Ace Merrill's Decline

The trajectory of Ace Merrill from feared teenage hood to a mundane, overweight adult.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Teenage Hood

The Teenage Hood The Leader Ace Merrill is the leader of the local juvenile delinquents. He drives a chopped and channeled '52 Ford, wears a red jacket, and carries a switchblade. He is feared by younger kids and respected by his gang. The Confrontation Ace leads his gang to claim Ray Brower's body, intending to be heroes. He is confronted by Chris Chambers with a pistol and backs down. The humiliation fuels his desire for revenge, which he exacts later by beating Gordon. The Image Ace is a product of his environment, a small-town tough guy with no real future. His power is based on intimidation, but it is fragile. The confrontation with Chris shows that his authority can be challenged.

The Middle-Aged Man

The Middle-Aged Man The Sight of Ace Years later, Gordon sees Ace pulling out of the mill parking lot in a Ford station wagon with a Reagan/Bush bumper sticker. Ace is fat, with a crewcut, his sharp features buried in flesh. He does not recognize Gordon. The Mundane Life Ace now works at the mill and spends his evenings at The Mellow Tiger. He is a regular, a middle-aged man with a beer belly. The feared hood has become a mundane, ordinary man. The Irony Gordon reflects on the irony that Ace, the tough guy, is still alive while his friends are dead. Ace's decline is a different kind of tragedy: the loss of potential. He never escaped Castle Rock; he just settled into a different kind of prison.

1960, age 16-17

1980, age 36-37