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“The Body” is a coming-of-age story following Gordie’s loss of innocence the first time he sees a dead body, which crystallizes his resolve to leave Castle Rock and become a writer. Through the heightened emotions he experiences when facing mortality with his friends, Gordie realizes how his passive rebellion against his parents could lead to him being on a dead-end path in his life. Vern causes the inciting incident by telling his friends about Ray Brower’s body and suggesting they go find it. He and his friends approach the idea of finding Ray Brower’s body as an adventure that could bring them temporary acclaim. Unbeknownst to the boys at this point, Ace Merrill’s gang is also planning to take their own path to Ray Brower and become famous. Ace Merrill’s gang, a group of juvenile delinquents, are boys who have dropped out of high school and have no direction in life. As Gordie’s father implies in his worry about Gordie’s friends, if Gordie continues on the path he’s on, simply going along with his friends’ antics, he will end up a juvenile delinquent. As we later see with Ace Merrill, juvenile delinquents become mill workers and drunks, carrying out the cycle of life in Castle Rock.
Throughout the rising action, a rift begins to form and grow within the friend group. Teddy’s hair-trigger anger causes multiple problems, and Chris often has to talk him down. Vern’s intense fear nearly gets Gordie killed on the trestle bridge. The cracks between them become even clearer when Gordie tells them the story of “Lard Ass Hogan.” This story, which will go on to be published, is a sign that Gordie has talents and abilities that can take him beyond Castle Rock. Teddy and Vern don’t understand the story and dismiss Gordie’s talent, signaling that they refuse to understand and support this aspect of him. Chris, on the other hand, lectures Gordie about the importance of nurturing his writing skills and getting out of Castle Rock. He makes it clear to Gordie that sticking with the likes of Teddy and Vern will only lead to becoming a millworker.
When Gordie and his friends find Ray Brower’s body, the importance of Chris’s words hit home. Realizing that Ray Brower will never get to live the rest of his life puts Gordie in touch with his own mortality and forces him to take his choices seriously instead of following his friends. Chris and Gordie then hold their ground against Ace Merrill’s gang, marking the climax of the story. This choice signifies how Gordie has chosen Chris over Teddy and Vern, the latter of whom demonstrate cowardice instead of courage. Gordie and Chris’s bravery also signifies their refusal to become like Ace Merrill, to follow the path of aimless boys to juvenile delinquents. Even though they will face brutal beatings for their rebellion, nothing can change the fact that Gordie and Chris stood up to Ace Merrill’s group. Teddy and Vern’s refusal to stand up to Ace Merrill, on the other hand, demonstrates that they will simply succumb to the status quo in Castle Rock.
The falling action of the story shows the consequences of that fateful night. Teddy and Vern follow the footsteps of Ace Merrill’s gang, and they die ignominiously. Chris’s tragic death highlights how unfair life and death can be, just as Ray Brower’s was. Only Gordie escapes Castle Rock, using his writing talent to process his childhood. At the conclusion, Gordie describes seeing Ace Merrill during a trip back to Castle Rock. Ace Merrill has become the exact same man as his father, working at the same mill and spending his nights drinking. He is trapped in the patterns of Castle Rock that Gordie has escaped by focusing on his dreams and education.
