Apt Pupil

Last updated
Apt Pupil
Author Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Psychological thriller
Published in Different Seasons
Publisher Viking Press
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Publication date 1982

Apt Pupil (1982) is a novella by Stephen King subtitled "Summer of Corruption", originally published in the 1982 novella collection Different Seasons with a more dramatic bent, rather than the horror fiction for which King is famous. [1] Apt Pupil consists of 30 chapters, many of which are headed by a month. Set in a fictional suburb of Southern California called "Santo Donato," the story unfolds over a period of about four years, with most of the action taking place during the first year and the last months. It is the only novella in Different Seasons to be narrated in the third person. Sony Pictures released a film version of Apt Pupil in 1998. The film was directed by Bryan Singer. Brad Renfro stars as Todd Bowden and Ian McKellen stars as Dussander. [2] The ending of the film is significantly different.

Contents

Plot summary

In 1974, Los Angeles teenager Todd Bowden arrives at the doorstep of elderly German immigrant Arthur Denker, accusing him of being wanted Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander. The old man reluctantly acknowledges his true identity. Todd asks to hear detailed stories about his crimes, having recently become interested in the Holocaust. If Dussander refuses his demands, Todd will turn him over to the authorities. Over the next months, Todd visits Dussander daily under the pretext of reading to him, all the while badgering him into revealing more details of his atrocities. Todd soon forces Dussander to wear a replica SS Oberleutnants uniform and march on command.

Over time, Todd also begins to have nightmares and sees his grades slip. After being confronted by his father about his grades, he forges his report cards before giving them to his parents. Eventually, Todd finds himself in danger of failing several courses. Ed French, Todd's guidance counselor, requests an appointment with the Bowdens. Todd and Dussander concoct a ruse, having Dussander go to French's appointment while posing as Todd's grandfather, Victor. Dussander falsely claims that Todd's grades are the result of problems at home, and promises to make sure his grades improve; French notices Todd's "grandfather" does not mention him by name.

Knowing that Todd has been doctoring his report cards and knowingly socialized with a war criminal, Dussander blackmails him into spending his visits studying. Todd eventually manages to improve his schoolwork. Having no longer any use for Dussander, Todd resolves to kill him and make it look like an accident. Todd had earlier claimed to have given a letter about Dussander to a friend; if anything should happen to Todd, the letter will be sent to the authorities. However, before Todd can kill Dussander, the old man realizes Todd's intentions and claims to have written about Todd's involvement with him, and put his statement into a safe deposit box that will be found upon his death. Both Dussander and Todd are bluffing.

Over the next few months, Todd murders several homeless vagrants; he finds that committing murder helps with his nightmares. As years pass, his visits to Dussander become less frequent. He loses his virginity, but finds sex unsatisfying compared to the thrill of killing. He thinks his failure at sex is because his girlfriend is Jewish. When circumstances do not allow him to continue his killings, he picks a concealed spot overlooking the freeway and aims at people in passing cars with his hunting rifle. Dussander, suffering from his own nightmares, has also taken to killing the homeless, burying the bodies in his basement. Despite the link between them, Dussander and Todd are not immediately aware of each other's exploits.

One night when Dussander is digging a grave for his latest victim, he has a heart attack. He summons Todd, who buries the body and cleans up the crime scene before calling an ambulance. At the hospital, Dussander shares a room with Morris Heisel, an elderly Jewish man and Holocaust survivor who recognizes "Mr. Denker" but cannot place him. Todd eventually visits Dussander at the hospital. Dussander has read about the homeless men murdered by Todd and tells him not to get careless.

A few days later, Heisel realizes Denker is Dussander, the commandant of the camp where his wife and daughters were murdered in gas chambers. Israeli Nazi hunter Weiskopf visits Dussander, saying he has been found out. After Weiskopf leaves, Dussander steals drugs from the hospital dispensary and commits suicide. Police detective Richler, accompanied by Weiskopf, later interviews Todd. A vagrant later recognizes Todd as the last person seen with several of the homeless victims and notifies the police.

Meanwhile, French meets Todd's real grandfather, who bears no physical resemblance to Dussander. Suspicious, French checks Todd's old report cards, finding that they have been tampered with. Identifying Dussander as the man who he actually met, French confronts Todd, who responds by fatally shooting him. Todd's sanity breaks. He takes his rifle and ammunition to his hideout by the freeway and embarks on a shooting spree, resulting in his death at the hands of the authorities five hours later.

Connection to King's other works

Media

See also

Notes

  1. "BOOKS OF THE TIMES (Published 1982)". The New York Times. 11 August 1982. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10.
  2. "Apt Pupil". 23 October 1998 via www.imdb.com.
  3. "This Fan Theory About Jack Torrance From The Shining Is Mind Blowing". ShortList . 16 June 2015.
  4. "Remember The 1987 Apt Pupil Film…Wait, What?!". Retroist. 6 April 2017 via www.retroist.com.

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