Red Arrow Lodge
The Red Arrow Lodge is a mountain resort buried in the western Maine mountains, thirty miles from the town of Rangely. It is where Dick Hallorann works as a cook during the summer season following the destruction of the Overlook Hotel. The lodge is a place of healing and new beginnings for the Torrance family, who have come to stay in one of its cabins after their traumatic winter at the Overlook.
Setting and Atmosphere
The Red Arrow Lodge is nestled among pines, with a lake nearby and a swimming pool on the grounds. The terrain is mountainous, but the mountains are old, rounded, and humbled by time, a stark contrast to the jagged, menacing peaks surrounding the Overlook. The lodge has an outdoor bar, a swimming pool, and a greensward where guests play croquet and laugh. The cabins are placed discreetly among the trees, offering views of the lake. The atmosphere is peaceful and restorative, a world away from the claustrophobic, malevolent halls of the Overlook.
Hallorann's Role at the Lodge
Hallorann works as the cook at the Red Arrow Lodge, a job he secured in April. He finds the trade "not too heavy," the tips good, and notes that not a single meal has been sent back all season. He takes pride in his work, checking over the salads his understudy has made and peeking in on the home-baked beans. He recommends his shrimp creole to Wendy, promising she will like it. The lodge represents a return to normal, professional life for Hallorann, a place where his skills are valued and he can find peace after his harrowing experience at the Overlook.
The Torrances' Recovery
Wendy and Danny Torrance are staying in the nicest cabin, which Hallorann reserved for them. Wendy sits on the porch in a rocking chair, reading a book. She wears a back brace, the result of a shattered vertebra and three broken ribs sustained during Jack's attack. Her posture is stiff and formal due to the brace, but she has a grave sort of beauty that was missing when Hallorann first met her. She has cut her hair short. She has decided to accept Al Shockley's job offer in Maryland, planning to move there after Labor Day to find a place to raise Danny. She has over forty thousand dollars from Jack's insurance money, enough to send Danny to college. Danny spends his days fishing from the end of the dock, wearing jeans rolled up to the knee and a red-striped shirt. He is getting very brown in the sun. He still suffers from nightmares about the explosions, the hedges, and the events at the Overlook, but they have become less frequent—only one in the week before Hallorann's visit, down from every night.
Hallorann's Final Conversation with Danny
Hallorann finds Danny sitting at the end of the dock, fishing. Danny is crying, missing his father and blaming himself for what happened. Hallorann comforts him, telling him that he will get over it, that the worst is over. He tells Danny that the world is a hard place that doesn't care, but that his mother loves him and so does Hallorann. He advises Danny to cry when he needs to, but to keep his love alive and get on with his life. Danny asks if Hallorann will be his friend, and Hallorann promises to be, for as long as Danny wants him. Danny catches a fish, and the three of them—Wendy, Danny, and Hallorann—sit together on the dock in the afternoon sun, a moment of peace and connection after the long darkness.
