Did Jack write this from the start?

In "The Shining", does Jack only write the sentence "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" during the whole movie, or does he actually start with writing a proper book?

plot-explanation the-shining

Best Answer

I assume you ask about Kubrick's "The Shining".

We actually don't know. We see only end result as a sign of madness.

BUT if you look closely at the first scene when see Jack writing anything there is a very, IMHO, important discontinuity.

Wendy approaches Jack, he speaks through his teeth and shred the paper. Then we see a fresh, blank page in the typewriter which can be a clue that Jack didn't write anything but to explain to himself why he haven't he make up in his mind such interactions.

Which is also an explanation for his growing hate toward his wife and child.

Everytime he looks at the empty paper he thinks (maybe the Overlooks suggests) that he had to destroy part of his work because THEY have enraged him.