Firestarter

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1980

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 10 Summary: “Endgame”

After improving their testing facilities, the Shop has Charlie start bigger and bigger fires. They are shocked to discover that her capacity for creating larger fires appears limitless. All of this testing gives Charlie practice for controlling her pyrokinesis. She uses her bargaining power and demands to see her father, a request her keeper defers.

At the funeral, Andy pushes Cap to move his transfer flight up, to send Rainbird away, and to escort him and Charlie alone on the flight. Cap agrees, though he is becoming increasingly withdrawn around an echo in his mind regarding snakes and golf clubs. Andy gives Cap a note to pass to Charlie alerting her of his plan and warning her about Rainbird’s intentions. Charlie, upon reading the note, is dismayed about Rainbird. The next time he comes into her room she coldly ignores him. After observing Cap’s increasingly confused state and Charlie’s rebuff, Rainbird hacks into the Shop’s central computer and discovers Andy’s plan.

Chapter 11 Summary: “Firestarter”

On the day of the flight, Cap has all but descended into the echo in his mind. He retrieves Andy and brings him to the stables, where they are to meet Charlie. Charlie is brought to the stables earlier. She threatens to burn her guard, scaring the man off. Unbeknownst to Charlie, Rainbird is waiting in the stables. He is on the cusp of convincing Charlie to come to him when Cap and Andy arrive.

Rainbird threatens to kill Andy unless Charlie comes with him, while Charlie’s guard reports her escape attempt and Shop agents surround the stable. Cap falls to the ricochet in his mind and leaps at a hose, mistaking it for a snake. Making use of the distraction, Andy pushes Rainbird, forcing him to jump to his death from the stable loft, but not before Rainbird fatally shoots Andy. Witnessing her father’s death, Charlie unleashes her power, killing dozens of agents and destroying the Shop facility. She is able to prevent herself from killing the defenseless workers. Once her power is quelled in a duck pond, she escapes.

Chapter 12 Summary: “Charlie Alone”

Charlie makes her way to the Manders farm. Irv and Norma nurse her back to health while keeping her presence a secret. She stays with them for almost a year before the community discovers her presence and the remnants of the Shop arrive. By this time, Charlie has escaped. She makes her way to New York and locates the head office of Rolling Stone, which she believes is free of governmental censorship, to finally reveal her truth to the world.

A government agent named Tarkington appears at the end of the novel. He looms behind Charlie as she sets out for New York to reveal her truth.

Chapters 10-12 Analysis

Fear of the unknown is a focus of these chapters. Characters allude to it, particularly when it comes to Charlie’s destructive potential. Fear of her ability and potential develops into a paranoia that haunts many, and emulates the fear of weapons of mass destruction. Anxiety about an unpredictable entity, particularly one that contains an uncontrollable power, threatens an authoritative body like the government. The fear of unknown entities with existence-threatening powers parallels the American fear of Soviet nuclear power during the Cold War (1947-1991). Amid the fear of governmental abuse was also the looming threat of catastrophic nuclear war when Firestarter was penned. This fear of apocalypse is reflected in the Chapter 10 title, “Endgame.” The fear of the unknown in these chapters, and the limitless destructive power of the unknown, combines Cold War fears with the theme of Government Overreach and the Failure of Authority.

King uses rudimentary computer language to reveal Rainbird’s thought process. The narrative shows how his thinking is akin to the cold and indifferent manner of computer input. Throughout the novel, antagonistic figures use technology or are likened to it, creating fear around technology. King implies how technology would be vastly dangerous in such hands.

The slaughter at the Shop is the novel’s climax, where tensions reach a breaking point. During the slaughter, Charlie also comes of age, leaving behind the innocence of childhood. She is able to fully harness her power and direct it to her will. This is evident, paradoxically, in her restraint. Rather than uniformly destroy, she spares the secretaries and vulnerable tech workers. This shows that she has retained her humanity and compassion, and that she can control her abilities. Charlie is aware of her destructive potential, sure that she can “change the sun” (377). The fact that Charlie is aware of this speaks to the depth of her self-awareness.

Charlie is ready to tell her story. This illustrates how she has gained her voice and ownership over herself. She has grown up enough to confront the world, and to know herself while doing so. Ultimately, she holds a greater power than pyrokinesis—the power of her truth. King does not depict this, but rather, true to the nature of coming-of-age narratives, ends the story in this sense of burgeoning potential.

Tarkington’s appearance at the novel’s end shows the controlling nature of the government. Even though the book ends hopefully, with Charlie at the Rolling Stone offices, King implies that the government may always be close behind to control the truth.