Quitters Inc.

Despite cursing Jimmy McCann as a “Judas” for referring him to Quitters, Inc., Morrison gives a former colleague the company’s business card and tells him that Quitters, Inc. changed his life. How would you account for this change of character?

What role does Alvin, Morrison’s son, play in the story? Specifically, how does Morrison’s attitude toward his son characterize the protagonist?

Horror stories often build tension by disempowering the protagonist, having them attempt to influence the action and fail. Read Morrison’s second conversation with Donatti and analyze how King uses disempowerment to gradually build a sense of danger and unease.

At the start of “Quitters, Inc.,” McCann is Morrison’s foil. What are some specific ways that the two characters contrast, and how does McCann set up or foreshadow Morrison’s transformation by the story’s conclusion?

Bars are a common setting not just in “Quitters, Inc.” but in many of Stephen King’s novels and short stories about addiction. How does this setting set up and inform the story’s thematic interest in addiction?

King wrote this story while experiencing addiction. In what ways does this story thematically represent fears of recovery? Analyze the narrative and themes through the lens of someone struggling with the idea of recovery.

Explore how the limited third-person perspective works within this horror story to set the tone and mood and drive tension. How would the story differ if a first-person perspective were used?

Much of the language Donatti uses to describe Quitters, Inc.’s program methodology is euphemistic, hinting at violence, murder, and torture without explicitly stating it. Find a few examples of this euphemistic language and analyze its function in the text. How does it inform the story’s tone, characterize Donatti and Quitters, Inc., and align with the text’s themes?