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The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet is a fantasynovella by American writer Stephen King, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1984[1] and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew[2] as well as the 2000 collection Secret Windows. The title is in reference to the narrator's belief that insanity is a sort of "flexible bullet": it will eventually kill, but how long this process takes, and how much damage the bullet does before the victim finally dies, are impossible to predict.[3] Since the publication of this story, King has occasionally used the term "flexible bullet" to describe insanity, in reference to this story.
The main character is Henry, fiction editor for the struggling Logan's magazine. Henry receives an unsolicited short story from up-and-coming novelist Reg Thorpe, and considers the story to be very dark, but also a masterpiece. Through his correspondence with Thorpe, Henry learns of—and, due to Henry's own alcoholism, comes to believe in—Thorpe's various paranoid fantasies. Most notably, Henry and Thorpe believe that their typewriters serve as homes for Fornits, tiny elves who bring creativity and good luck. The story, told from Henry's perspective as he relays it in anecdotal form at a barbecue, concerns Henry's descent into Thorpe's madness. Meanwhile, Henry also struggles to get Thorpe's story published, despite the fact that Logan's is in the process of closing its fiction department.
Madness is the chief theme of the novella. The narrator is asked to tell a story about a young author who is driven insane by early acclaim. After naming and debating the merits of Sylvia Plath and other novelists, the narrator reveals to the audience his own personal experiences with insanity. Henry's drinking makes him susceptible to Thorpe's fantasies about Fornits and "They,"- shadowy antagonists never described in detail persecuting Thorpe and his Fornit.
Henry confesses that he experienced a drunken hallucination where he met and communicated with his own Fornit, making Henry an unreliable narrator.
The narrator, Henry, is a recovering alcoholic. Much of the novella describes how Reg Thorpe's delusions, although unrelated to alcoholism, mirror and amplify Henry's own irrational and self-destructive conduct. This could be considered a case of folie à deux.
"The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" shares a common theme of fear of nuclear power with Stephen King's novel The Tommyknockers. While at a literary party, the protagonist of The Tommyknockers delivers a drunken rant about the dangers of atomic power. This is of course similar to Thorpe and Henry's fears of radium crystals and radiation poisoning. The novella mentions the case of the Radium Girls as an example of society's ignorance of the dangers of nuclear power.
As the novella is the story of a story told at a house party, "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" is a frame tale.
^King, Stephen (June 1984). "The Ballad of the Flexibe Bullet". Fantasy & Science Fiction. Vol. 66, no. 6. pp. 6–48.
^Koback, Jim (May 15, 1985). "Skeleton Crew". Kirkus Reviews.
^Beahm, George (September 1998). Stephen King from A to Z: An Encyclopedia of His Life and Work. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 15–16. ISBN978-0-8362-6914-7.
ballad, flexible, bullet, fornit, redirects, here, confused, with, fortnite, fantasy, novella, american, writer, stephen, king, first, published, magazine, fantasy, science, fiction, 1984, collected, king, 1985, collection, skeleton, crew, well, 2000, collecti. Fornit redirects here Not to be confused with Fortnite The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet is a fantasy novella by American writer Stephen King first published in The Magazine of Fantasy amp Science Fiction in 1984 1 and collected in King s 1985 collection Skeleton Crew 2 as well as the 2000 collection Secret Windows The title is in reference to the narrator s belief that insanity is a sort of flexible bullet it will eventually kill but how long this process takes and how much damage the bullet does before the victim finally dies are impossible to predict 3 Since the publication of this story King has occasionally used the term flexible bullet to describe insanity in reference to this story The Ballad of the Flexible BulletAuthorStephen KingCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenre s Fantasy NovellaPublished inThe Magazine of Fantasy amp Science Fiction 1st release Skeleton CrewPublication typeMagazine 1st release Media typePrint Magazine amp Paperback Publication date1984 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Connections 3 Major themes 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksPlot summary editThe main character is Henry fiction editor for the struggling Logan s magazine Henry receives an unsolicited short story from up and coming novelist Reg Thorpe and considers the story to be very dark but also a masterpiece Through his correspondence with Thorpe Henry learns of and due to Henry s own alcoholism comes to believe in Thorpe s various paranoid fantasies Most notably Henry and Thorpe believe that their typewriters serve as homes for Fornits tiny elves who bring creativity and good luck The story told from Henry s perspective as he relays it in anecdotal form at a barbecue concerns Henry s descent into Thorpe s madness Meanwhile Henry also struggles to get Thorpe s story published despite the fact that Logan s is in the process of closing its fiction department Connections editIn the television mini series Nightmares and Dreamscapes a fornit s symbol can be seen on a letter in the story Battleground citation needed Major themes editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message This section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message Madness is the chief theme of the novella The narrator is asked to tell a story about a young author who is driven insane by early acclaim After naming and debating the merits of Sylvia Plath and other novelists the narrator reveals to the audience his own personal experiences with insanity Henry s drinking makes him susceptible to Thorpe s fantasies about Fornits and They shadowy antagonists never described in detail persecuting Thorpe and his Fornit Henry confesses that he experienced a drunken hallucination where he met and communicated with his own Fornit making Henry an unreliable narrator The narrator Henry is a recovering alcoholic Much of the novella describes how Reg Thorpe s delusions although unrelated to alcoholism mirror and amplify Henry s own irrational and self destructive conduct This could be considered a case of folie a deux The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet shares a common theme of fear of nuclear power with Stephen King s novel The Tommyknockers While at a literary party the protagonist of The Tommyknockers delivers a drunken rant about the dangers of atomic power This is of course similar to Thorpe and Henry s fears of radium crystals and radiation poisoning The novella mentions the case of the Radium Girls as an example of society s ignorance of the dangers of nuclear power As the novella is the story of a story told at a house party The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet is a frame tale See also editStephen King short fiction bibliographyReferences edit King Stephen June 1984 The Ballad of the Flexibe Bullet Fantasy amp Science Fiction Vol 66 no 6 pp 6 48 Koback Jim May 15 1985 Skeleton Crew Kirkus Reviews Beahm George September 1998 Stephen King from A to Z An Encyclopedia of His Life and Work Andrews McMeel Publishing pp 15 16 ISBN 978 0 8362 6914 7 External links editThe Ballad of the Flexible Bullet title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet amp oldid 1209628167, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
