67 pages 2 hours read

Stephen King

It

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1986

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years—if it ever did end—began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.”


( Chapter 1, Page 3)

These are Mike’s opening lines of his Derry history. By the end of the novel, the reader is reasonably assured that It is dead, but as Mike writes, he shows that he still has his suspicions. Given the ultimate nature of It in the void, his suspicions are not without merit. Mike has studied Derry’s history and knows that the terror began before George’s boat, so he is only referring to the terror of him and his friends.

Quotation Mark Icon

“‘They float,’ the clown said. ‘Down here we all float; pretty soon your friend will float too.’” 


(Chapter 2, Page 33)

Pennywise uses his catchphrase for the second time, this time on Hagarty. It is signaling that he lives beneath Derry, in the sewers, and that when It takes someone, they will also go down into the drains with It. Later, when Audra is in the spiderweb, she appears to be floating.

Quotation Mark Icon

“Maybe this isn’t home, nor ever was—maybe home is where I have to go tonight. Home is the place where when you go there, you finally have to face the thing in the dark.”


(Chapter 3, Page 93)

As he drives towards Derry, what Eddie has thought of as his home—his life with Myra—feels less real than Derry, even though he has forgotten most of what happened to him there. The concept of home is usually presented as a source of comfort and familiarity. For the members of the Losers’ Club, home has always been a dark force, filled with fear. 

Related Titles

By Stephen King

Plot Summary

logo

Bag of Bones

Stephen King

Bag of Bones

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Billy Summers

Stephen King

Billy Summers

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Children of the Corn

Stephen King

Children of the Corn

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Different Seasons

Stephen King

Different Seasons

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Doctor Sleep

Stephen King

Doctor Sleep

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Dolores Claiborne

Stephen King

Dolores Claiborne

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Elevation

Stephen King

Elevation: A Novel

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

End of Watch

Stephen King

End of Watch

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Fairy Tale

Stephen King

Fairy Tale

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Finders Keepers

Stephen King

Finders Keepers

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Firestarter

Stephen King

Firestarter

Stephen King

Plot Summary

logo

From a Buick 8

Stephen King

From a Buick 8

Stephen King

Plot Summary

logo

Full Dark, No Stars

Stephen King

Full Dark, No Stars

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Gerald's Game

Stephen King

Gerald's Game

Stephen King

Study Guide

logo

Gwendy's Button Box

Stephen King, Richard Chizmar

Gwendy's Button Box

Stephen King, Richard Chizmar