The Shining

The Shining Imagery

Jack and the Maze

As Wendy and Danny explore the maze, Jack is inside looking at a scale model of the maze, where he can see tiny models of his wife and child walking towards the center. This is a rich image that symbolizes Jack's evil, manipulative intentions towards his family.

The Bloody Elevator

The blood that rushes out of the elevator is an iconic image that provides a tactile representation of the carnage that defines the hotel.

Burnt Toast

When Dick Hallorann explains "shining" to Danny, he compares the history of the hotel leaving behind evil spirits to burnt toast leaving behind ash. This is both a tactile and gustatory metaphor for the particular way in which the Overlook is haunted by its past.

The Overlook Hotel's Carpet

The colorful geometry of the Overlook's carpet, which appears whenever Danny plays with his toys or takes a bike ride through the hotel, symbolizes order and sanity. These themes are also present in imagery such as the hedge maze and the hotel's disorienting floor plan, both of which pervert this sense of geometrical order into a kind of visual madness.