Tony Character Analysis in The Shining

Danny’s “imaginary friend.” Tony brings Danny visions that allow Danny to see into the future. With his power to “shine,” Danny concentrates and asks Tony to come to him, and he shows Danny what might happen. Tony is always situated far away, somewhere in Danny’s periphery, and Danny never gets a good look at him. Tony shows Danny things, like the location of Jack’s lost trunk and a huge building with lots of snow. Tony also shows Danny visions of a strange figure wielding a roque mallet and chasing him through the Overlook Hotel, and as well as images of mirrors with the word “Redrum” written on them. When Jack and Wendy take Danny to see a doctor, Dr. Edmonds, about Danny’s catatonic spells, Edmonds tells them that Danny invented Tony at a time when his life was stressful—Jack abused Danny and broke his arm, and Danny was constantly worried that his parents would get a divorce. But now that Danny doesn’t need Tony anymore (Jack and Wendy are happy and Jack is sober and not abusing Danny), Tony has become a terrifying presence. During the course of Danny’s time at the Overlook Hotel, Tony stops coming to him, blocked by the hotel’s power. Tony manages to come through near the end of the novel and tells Danny that he, Tony, is a part of him. Tony is the part of Danny that “knows things,” the part that “shines,” and he is the part of him that knows Jack is the figure with the mallet and that “redrum” is murder. Tony stands in front of Danny for the first time, and it is like Danny is looking into a mirror in 10 years. Tony tells Danny the last time he sees him that Danny will remember something Jack forgets, and Danny indeed remembers that Jack has forgotten to check the hotel’s boiler—right before it blows up, killing Jack and destroying the hotel.

Tony Quotes in The Shining

The The Shining quotes below are all either spoken by Tony or refer to Tony. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Fear, the Paranormal, and Reality Theme Icon

It was the place he had seen in the midst of the blizzard, the dark and booming place where some hideously familiar figure sought him down long corridors carpeted with jungle. The place Tony had warned him against. It was here. It was here. Whatever Redrum was, it was here.

Related Characters: Tony, Jack Torrance, Danny Torrance

Related Symbols: The Roque Mallet

Page Number and Citation: 90-1

Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh Tony, is it my daddy?” Danny screamed. “Is it my daddy that’s coming to get me?’’

Tony didn’t answer. But Danny didn’t need an answer. He knew. A long and nightmarish masquerade party went on here, and had gone on for years. Little by little a force had accrued, as secret and silent as interest in a bank account. Force, presence, shape, they were all only words and none of them mattered. It wore many masks, but it was all one. Now, somewhere, it was coming for him. It was hiding behind Daddy’s face, it was imitating Daddy’s voice, it was wearing Daddy’s clothes.

Related Characters: Danny Torrance (speaker), Tony, Jack Torrance

Related Symbols: The Roque Mallet

Page Number and Citation: 619

Explanation and Analysis:

Tony Character Timeline in The Shining

The timeline below shows where the character Tony appears in The Shining. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...he was fine, and that losing time happens when he concentrates, or when he sees Tony, who his parents call his “invisible playmate.” But Wendy was too scared to listen; she... (full context)

Sometimes when Danny concentrates, Tony will come to him, but not always. Tony has only appeared twice since moving to... (full context)

...Danny can hear Jack thinking about shingles and a guy named Watson. Suddenly, Danny hears Tony calling his name. He can see Tony from the corner of his eye, far down... (full context)

...mallet. Danny can hear the mallet cutting and hissing through the air, and he begs Tony to take him back. Suddenly, Danny is sitting back on the curb. (full context)

On the curb, Danny can just make out Tony’s figure in the distance. “Be careful, doc…” Tony says as he fades away. Just then,... (full context)

...you!” With his heart pounding, Danny goes to the window and looks out, calling for Tony. Danny looks up and down the street, but Tony is nowhere to found. Suddenly, Danny... (full context)

Danny tries to pretend that he isn’t scared. Tony’s visions don’t always come true, Danny reminds himself. He vows to be careful. He will... (full context)

...dreams. Danny says that he sometimes dreams, too, only he is awake when this happens. Tony brings the dreams, Danny explains. Wendy and Jack call Tony his “imaginary friend,” and when... (full context)

...the new shingles lining the roof and shudders as he thinks about the vision from Tony. Jack kisses Wendy and asks if she is happy. Yes, she answers, the happiest she... (full context)

...He can’t remember. Wendy asks Danny why he locked the door, and he says that Tony told him to. Danny was just brushing his teeth, thinking about reading, and he saw... (full context)

...would ever hurt him or Wendy. Jack is shocked. No, he says. Danny says that Tony told him about roque, that it’s played in innings like baseball. It is, Jack says,... (full context)

...in Denver for a second opinion, and then he asks Danny to tell him about Tony. Danny says Tony is just his imaginary friend, but Dr. Edmonds says that this is... (full context)

Danny tells Dr. Edmonds that he has never seen Tony up close, and he doesn’t know how old he is. Dr. Edmonds asks if Tony... (full context)

Danny continues and tells Dr. Edmonds that Tony sometimes shows him what is going to happen, and other times Tony just shows him... (full context)

Danny can’t remember everything about Tony. In fact, Danny doesn’t want to remember, and he thinks he doesn’t remember precisely because... (full context)

Danny can’t see Tony, so he follows the sound of his voice. He follows into the darkness, past something... (full context)

Danny can hear Tony’s voice. “This inhuman place makes human monsters,” Tony repeats, over and over again. Danny can... (full context)

...“Textbook auto-hypnosis,” the doctor says. He tells Jack and Wendy all about Danny’s trance and Tony. Tony was a pleasant “imaginary friend” in Vermont, but now Tony has turned frightening for... (full context)

...enough. Dr. Edmonds says it is no wonder why Danny has named his imaginary friend Tony, but Wendy says they haven’t pointed that out to Danny yet. Dr. Edmonds suggests they... (full context)

...Danny is having nightmares all of a sudden, and Dr. Edmonds says it is because Tony is no longer needed or useful. Danny created Tony during a stressful time, and now... (full context)

...leave. Danny wonders what will happen then. “Redrum,” he thinks. Danny decides he must make Tony tell him what exactly redrum is, and he must do it as soon as possible. (full context)

Wendy asks if Tony told Danny all of this, and Danny says he didn’t. Danny just knows, even though... (full context)

...very hard to change his ways for them. She asks Danny to try and make Tony come, so he can ask if they will be safe at the hotel. Danny says... (full context)

...that he knew things were bad at the hotel, even before they left Boulder, because Tony showed him dreams. Danny says he can’t remember the dreams exactly, but there was a... (full context)

Staring at the clock, Danny calls to Tony, but Tony doesn’t answer. Suddenly, the clock face is a black hole, and Danny is... (full context)

Danny is suddenly falling down the rabbit hole, and he realizes that Tony is falling, too. Danny falls into Jack and Wendy’s bedroom, which is completely trashed. Tables... (full context)

...lip is fat and bloody. Wendy sits down and asks him what happened. Danny called Tony, he says, and fell off a chair. Wendy looks doubtful. Jack didn’t do it this... (full context)

Danny is in a dark hallway, and he can hear Tony calling his name. The doors to the rooms are closed, and instead of numbers, there... (full context)

Danny can see Tony at the end of the long hallway, and Danny asks him where he is. Tony... (full context)

Tony tells Danny that he will have to help Wendy, and then he tells Danny that... (full context)

Danny says that he must help both Jack and Wendy, and Tony stands directly in front of him for the first time. Danny can clearly see Tony,... (full context)

...make out a mechanical buzzing sound. Danny hopes it is Hallorann. He tries to decipher Tony’s riddle. What will he remember that Jack forgets? He feels like he almost knows but... (full context)

...says to the thing that looks like Jack, “but they lie.” Danny thinks about what Tony said and wonders what Jack has forgotten. Danny again tells the thing that it isn’t... (full context)

The Shining

Tony Character Analysis

Tony Quotes in The Shining

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 54 Quotes

Tony Character Timeline in The Shining