Title: It!

Author: Theodore Sturgeon

Date of First Publication: 1940

Place of Publication: Unknown magazine.

Type: Short story

Characters: No Character

Themes: POSTHUMAN

Critical Summary: There is something that lives in the woods. It is unsure of exactly what it is, since it is described to be something that is growing, but not actually living. However, it is something that is capable of great strength and potentially some intelligence. While in the woods, this mysterious creature stumbles upon a dog named Kimbo. While Kimbo tries to put up a fight, this “thing” breaks Kimbo’s back and begins to rip the dog apart. Alton Drew is the owner of Kimbo and realizes that Kimbo has not come back home. Alton heads out into the woods to look for Kimbo and eventually finds him dead and ripped to shreds. Since Alton took a long time in the woods, his brother Cory begins to worry. Cory heads into the woods to look for his brother, and finds Alton sitting on the ground with Kimbo’s ripped up corpse. Cory tries to get his brother back home, but Alton is determined to find whatever killed Kimbo so he can avenge him. Even though Cory tries to get Alton back home, he can’t—which leads to the death of Alton by the same thing that killed Kimbo. Cory goes back into the woods and his daughter Babe goes too to help him look for her uncle. She comes across the mysterious monster who tries to attack her, but Babe throws a rock at its ankle which causes it to lose balance and fall in the river bank, where it eventually sinks to the bottom and dies. “IT!” connects to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein because they both share the similar idea of the “creature,” and how this creature is unaware of things happening, and does things out of curiosity, not necessarily because it means to be evil. Just like the Creature in Frankenstein, the monster in IT! has great strength and uses his strength to murder those who approach it.

Administrative Notes:  Natallia Mak , CSUF; Annette Morrison, Editor, CSUF