30. Vampire Stereotypes

Compared with other novels we read this semester, the characteristics that the vampires displayed in 'Salem's Lot were stereotypical. The vampires were very typical in the sense that they only came out at night, they slept in coffins, their eyes were red, skin was pale, they hated crucifixes and garlic, and they could live for a long time. I was a little disappointed about this aspect of Stephen King's novel.

I really wish he would have spent more time on the relationships between the vampires and the humans instead of spending so much time building up the suspense. It seemed like Stephen King would spend 5o pages building up the suspense to a theme and then when it happened, it only took up one page. Although Stephen King did have a lot of really good passages that could be taken out and torn apart to make you think deeper about broader ideas, I was really looking to be a little more entertained. I just really wish Stephen King would have looked more at the life of the vampires and not just the victims. He hardly spent any time looking at how Barlow lived and his thoughts. He focused mainly on the fear that resided in the victims and just added in the stereotypical vampire characteristics.

29. Introducing the Characters

Introducing the different characters of 'Salem's Lot took a lot of time out of Stephen King's plot, but I think that at the same time, it was vital that the reader knew a little bit about each of the characters. He played off of the small town atmosphere and introduced all of the different families and people of the town in different chapters. He gave them each their own little story and small piece of background.


This format was effective because it went along with the idea that everyone who lived in 'Salem's Lot knew everything about each other because it was such a small town. It also helped give the reader an introduction and an insight of some of the underlying secrets and gossip that went on in the town. It also helped to create some sort of relationship with each character. If Stephen King would have just introduced a character and then have them being killed off in the same scene, the reader wouldn't have been able to get into the plot at all. The people in the novel made the plot interesting because they all had their own little quirks and they all added something to the functionality of 'Salem's Lot.

28. Black vs. White

This was probably one of the most important battles of the whole book; Father Callahan against Barlow himself. It wasn't just important because it symbolized good vs. evil, it was important because it showed how powerful the force of evil can be; even against a priest like Father Callahan.

pg. 380

Barlow said, "Then will you throw away your cross and face me on even terms - black against white?"

Barlow was referring to Father Callahan's faith and Barlow's faith. White is the symbol of purity. Therefore, Father Callahan would be represented by white. Black is the symbolizes death and mourning. Therefore, Barlow would be represented by black.

Right away, Father Callahan had used the cross against Barlow and Barlow just laughed in his face. He told Father Callahan that the cross meant nothing if he had no faith in his church and continued to make a mockery of Father Callahan's priesthood.

I think that the reason that Barlow ended up winning in the end was simply because he was feeding off of Father Callahan's uncertainties and doubts in his own church. In fact, Father Callahan said it himself earlier in the novel; the Force of the church was not something to be dealt with lightly. The Force meant nothing if the person using it was uncertain of it's power.

I found it very interesting that Stephen King used communion as a medium for Father Callahan's crossing over into the dark side. The bread and the wine that Father Callahan used to consider his religion's communion was replaced with the communion of Barlow's religion. The bread became flesh and the wine transitioned into blood.

27. Eva's Dream

I liked trying to interpret this part of the novel the most because it had so many hidden messages. I feel that it is very important in filling in the missing pieces as to how Barlow ended up in her house without anyone noticing.

The passage began with:

pg.400

"Eva Miller had been dreaming. It was not quite a nightmare. The fire of '51 was raging under an unforgiving sky..."

First of all, the dream hinted at a connection between the fire of '51, which seems to be an event that has been looming over 'Salem's Lot for years, and the present state of the small town. Not until the end did I understand that she was actually seeing the rebirth of the town all over again, just like in '51.

The second thing I noticed about the dream was that it probably wasn't a dream at all, but that she was actually falling victim to the vampire, Ed Craig. There was a reason she couldn't remember the vivid details. It was almost as if she was being distracted by Ed Craig.

Then I began to notice that she started to describe the night in terms like, "lined a face in blood - a face with a hawk nose, deep-set eyes, full and sensuous lips" and in a way, it sounded like she was describing Barlow. Was she really imagining Barlow in her presence? I think this detail is also significant because it suggests the correlation between Barlow's essence and the dark night.

Thirdly, Eva said that she heard a voice say, "The Welsh dresser" and described it as his voice. This led me to believe that Barlow really was in the room with Eva. Lastly, Eva glanced into a mirror and did not see her reflection, making it official; Eva was now a vampire too.

In brief, I've come to the conclusion that what Eva thought to be a dream, was actually her being distracted by Ed Craig while Barlow was making a little place for himself to stay in the cellar of her house and going unnoticed. Moreover, that explains how Ben Mears and Mark Petrie had no idea where Barlow was hiding. Barlow found a place that they would have never suspected...right under their noses.

26. Time

The timing of events in this novel was crucial to keeping it suspenseful. Stephen King dropped subtle hints throughout the novel about time, but it wasn't until I read the novel the second time that I picked up on those hints. For example, I never even noticed that when Stephen King introduced the Lot, every chapter started with a different hour of the day. For example, at 5:00 p.m. Matt Burke left the high school and at 7:30 p.m. that same night, Marjorie Glick saw her sons for the last time.

I can't ignore the fact that Ben Mears showed up in town around the same time that Straker and Barlow did either. That timing caused a lot of suspicion and gave Ben Mears a bad reputation right off the bat. At one point, Ben Mears mentioned to Susan Norton that the town had the wrong name and that it should have been named Time.

The most obvious use of time was in the end when Ben Mears and Mark Petrie were racing the clock to get a stake in Barlow's heart before sunset came at exactly 6:55 p.m. Stephen King's used of time really made the ending suspenseful and it really brought another thought to mind.

I find that it was really ironic that time was so prevalent in the novel because in actuality, time meant nothing to vampires. Vampires lived such long lives that time must not even matter to them. I think Stephen King might have been playing off of that idea and pointing out that time meanr everything to humans in this story and yet it had no meaning for the vampires.