Imagery in S. King's "Quitters, Inc.".

Imagine a strange man threatening to cut off your wife's little finger and then absurdly remarking "have a nice day." One perturbed reader might question what he or she had just read: Illogical...yes. Absurd...very much so. Sickening...a guarantee. But, out of the question...no way! This is Stephen King. In his short story "Quitter's, Inc.," King is able to both enrapture his readers with his horror and manipulate them with humor. He …

…at the expense of his wife. The reader is left with an unnerving image; Jimmy McCann's wife was missing "the little finger on her right hand." While every character would probably concur that the ends justified the means, I myself still cannot accept this situation. I cannot get past the seemingly illegal, mob-like "business" that Quitters, Inc. conducts. I can, however, assert that this story was intensely scary, but also offered some much-needed comic relief.