Desperation, by Stephen King ***SPOILER***

This is just a general discussion for the book "Desperation" by Stephen King. Primarily, in search of some of the underlying messages in it. For example, on the hard-cover copy of the book from '97, the doll's eyes are red and blue, showing the red for violence, the blue for peace and civility and how they're clashing with the family's life as they enter Desperation. What was the purpose for the cat being nailed to the road sign? I've considered it possibly symbolizing (since cats are the free-roaming, casual, independant domestic animals) how the natural things roaming the town, the inependant people going about their normal business, have all been put to a brutal halt; that normality has been suspended in mid air. Clearly the child's (David's) discovery of religion has a major impact on the story, but what about the experiences of the other characters? Could the bag of pot with the smiley face the cop kept framing people with have meant something?

I can tell you I liked the book. The rest would be pure speculation and I'll leave that to you.

But I will say that right or wrong, you come up with good parables and analogies for possible double meanings.

Its a sign of a form of high intelligence...

as well as sciztophrenia, but those seem to pop up together a lot and I say embrace it if you have to.

i thought the book was great..all of the peolpe being taken over by evil..marvelous..

but i dont know that there was some alterior meaning behind the story..although i cant say that i looked for one.. i just thought it was good reading....

What about the characters themselves? Was there anything in particular you liked or disliked about the characters?

Also, one of the key differences between King's other books and "Desperation" is the violence. This is definitely one of his most violence (maybe the most alongside of "Dreamcatcher" and "Cell". Did he handle the violence well, put it in the right places? The possessed cop pulling his tongue out and throwing it on the dashboard for example, and the other images of him falling apart, were these necessary?