“For the good of all humanity I must die…and break the chain forever.”

By describing an existing descendant, the very next passage renders the grandness of Boone’s sacrifice ironic. It exhibits the subtle cynicism of King’s universe, which calls all grand declarations into question and undermines them as soon as possible. “Break the chain” also references the thematic core of the story, which details how trauma and violence travel through bloodlines.

“‘You used to be a college boy, didn’t you?’

Hall nodded.

‘Okay, college boy, I’m keeping it in mind.’”

The characters’ class difference and the animosity it provokes reflect King’s history as a boy from a working-class background whose intellectual pursuits alienated him from his peers. This is an early nod at a theme that runs through King’s work. The casual viciousness of the dialogue reflects the collection’s interest in Maliciousness and Human Motivation.

“Hall said nothing. He was thinking about Warwick, and about the rats. Strange, how the two things seemed tied together. The rats seemed to have forgotten all about men in their long stay under the mill; they were impudent and hardly afraid at all.”

The techniques King uses to depict his character’s psychology are evident in this passage, which depicts the shift in Hall’s mind that allows him to conceive leading Warwick to his death. The coupling of Warwick with the rats, both objects of revulsion to Hall, others Warwick, and this evaluation of him as subhuman makes it easier to justify his death.