The Reward

What reward is Paul given after the Ordeal, and will Paul be satisfied with it in the future?

The novel this blog post about is Misery, by Stephen King. A quick overview about what just happened is that the main character, Paul, got in a serious car accident. Paul is a bestselling author and a crazed fan saved him but held him hostage to nurse him back to health. She said the only way Paul could leave is if he wrote another book just for her. Later, Annie decided that after the book was finished she is going to kill Paul then herself. Paul planned his escape.

The reward the Paul is given after his murder of Annie is his life. He came close to dying in his attempt and will have to live with his actions for the rest of his life. I believe that Paul will not be satisfied with his reward because he will be living his life always looking over his shoulder to see if his abductor is stalking him. Annie was of course dead, but Paul still believed that she was alive and still out to get him. This could create problems in his life because he could never be normal. He wouldn't be able to have strong relationships with him family and friends because his life took a great turn for the worst. So, even though he made it out alive, a part of him died while he was in that house, and he would never get that back.