Death

At the beginning of the story, Katherine tells Michael about why she volunteers at the Overlook Hospital geriatric ward. She does it because she didn’t get to know her father’s parents before they died because she was afraid of them and didn’t like visiting them. When her mother’s father got sick, she already loved him and realized that she missed out on the same type of relationship with her father’s parents. She realized that there was nothing to fear and that she wanted to make older people feel better before they died.

Artie also has issues with death. His own inability to discover his identity and go to follow his passion lead him to attempt suicide. His attempt is foreshadowed by his gloomy forecast of horror and death for everyone before the end. At her mother’s birthday, Katherine wishes that Artie could...