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- For other works entitled House of Stairs, see House of Stairs (disambiguation).
The House of Stairs (1974) (ISBN 0-14-034580-9) is a science fiction novel by William Sleator.
| House of Stairs | |
 House of Stairs by William Sleator (1975 paperback edition) |
|
| Author | William Sleator |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young Adult Science Fiction |
| Publisher | E.P. Dutton (1974), Puffin (1991), Firebird/Penguin (2004) |
| Publication date | 1974 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-14-034580-90 |
[edit] Plot summary
Template:Spoiler In a dystopian future, five sixteen-year-olds are taken from state orphanages and placed in a strange building. The building, neither a prison nor a hospital, has no walls, no ceiling, no floor: nothing but endless flights of stairs leading nowhere. On one landing is a basin of running water that serves as a toilet, sink and drinking fountain; on another, a machine with lights that occasionally produces food. The five must each learn to deal with the others' widely-divergent personalities, the lack of privacy, their apparent helplessness and the strange machine that only feeds them under increasingly exacting circumstances. Soon, it becomes clear that the machine - or those behind it - have a sinister agenda in store for the five main characters. The question then becomes: Is death by starvation preferable to allowing the hidden authorities to reprogram their minds? An epilogue reveals that they are subjects in a psychological experiment on conditioned human response, designed to create political pawns for the ruling "administration."
[edit] Characters in "The House of Stairs"
Main Characters (in order of appearance)
- Peter - a shy, withdrawn boy who prefers daydreams of the past to the harsh reality of the House of Stairs.
- Lola - an outgoing, self-confident girl who delights in bucking the system. Lola smokes cigarettes. Lola first discovers the "toilet".
- Blossom - an obese, manipulative girl who holds grudges. Blossom first discovers the food machine.
- Abigail - a calm, mildly attractive girl. Abigail's weakness is a need for affection; she can't seem to resist the charming Oliver.
- Oliver - A cocky, attractive boy who has a strong desire to be the leader of the group. He hates Lola for her independence and takes advantage of Abigail's need for affection.
Characters appearing only in the Epilogue
- Dr. Lawrence - a psychological researcher. Dr. Lawrence is apparently in charge of the "House of Stairs" experiment. He is disappointed that the experiment's results are not 100 percent, but insists that the project deserves further funding because it has produced three "useable individuals."
- The people behind the viewing wall - Unknown to the main characters, Dr. Lawrence is speaking to an audience, presumably government officials, during the novel's epilogue. These individuals are situated behind a one-way viewing wall overlooking Lawrence's laboratory.
Characters only mentioned, but not appearing in the book
- Lola's Matron - administrator of Lola's last orphanage. Lola plays a prank on her, stealing a non-poisonous snake and putting it in her bed.
- Jasper - former friend of Peter; Peter often daydreams about him. Bears a resemblance to Oliver.
- The President - The ruler of the nation. Ostensibly, the only person who lives in an actual house instead of a "residential megastructure" like everyone else. Blossom claims that The President's chief aides and advisors, such as her parents, secretly live in houses as well.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
Some have remarked on how Sleator's book has less in common with the work of fellow young adult horror author R. L. Stine than the respected writings of Franz Kafka. Many readers have found the novel's plausibility, paranoid tone, eerie imagery and jarring finale far more haunting than stories of werewolves or vampires.
A few critics have derided The House of Stairs as a carbon copy of William Golding's classic, The Lord of the Flies. Others, however, see it as the polar opposite, since the protagonists are not in danger of degenerating into savage anarchy, but of crystalizing into a thoughtless mechanical existence. Some suggest that the moral to Sleator's story is a far more sophisticated message than Golding's, which is, at least on one level, a simple exhortation for children to behave politely. Sleator, on the other hand, is actively encouraging his young readers to rebel against abusive authority.
Template:Endspoiler
