut 1999 The study aims to analyze how grief and loss shape Louis s character behavior and moral decisions throughout the novel By examining his response to the death of his son and his subsequent descent into denial and irrationality this research reveals a failure to oscillate between the two critical coping mechanisms proposed in the model: loss oriented and restoration oriented coping The analysis demonstrates that Louis becomes trapped in grief and unable to adapt to life after loss ultimately leading to psychological collapse and catastrophic outcomes Supporting evidence is drawn from key scenes and direct quotations from the novel This study not only contributes to literary character analysis but also highlights the relevance of psychological frameworks in understanding human responses to trauma and bereavement< p>

References

Abrams M H 1981 A Glossary of Literary Terms New York: Holt Renehart and Winston

Abrams M H 1999 A Glossary Literary Terms SeventhEdition Boston: Heinle Heinle

Berg B L and Howard L 2012 Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Scenes ed United States of America: Pearson Education Inc

Bogdan R C Biklen S K 1992 Qualitative Research for Education: an Introduction to Theory and Methods Boston: Allyn Bacon

Bowlby J 1980 Attachment and Loss Volume III: Loss Sadness and Depression Basic Books

Forster E M 1988 Aspects Of The Novel Boston : Mariner Books; First Edition September 14 1956

Freud S 1937 The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence The Hogarth Press

Freytag G Dr 1863 Techniques of the Drama An exposition of Dramatic Composition and Art Third edition Chicago Scott : Foresman and company

Halliday M A K 1979 Language As Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning London: Edward Arnold Publisher

Jones A 1968 Outlines of Literature Short Stories Novels and Poems New Yorks: The Macmillan Company

King S 2017 Pet Sematary: A Novel New York : Pocket Books; Reissue edition January 31 2017

Klass D Silverman P R Nickman S L Eds 1996 Continuing bonds: New understandings of grief Taylor Francis

Kubler Ross E 1969 On Death and Dying New York: Macmillan

Neimeyer R A 2001 Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss American Psychological Association

Parkes C M Prigerson H G 2010 Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life 4th ed Routledge

Septiani L P 2020 Louis Creed s Selfishness In Stephen King s Pet Sematary A New Criticism Study UniversitasAirlangga Library Surabaya

Strobe M Schutt H 1999 The Duel Model of Coping with Bereavement Rational and Descriptive Death studies 23 3 197 224 https: doi org 10 1080 074811899201046

Stroebe M Schut H Boerner K 2017 Cautioning health care professionals: Bereaved persons are misguided through the stages of grief OMEGA Journal of Death and Dying 74 4 455 473 https: doi org 10 1177 0030222817691870

Wellek R and Warren A 1956 Theory of Literature New York : A Harvest Book Wheeler Keith

Worden J W 2009 Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner 4th ed Springer Publishing

Neimeyer R A 2001 Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss American Psychological Association

Stroebe M Schut H 1999 The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description Death Studies 23 3 197 224 https: doi org 10 1080 074811899201046

Downloads

Published

2025-11-02

How to Cite

Grief Of Louis Creed In Stephen King s Pet Sematary. (2025). JoTELL : Journal of Teaching English, Linguistics, and Literature, 4(4), 2351 2363. https://doi.org/10.36582/jotell.v4i4.12281

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 > >>