Them

“Them” is the name Buster Keeton gives the supposed force conspiring against him, and the expression marks a crucial shift in his state of mind: suspicion first exhausts him, then returns as an all-encompassing explanation that enables the bombing plan to proceed.

Meaning and Use

Buster’s pronoun does not identify a stable, clearly defined group. At one point, he thinks the whole town is crawling with “Them,” but the belief offers no lasting resolve: his earlier righteous anger gives way to weariness, depression, and a pounding headache. The capitalized, collective enemy makes his fear sound like a coherent campaign even as his ability to distinguish fact from imagined plots falters.

A Belief That Changes with Buster’s Mood

The expression’s force shifts over the course of the events. Buster briefly tells Leland Gaunt to stop, and the anger and outrage have gone out of his voice. Yet Gaunt’s assurance that three good men can do considerable damage, together with his promise to send someone, keeps the plan moving. The exchange places Buster’s fading resistance beside Gaunt’s continued direction of events.

From Confusion to Certainty

As Buster and Ace Merrill head back to Castle Rock, Buster’s earlier confusion seems to disappear. He now believes he can understand every plot and machination carried out by “Them,” and he explains his account to Ace while Ace connects timers to blasting caps in the back of the van. The scene’s irony lies in the contrast: Buster experiences his renewed certainty as understanding, while the concrete action around him is the preparation of explosives under Gaunt’s influence.

Narrative Significance

“Them” turns diffuse fear into a named, apparently unified enemy. Its recurrence tracks not the discovery of a real conspiracy but the movement between Buster’s exhaustion, diminished opposition, and renewed conviction. The expression helps show how Gaunt’s manipulation can make confusion feel like insight—and how that false clarity accompanies the escalation of Castle Rock’s violence.