Stephen King Mistakes, bloopers and errors in his books
bloopers page 2
bloopers page 3
bloopers page 4
bloopers page 5
Bloopers
Bag of Bones
- Only a slight error, but in Chapter 16, the haiku of George Seferis is quoted.
Although it is a valid haiku, it is not layed out correctly. Instead of:
Are these the voices of our dead friends
Or just the gramophone?
It should be:
Are these the voices
of our dead friends or
just the gramophone?
- On page 7 ( Ch. 1 ), when Mike identifies his wife's body at the morgue,
it says that her eyes were closed. But later, on page 215 ( Ch. 13 ), when
he makes love to his wife in his "triple-dream", it says that one
of her pupils were larger than the other, like it had been, when he had seen
it on the monitor at the morgue.
- On page 362 ( Ch. 21 ) it says that the people in the dream Mike had, parted
as if they were all magnetic, and that he and Ki were positives, while the
people around them were negatives.
I don't believe I need to explain this error, unless you too didn't pay attention,
when your physics teacher told you about magnetism.
- This is not an error, but on page 427 ( Ch. 25 ) Mike mentions that among
the eighties and nineties bands, which Mattie had CD's with, was a band called
Ah-Hah.
That bands name is not Ah-Hah, but a-ha. As I said this is not an error, just
a wrongly remembered music-band name.
Carrie
- Carrie goes to Westover to buy material for her end-of-season dance gown.
But later, when Frieda asks her where she has bought her gown Carrie says
that she has made it herself and that she has bought the material for it in
Andover.
- According to the first message from the New England press bureau fire engines
from Westover, Motton and Lewiston comes to Chamberlain to help extinguish
the fire. Sheriff Doyle is quoted for saying that the only fire engines that
made themself useful during the fire was two old fire engines from Westover.
In the third message from the New England press bureau the journalist talks
to a fire inspector from Andover. So where did he come from?
- Carrie's death certificate comes from the Andover hospital, again not agreeing
that the neighbouring hospital was Westover.
- On page 51 Mr P P Bliss is mentioned a few times, then his name is spelt
Bloss, Simply a typographical error.
- When Estelle Horan is interviewed by Esquire about the bikini-incident,
she tells the journalist that Carrie was 3 when she walked into Estelle's
back garden and that she moved from away from the town when she was 20. Later
Stella Horan is mentioned as being one of the pupils that Norma Watson stood
together with, when Carrie got drenched in the blood from the pigs.
- On Page 69 (Part One: Blood Sport) the Owner of the Kelly Fruit Company
is called Hubert, but on page 217 (Part Three: Wreckage), his name changes
to Henry.
- In Part One, Blood Sport we find out that Ralph White died in Feb 1963,
7 months before Carrie was born. Later when Carrie was one year old, Margaret
White seen Carrie in her crib with a bottle dangling in mid air over her head,
and it was only Ralph White that had stopped her from Killing Carrie then.
Now it might be metaphorical - the memory of her husband made her stop wanting
to kill his daughter - but then again, it might not be.
- Speaking of name changes, on page 50 (Part One: Blood Sport) Dean K L McGuffin
is mentioned as writing a paper in 1982 Science Yearbook. On page 220 (Part
Three: Wreckage) his name changes to Dean D L McGuffin and
he wrote the paper in the 1981 Science Yearbook.
Christine
- In Chapter 18, when Arnie and Dennis are about to finish their lunch, it says that the bell rung, signifying that there were five minutes till period five started, but a few pages later Dennis talks about the next period as being period six, rather than five.
- In the original book, the car had 4 doors, but this was changed to a 2-door
model when it was realised that there never was a 4-door 1958 Plymouth Fury.
- Although all 1958 Plymouth Furys were banana yellow in colour, the book
mentions that this particular car was custom ordered Red.
- When Arnie and Leigh gives the hitchhiker a ride, on page 265 (Chapter 34),
it says that the hitchhiker opened Christine's rear door. But Plymouth Fury's
have only two doors.
- On page 264-265 ( Leigh and Christine ) Leigh remarks that she should be home at eight-thirty because she and her parents were "having friends in". But later, on page 278, after Arnie and Leigh have had their argument, Leigh's mother appears in the door, wearing raincoat, rubber boots and her nightgown. So one could presume, that she had gone to bed and had risen a few minutes before, when she heard Arnie and Leigh arrive. What happened to the friends, who should have been visiting?
Cujo
- BOTH my books have a spelling mistake on page 50, when Donna Trenton throws
Steve Kemp out for the last time. Tad's name is spelt "Tab".
- In Cujo it says that Evelyn Chalmers died on the 30th of June 1980. But
in Needful Things it says that she died in 1981
- Vic and Roger had agreed that Vic should pick up Roger half past five in
the morning (Page 87). But on page 118 Vic tells Donna that Roger and himself
have agreed that he should pick Roger up at six in the morning.
- On page 47 Donna Trenton's eyes are grey, but later on pages 171 and 259
they are described as being blue.
- On the morning when Donna leaves to take the Pinto out to Chamber's to get
it fixed,she packs a snack to take along and puts them in Tad's Snoopy lunchbox.
Among some other things..."green olives and cucumber slices in foil..." (Page
164 in my paperback edition). 26 pages later..."she was still holding the
Tupperware dish with the olives and slices of cucumbers inside, each
wrapped neatly in Saran Wrap". Now maybe Tad's Snoopy lunchbox was
a tupperware lunchbox, but one that magically changes foil to Saran wrap?
- On page 250 it says that Donna wore tennis shoes, when she stepped out of the Pinto. But on page 260 it says that she kicked Cujo with her sandal.
- On Page 332, when the ambulance drivers are trying to give an injection
to Donna Trenton while she is trying to revive Tad, the syringe is broken.
In 1980 syringes were (and still are) made of plastic, and are REAL hard to
break, even if you tried.
Cycle of the Werewolf, The
- In The Cycle of the Werewolf Stephen King changes the werewolf's eye colour.
In the January chapter it says that it's yellow eyes gleamed. But from the
July chapter and throughout the rest of the book, the werewolf's eyes are
green. (Interesting detail: If you look at Berni Wrightson's pictures of the
werewolf you can see that he has coloured the werewolf's eyes green on all
the pictures)
- In the September chapter it says that Elmer went for his rifle. But after
shaking his wife off him he takes his gun instead. I know a rifle is a gun,
but perhaps King meant something different.
- On page 80 it says that the werewolf reached through the window of Constable
Lander Neary's Dodge pick-up to get him. But on page 81 it says that the werewolf
yanked him half out of the Ford pick-up he was sitting in.
Dark Half, The
- According to residents of Bergenfield, New Jersey, the Ridgeway-section
of Bergenfield (The Prologue) does not really exist. Bergenfield County (The
Prologue) Bergenfield hasn't christened the county which it is in - The county
is actually called Bergen County. Bergenfield County Hospital (The Prologue)
is called Bergen County Hospital, it lies a couple of miles from Bergenfield.
- Page 27, the PEOPLE magazine article, states "...From his birth in
Manchester, New Hampshire, to his final residence in Oxford, Mississippi,
everything is there except for George Stark's interment six weeks ago at Homeland
Cemetery
in Castle Rock, Maine." But on page 169, Pangborn says, "...The
cemetery wasn't specifically identified, either in the photo caption or in
the body of the story, as Homeland." Maybe Pangborn didn't read the story
carefully...?
- In Chapter 8, subchapter 2, it says that Thad put the papers on which he
had written "The Sparrows Are Flying Again" into one of the desk
drawers. But later in Chapter 10, subchapter 2, when Thad shows Liz what he
had written, it says that the papers were lying on top of his typewriter.
- In The Dark Half Stephen King writes about how Delta-waves are characterising
for REM-sleep. This is not true.
Delta-waves characterise Stage 4-sleep, which is either when a person is in
deep sleep or unconscious. In Stage 4-sleep the brain oscillates between 1
and 4 hertz, so in Stage 4-sleep REM-sleep can not occur. What does happen
is a person either walks in his sleep, talks in his sleep or is having night
terrors.
REM-sleep does instead occur in what is called Stage 5-sleep. In that stage
the brain has an increased neuronal activity and the brain waves produced
there looks much like Beta-waves. And Beta-waves are the waves that the brain
shows when it is awake.
Then the brain produces Beta-waves the brain oscillates between 12 and 24
hertz. And when that happens in a persons sleep, then it indicates that he
is dreaming, i.e. he is REM-sleeping.
In Insomnia Ralph and the pharmacist
discuss' approximately the same things, but their own lack of knowledge in
to the subject can here be used as an excuse for the wrong information.
- Page 241: Pangborn is waiting for ten minutes to pass, but it says that
he waits for the *minute* hand to circle the face of the clock ten times,
which would make it ten hours. Oops. Should have been second hand, right?
- In The Dark Half Chapter 16, subchapter 6 we learn that Alan Pangborn's
boys are Todd and Toby. In Needful Things his sons are Al and Todd.
- In Chapter 24, subchapter 3 and Chapter 25, subchapter 1 it says that the
road Thad's summer house was on, was called Lake Lane, but in Chapter 25,
subchapter 1, it is suddenly called Lake Drive.
Dark Tower, The
All errors are located under the title of the latest book containing the error.
This is because the second entry contradicts the first, and is thus the error.
The Gunslinger
- In the beginning of The Gunslinger (The Gunslinger, Chapter 2) it says that
it was a donkey that Roland led through the desert. A bit later, in the same
chapter, it says that it was a mule. And the animal stays a mule through the
rest of the book.
- In the last chapter in The Gunslinger Walter tells Roland that atoms are
composed of nuclei and revolving protons and electrons. That is not entirely
true. The electrons do revolve around the nuclei. But one or more protons
make up the nuclei, together with one or more neutrons (Except when it is
a Hydrogen atom we are talking about. That one does only have a proton and
nothing else in it), so a proton can't revolve around itself.
- On page 71, in The Gunslinger, chapter titled The Way Station, King describes
the main character's father as "she" by accident. A quote: "There
had been the recurring dream of his room in the castle and of his father,
who had sung it to him as he lay solemnly in the tiny bed by the window of
many colors. She did not sing it at bedtimes because all
small boys born to the High Speech......"
- In The Gunslinger we learn that Cuthbert and Jaime are Roland's friends.
But in the other books it is Cuthbert and Alain who are Roland's friends.
So, what happened to Jaime?
The Drawing of the Three
- In The Gunslinger, Chapter 1, we learn that the stocks on Roland's guns
are made of sandalwood, but in The Drawing of the Three, Prologue: The Sailor,
they are mentioned as being made of ironwood, but later in Reshuffle, Chapter
13 they are again made of sandalwood.
- In The Gunslinger (The Slow Mutants) Roland tries to look in a newspaper
which he found in the lap of a mummified trainman. But in The Drawing of the
three Roland sees, whilst looking through Eddie's eyes, men who are reading
papers covered with letters and pictures. It is strange that he doesn't recognise
these things as newspapers, when he himself tried to look at one in The Gunslinger.
- In The Gunslinger (The Gunslinger, Chapter V) Roland sees, when he goes
through Tull, three women wearing slacks. But in The Drawing of the
Three (Prisoner Chapter 1, subchapter 6) he is shocked when he, through Eddie's
eyes, sees a stewardess wearing trousers.
- On the very last page of The Gunslinger chapter it says that Roland didn't
know where Cort was. But in The Drawing of the Three (Shuffle) it says that
Roland remembered how Cort died nine weeks after the Presentation Ceremonies.
So Roland did know where Cort was.
- In the first subchapter of The Way Station Roland doesn't know what a tie
is. But in The Drawing of the Three (The Prisoner, chapter 1, subchapter 6)
Roland sees some men wearing ties. And when he sees those ties he does not
seem to have any kind of trouble identifying them.
- In The Drawing of the Three, in the beginning of the Detta and Odetta chapter,
Stephen King quotes the Austrian psychoanalyst Alfred Adler (1870-1937). Adler
is quoted for saying that schizophrenia and split personality is the same
thing. But nowadays we all know better, except Stephen King, and that's a
bit sad, come to think of it.
- In the beginning of The Drawing of the Three, The Prisoner Chapter 1, subchapter
9, Eddie calls his boss Emilio Balazar, but later in The Prisoner Chapter
4, subchapter 7, and throughout the rest of the book he calls him Enrico Balazar.
- There seems to be some confusion as to the direction of North in The Drawing
of the Three. Roland does say that things in this world are not as they seem,
but Travelling North, on numerous occasions west is shown to be on their RIGHT
side, not left as it should have been.
- In The Drawing of the Three (The Prisoner, Chapter 1, subchapter 2) it says
that Roland checked if he still had Walter's jawbone in his hip pocket, with
his right hand. In The Gunslinger (The Gunslinger and the Dark Man) says that
he put the jawbone in his left hip pocket?
- In The Gunslinger (The Way Station, chapter 1), Roland remembers that Cuthbert
always laughed and that he even died smiling, but in The Drawing of the Three
(Shuffle) Roland remembers that Cuthbert always asked questions and that he
even died with one on his lips. I suppose he could have smiled when he asked
the question.
- David was called a Falcon in DT1, but a Hawk in DT2.
- When Eddie and Roland arrives at The Leaning Tower, in The Drawing of the
Three, The Prisoner, Chapter 4, subchapter 13, Roland tries to read the neon
sign. When he does that he does not seem to know the letter H, but if the
letter H was unknown in his own world, how could the following names then
occur: Khef; Hax; Cuthbert?
- When Eddie uses Roland's revolver at Balazar's in The Prisoner, Chapter
5, subchapter 22, it says that he vaporised the things he hit with the revolver.
Likewise we learn how the bullets that Roland used had the ability to blow
people apart. Now if these bullets could so easily vaporise/blow apart people,
how was Roland then able to bring back two whole rabbits for him and Jake
to eat in The Oracle and The Mountains?
- In The Drawing of the Three, Shuffle, Eddie tells Roland that he will get
some water, but when he returns a few lines later, it says that he was carrying
some wood.
- The Drawing of the Three, Shuffle we hear of Henry Dean being drafted to
fight in Vietnam. Eddie Dean is 21 the year is 1987, and Henry is 8 years
older than Eddie, therefore Henry was born in 1958.
The problem is that Henry is described as having been drafted into the US
Army at 18 and sent to fight in Vietnam, where he had been wounded in action.
But Henry is too young to have fought in Vietnam. When the very last American
left Saigon on that famous helicopter in 1975, Henry was only 17! In fact,
the draft was ended in 1973, when Henry was only 15.
- In the beginning of chapter 2, in The Lady of Shadows, it says that two
paramedics rode on the ambulance that picked up Odetta after she had been
run over by the train in 1959.
Here we encounter a minor problem, because the paramedics who are mentioned
in this chapter and in other chapters later on in the book, didn't exist at
that point in time. Or rather, the function which they represented, didn't
exist at that point as the first time paramedics were used, in the US, was
in 1966 in Manhattan.
- In The Drawing of the Three, chapter 3, subchapter 6, when Eddie told Odetta
that he came from 1987 he also mentions that he is 23 years old. But, as mentioned
above, Eddie is 21 years old.
- In the first subchapter of chapter 2, in The Lady of Shadows, it says that
when George Shaver arrived at the crash site at Idlewild, he saw an eyeball
resting on top of a Samsonite suitcase. Furthermore he saw a teddybear lying
beside a child's sneaker, which still contained the child's foot. But later
that night, when he has a nightmare, it is the teddybear which is resting
on top of the Samsonite suitcase, not the eyeball.
The Waste Lands
- In The Gunslinger (The Way Station, chapter II) Roland's father is called
Roland the elder. But in The Wastelands (Chap. VI, subchapter 10) Roland calls
himself Roland, son of Steven, when he talks to Blaine.
- Yet another naming error has turned up, this one begins in The Drawing of
the Three and ends in The Wastelands. In The Drawing Eddie's sister is called
Selina, but in The Wastelands she is called Gloria.
- Jake takes his father's automatic .44 Ruger when he runs away from home
( Door and Demon, Chapter 6 ). The problem is that Ruger has never made a
44 calibre pistol/gun.
- In The Drawing of the Three (Chapter 1, subchapter 6), Odetta's mother is
called Alice, but in The Waste Lands (Bear and Bone, Chapter 1), she is called
Sarah.
- In The Waste Lands, Bear and Bone, Chapter
1 it says that Roland had brought more than 300 bullets with him, when he
returned from Eddie's and Susannah's world. But in The Drawing of the Three,
The Pusher, Chapter 3, subchapter 9 it says that he put four boxes, with 50
bullets in each of them, in Jack Mort's jacket pockets.
- In The Waste Lands it says that Susannah, in the end of The Drawing of the
Three, shot three of the lobstrosities and thus saved Roland and Eddie. But
in The Drawing of the Three, The Pusher, Chapter 4, subchapter 17 it says
that she shot four of the lobstrosities.
- When Eddie talks to Blaine after he and Susannah has arrived at the railway
station (Bridge and City, Chapter 27), he tells Blaine that he and Susannah
came from New York a couple of weeks prior to them meeting Blaine. But in
the beginning of the book (Door and Demon, Chapter 1) Eddie remembers that
he has been in Roland's world in almost two months.
- Further to the problem of Henry Dean's age being too young to fight in Vietnam
, the problem becomes painfully obvious in The Waste Lands, when a 19 year
old Henry and an 11 year old Eddie visits the haunted house in 1977 ( Door
and Demon, Chapter 22 ), trailed by an unnoticed Jake.
According to the Vietnam vet story, by 1977 Henry should already be a junkie
vet with at bad leg, but he's described as an innocent - if rather immature
and churlish - teenage boy.
- When Jake asks Roland for something to drink, after they have left the Grays
main room and entered the kitchen (Bridge and City, Chapter 37), Roland has
a flashback to when he first met Jake at the Way Station. He recalls that
Jake had soaked his shirt and given him water to drink through it. But in
The Gunslinger it says that Jake had used a tin can to bring him water that
he could drink (The Way Station).
- When Susannah finishes marking all the numbers which aren't prime numbers
the diamond shaped control shows that 1 is a prime number. ( Riddle and Waste
Lands, Chapter 3 ) Unfortunately it isn't, so in theory The Waste Lands
should have been the last Dark Tower book, because Blaine would
kill them all in the middle of subchapter 3, when they pushed the 1-button.
Wizard and Glass
- The Prologue in Wizard and Glass is not exactly what was written in The
Waste Lands. It is missing one bit of text about a teacher mentioned by Jake
Chambers that was mentioned in The Waste Lands.
- In Wizard and Glass Blaine has trouble answering the riddle about when a
door is not a door (Part I, Ch. 3, subch. 4). But in The Waste Lands Susannah
and Eddie asks him the exact same riddle (Bridge and City, Ch. 30), and there
he answered it without hesitation.
- It says that Susan noticed the lice hopping in Rhea's hair. (Part II, Chapter
2, subchapter 4 ) Lice can't hop, but fleas can.
- When The Waste Lands ends Eddie is carrying the Ruger, but in Part I, Ch.
3, subch. 4, of Wizard and Glass it says that he was carrying one of Roland's
guns. But later (Part I, Ch. 5, subch. 1) Eddie is suddenly carrying the Ruger
again.
- When Roland and Jake are about to rub Oy's feet together in the red booties
(Part 4, Chapter 2, Subchapter 5), it refers to Eddie grasping Oy's feet then
of Jake and Roland patting his feet together.
Dark Visions
- In the first few pages of the Reploids,
Detective Cheyney is called Dave Cheyney, for the rest of the story he is
referred to as Richard Cheyney.
Dead Zone, The
- In chapter 6, Johnny speaks, while he is still connected to the respirator.
It would be impossible for him to speak, because when he got connected to
the respirator, a tube was lead down his windpipe to his lungs. And with that
tube placed inside his windpipe it would be virtually impossible for him to
speak, because the tube blocks his vocal cords.
- In Chapter 7, Subchapter 1, when Johnny grabbs Weizack's hand, he has memories
of world war II invasion of Poland including a German Tiger tank in 1939 -
the Tiger tank did not enter service until late 1942, over 2 years following
the invasion of Poland.
- In chapter 7 Sam Weizak asks Johnny to imagine different objects, such as
a rowboat lying at the foot of a street sign, to give an example. What Weizak
is doing there is what one would call a cognitive test.
Depending on whether on not Johnny can imagine these objects, Weizak wants
to see if some parts of Johnny's brain has been damaged. Johnny is at the
same time connected to an EEG machine. If one should believe Weizak, then
those graph's from the EEG machine should, together with whether or not Johnny
could imagine the objects, determine if his brain has been damaged.
Alas, an EEG machine can only give an indication of brain waves (such as awake,
the types of sleep etc), not if the brain has been damaged.
- In the very last line of chapter 15, it says that Johnny didn't see Sarah
Hazlett for three years. At that time it was around the 18th of October 1975.
But when Johnny's father marries Charlene Mackenzie in chapter 22 on the 2nd
of Jan 1977 it says that Sarah attended the wedding. Johnny actually saw Sarah
again one year and three months later, not three years later.
- In chapter 16 subchapter 4, when Johnny goes out into the shed to look for
the newspaper that had the article of Frank Dodd, it is noted that the paper
is Sunday's paper from three weeks ago. On the next page right after the line,
"THE DO-NOTHING COPS IN OUR....." it is said that this Sunday supplement
article in now nearly six weeks old while just a couple of minutes ago it
was three. (Found by James Cook)
- Roger Chatsworth is called Stuart for a couple of pages in Chapter 17.
- In Chapter 21, subchapter 4 it says that it was a .357 magnum that Harry
Callahan had used in the Dirty Harry movies, but it was in fact a .44 magnum
that he used in the movies.
- The boy, that Stillson uses as a shield, is, when we meet him the first
time, called Sean (Chapter 27, Subchapter 5), then a bit later he is called
Tommy (Chapter 27, Subchapter 5), and finally at the Congressional Investigation
he is called Matt Robeson (Part 3, Subchapter 8). (Irrelevant and very
bizarre note: In the Danish translation of the book the boy is called Tommy
Robeson every time he is mentioned)
Desperation
- The "Eat Em and Smile" album is said to be a Van Halen album,
when it in fact is a David Lee Roth album, produced shortly after he left
the group.
- In Part I: Chapter 1, subchapter 2 in the book Mary Jackson's hair is described
as being short. But throughout the rest of the book it is described as being
long.
- In Part I: Chapter 5, subchapter 2 where David visits Brian at the hospital
he notices that Brian lies with his eyes open. But later when Brian's mother
phones him to tell him that Brian is awake, it sounds as if it is a sensation,
that Brian has opened his eyes. Brian's mother is confused by this and so
is Brian's doctor Dr. Waslewski, when he sees Brian open his eyes.
- In Part II: Chapter 3, subchapter 5 it says that one of the Kamikaze-vultures
shattered the passenger window in the truck, so it became milky. But in Part
II: Chapter 4, subchapter 2 Steve looks out through that same window when
he tries to find a place to park the truck. Later in Part V: Chapter1, subchapter
1 it says that Steve looked into the mirror outside the passenger window,
which would be impossible.
- Stephen King seems to be unable to keep track of how many people he has
brought together in the old cinema. Although there are eight people in the
cinema, he continues to write that there are only seven.
- Mary Jackson complained that she had to 'go pee', but when quizzed by Tom
Billingsley, she replied that it was OK, she had good kidneys. Most people
know that urine is stored in the BLADDER and that kidneys produce the urine,
not STORE it.
Different Seasons
- In the beginning of Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank
Redemption the reader is told that the prisons coveralls doesn't
have pockets, except for the ones used by those working in the garage. But
later on, after Andy has escaped, Red tries to figure out how Andy got rid
of all the dirt from the tunnel. He ends up concluding that Andy must have
made a pair of extra pockets in each trouser leg and
filled them with the dirt. And then when he walked around in the prison yard
he would open them with strings he had concealed in his trouser pockets. Which
pockets?
- Early in Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
Henry Backus is mentioned, but later on page 85 he is called Henly Backus.
- In the very beginning of Rita Hayworth and
the Shawshank Redemption, we learn that the house, where Glenn
Quentin lives is a one-storey house. But just a few pages further into the
story we are told that it is a two-storey house, when Andy says that he watched
the lights go out downstairs in the house and then saw a single light go on
upstairs.
- In The Body Chris shows
Gordon his fathers gun and tells him that it isn't loaded, but Gordon discovers
that it is, when he pulls the trigger. Chris finds that immensely funny and
shortly afterwards he tells Vern and Teddie about what happened, while Gordon
stands beside them. But later in chapter 18, when they are walking through
the woods, Gordon wonders if Chris has told the others about the incident
with the gun or if it still is their secret.
- In The Body there is a person
called David Chalmers in Chapter 5, but I believe this was a mistake in the
name and should be Frank Chalmers as in Chapter 17. He is the brother of Chris
and was in Jail for rape - the description for the 2 names match too close
for them to be different people.
- In The Body in chapter 5, it
says that the only reason, why Gordie and the others plan, for going hiking
undetected, wouldn't fail, was because Vern and Chris's parents didn't have
a phone, so their parents couldn't call each other and thereby discover that
their sons had lied to them. Later, in chapter 30, Gordon tells his mother
that Vern's mother should have called and told her, that they had gone hiking.
Gordon's mother responds that she hasn't received a call from Vern's mother,
but she guess' that maybe his father has talked to Vern's mother.
At this point you could argue that because Gordon's parents didn't pay much
attention to Gordon, they might also have payed as little attention to his
friends. And thereby, they might not have learned that Vern's parents didn't
have a phone. But in chapter 31 it says that Vern's mother called Teddy's
mother. And that is an error. (It is possible, according to Joe Lamb, that
they could've used a call box)
- In The Body In chapter
2 it says that Gordie's brother was eight years older than him. But in chapter
6, it says that his brother was ten years older than him.
- In The Body In chapter
12, one of the song titles, which Gordie remembers, is the song "I Ran
All the Way Home", which Little Anthony should have sung. But actually
it was The Impalas, who performed the song, which at it's full length was
called: "(Sorry) I Ran All the Way Home.".
- In The Body In chapter
15, it says that Chris had finished his Coke, but later, in chapter 17, it
says that Gordie drank the last of Chris' Coke.
- In The Body there is
a slight age-discrepancy, concerning Ace Merrill's age in the final chapter
of the book.
First we learn that Ace was driving around with a bumpersticker saying Reagan/Bush
1980 and at the same time he should have been 32.
Second, we learn that the book was written in 1982. Because in chapter 24,
Gordon tells us that he is 34. That would mean that there has passed 22 years,
between his and the others hiking and the time, when he wrote the book.
Third, we know that Ace is older than Gordon and the others.
I think he is 15, in 1960.
Never the less, he can't be driving around with a bumper sticker saying Reagan/Bush
1980 and at the same time be 32. Because if Gordon saw him in 1981, driving
around with that bumpersticker, then he would have been around 11 years in
1960 ( 1981 - 32 = 1949. 1960 - 1949 = 11 ). And that would mean that he would
have been younger than Gordon and the others. If Gordon had seen him in 1980,
Ace Merrill would have been 12 in 1960. So it would be impossible for Ace
to drive around with that bumpersticker, be older than Gordon and at the same
time be 32.
- The error in The Breathing Method
David tells the reader that the first Christmas story he heard at 249 was
the one Gerard Tozeman told, but a few pages before he mentions that he is
listening to Peter Andrews telling his Christmas story.
Dolores Claiborne
- On page 60 Dolores remembers how her father once had beaten her mother because
she didn't have the dinner ready, when he got home from work.
Dolores remembers that her father had, when he got home, taken off his boots
out on the stoop. After he had beaten Dolores mother he goes outside and sits
down on the chopping block. When he sat down, he scared the hens away. But
Dolores remembers that they soon returned to the chopping block and began
pecking the ground around her dads boots.The boots he had taken off when he
got home.
- A possible mistake is that Jessie's car did not stall after she crashed
it, but when she awoke, it was stopped. Now it COULD have stalled in the meantime,
but it is not mentioned.
- On page 66, when she talks about Joe, she says that he is "a goddam
Democrat," but at the end of the story, she says that she herself is
a registered Democrat. That sounds like conflicting opinions.
Back