Joe’s apartment resembles his emotions and outlook on life; by the way Koontz uses descriptive language. Koontz describes Joe’s apartment in great detail, as it assists in the readers understanding of Joe’s living arrangements and the ‘real’ Joe. The quote from the opening sentence reads “… Joe Carpenter woke, clutching a pillow to h

is chest, calling his lost wife’s name in the darkness.” This opening sentence revels Joe’s inner being- he too is in darkness and lost, he has lost all he has to live for, his wife. Koontz then continues describing the apartment, ‘His bed, which consisted of nothing but a mattress on the floor, was the only furniture…’ and ‘The studio apartment was one large room with a kitchenette, a closet, and a cramped bathroom…’ The use of description throughout this setting describes the apartment as simple, empty and has no luxuries, all very closely related to Joe. Joe is also empty, as he has no family, beliefs, purpose to life and can no longer feel any emotions inside. This setting is important to Joe’s character as it establishes his outlook on life and the fact that he is lost. The way setting is constructed also establishes themes, which is evident in the setting of laboratory.

Immorality is a key issue addressed in the novel Sole Survivor, and by using setting appropriately, in this case the laboratory, Koontz portrays this message strongly. The laboratory is associated with Teknologik, which creates the ‘David and Goliath’ theme. This theme is portrayed strongly through the use of the laboratory due to its abnormal creations. This setting is the location of which ‘paranormally’ talented children are created and one of which is evil, supporting this theme. This evil creation is the cause of the crash of Flight 353 causing the deaths of many. Within this setting the reader’s values of love and affection are also questioned and challenged. In the laboratory, the children are raised in ‘cells’ and are given numbers to dis

Some topics in this essay:
Sole Survivor, Survivor Joe, Joe Carpenter, Dean Koontz, Ninety-nine Teknologik, Joe Joe, , values attitudes, narrative tool, joe’s apartment, sole survivor, novel sole survivor, support koontz’s, novel sole, joe’s apartment laboratory, joe’s emotions, koontz setting, setting useful narrative, toilet ‘the, joe’s character, useful narrative tool, support koontz’s ideas,