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Why do the boys decide to go find the body?
The boys initially embark on the quest for Ray Brower because they think that bringing his body to the authorities will make them heroes for finding him. However, as the journey goes on, the quest takes on a significance of its own as a rite of passage. Gordie explains it as being as momentous as losing one’s virginity or getting married. That is, seeing their first dead body is both a loss of innocence and the beginning of maturity.
Who is Dennis?
Dennis, or Denny, is Gordie’s much older brother and the golden boy of his family. Just before the novella’s beginning, Dennis dies in a car crash at an Army base. He was athletically talented, smart, and popular. Throughout his childhood, Gordie’s parents hardly pay attention to him while lavishing attention on Dennis. However, Dennis’s kindness extends to Gordie, making it difficult for Gordie to resent him. Instead, Gordie turns his anger outward to his parents, for their neglect, and inward to himself for not being as noteworthy as Dennis.
Why does the novella include short stories that Gordie writes as an adult?
The short stories woven into the novella demonstrate how Gordie has taken the difficult feelings he experiences as a child and processes them as an adult. Both stories echo situations, characters, and phrases that Gordie uses to describe his childhood in Castle Rock. When discussing “Stud City,” Gordie explains that these stories allow him to have a sense of control over things that have hurt him. The main events of “The Body” thus offer insight into the short stories and vice versa.
How does Chris ward off the bullies?
Before leaving on their journey, Chris steals his father’s gun and brings it along. Chris fires a shot into the sky before aiming the gun at Ace Merrill. When Ace Merrill insinuates that Chris would never actually shoot him, Chris coolly asks Ace if he’d prefer to be shot in the arm or the leg, convincing the other boys that Chris is serious. Gordie helps Chris by refusing to cower and hide, backing up Chris’s threat.
Why do Gordie’s friends drift apart after they find the body?
On a basic level, Chris and Gordie are resolved to leave Castle Rock via academic achievements, while Vern and Teddy have no ambition. Their differing trajectories in school naturally separate them. Symbolically, the events surrounding the quest to find Ray Brower’s body prove once and for all that Vern and Teddy are not the same kind of people as Chris and Gordie. Chris and Gordie stand firm against the bullies whereas Vern and Teddy cower, signifying that Chris and Gordie have the bravery and maturity to stand up for themselves instead of allowing the loudest bully to take control.
