42 pages 1 hour read

Stephen King

The Dead Zone

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1979

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Part 1, Chapters 9-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “The Wheel of Fortune”

Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary

Johnny’s recovery from a years-long coma makes him a unique and important patient, and a famous surgeon flies in to perform a procedure on Johnny’s knee and ankle ligaments. Johnny talks to a reporter about his new “sixth sense” but he begins to believe that he should be more secretive. Johnny denies everything and the reporter’s story says nothing about his visions. Johnny is given a local anesthetic for his surgery. He watches the surgeon through a mirror but he cannot bear to watch the entire procedure. The sight of Dr. Weizak watching comforts him.

Sarah visits Johnny during his recovery. He jokes about his pain and she cries. She apologizes for not waiting for him but Johnny tells Sarah that she “did the right thing” (147). Before she leaves, Johnny tells her the location of her missing wedding ring. Shocked, Sarah finds a restroom and vomits on her way out of the hospital. She remembers their date at the state fair. That night, Sarah finds the ring exactly where Johnny said it would be. As she cooks and cleans, she cannot stop thinking about the ring and Johnny. Sarah flushes the ring down the toilet.