Why does Stanley Uris react so gruesomely to It returning?

Question

Stephen King's novel IT concerns a group of children who confronted an evil entity haunting their town -- and their reunion twenty-five years later to face the being again for the final time.

Early in the novel, we see each of "The Losers' Club" react to the news and the summons. All are frightened, most are disbelieving, but they all answer the call -- all except for Stanley Uris, who commits suicide. Stanley kills himself, after scrawling a cryptic message on the wall with his own blood.

While this is a horror novel, and there is no question that It is horrifying, Stanley's behavior stands out in stark contrast to that of his friends. When I read the novel, I understood this as a kind of promise -- a promise that, as we learn the story of the children in '57-'58, one of the things we learn is how It left Stanley uniquely scarred among the group. Or, really, any explanation that would justify why Stanley kills himself in such an awful manner.

But as I read, I felt this was never addressed. I don't see Stanley as differentiating himself from the rest of the group in any particular way, or being more affected by It than the others, or being a person inclined to panic or suicide.

Does IT explain why Stanley, and he alone, was driven to suicide? Or does the book not actually mean to imply that Stanley was unique in responding this way?

Answer 1

Is it possible Stan is obsessive-compulsive? In the book, King makes it clear how neat Stan is, even referring to him as the smallest adult in Derry. In the bathroom-cleaning scene in the book, the care with which Stan cleans the blood off the wallpaper is deliberately pointed out. When he's thinking to himself about IT in the laundromat, he seems more bothered by the "wrongness" of IT than its blood lust; order is the most important thing to him, and disruption of that order bothers him more than anything. It's also mentioned throughout the adult part of the book that Stan couldn't stand being dirty, and, although I can't remember where this part is, one of the grown-up kids goes so far as to say that maybe Stan decided he would rather be dead than dirty.

If he is obsessive-compulsive, he would be at higher risk of suicide, and I believe Stan is higher risk in general, because he was ready to kill himself after they got out of the tunnels, when they were cutting their palms. He decides to not slit his wrist at that time, but I believe that if he knew IT were still alive he would have gone through with it.

Answer 2

(Spoilers,duh)

I think that Stan reacts so "strongly" to it returning because he says before 1984 (when the losers were kids) that he says he saw IT in her "TRUE FORM". I think even when years have passed, he is still VERY scared, and thinks he knows what they are up against, and thinks they can't defeat IT. He is also the most skeptical of the losers, and seems to believe It is real, but he knows he doesn't WANT to. He saw It in the photo album, and still refused to believe until enforcement from the other losers. He is the most reluctant, and that makes him more vulnerable to It and Bower's Gang. In the reboot though, they cut some scenes where Stan is really scared. So we'll have to see what happens in 2019!!!

Answer 3

The entry for Stan on Wikipedia is as follows;

Stan is the most skeptical member of the Club. He is Jewish and is persecuted by Henry Bowers for this reason. Logic, order, and cleanliness are deeply ingrained in his psyche. He relies on logic more than anything else and is the least willing to accept that It actually exists. As an adult, he becomes a partner in a large Atlanta-based accounting firm and marries Patty Blum, a teacher. However, upon receiving Mike's phone call in 1985, he commits suicide by slitting his wrists in the bathtub and writing "IT" in his blood on the wall. In addition, it is heavily implied that Stan was the only one aware that It was not only female but was also pregnant, hence he chose death over returning to Derry to face the ancient terror despite being the one to slice the Losers' palms in a blood oath. It is also implied in the book that Stan remembers more about the children's encounters with It than the others do, sometimes commenting about the Turtle and other events from his time in Derry, though he claims that he doesn't remember what those phrases mean. It can be implied throughout the story that he was psychic to a mild degree (accurately predicting which job his wife should apply for, a higher sensitivity to Its activities, frequent references from the other losers to his "ordered mind"). Besides blaming It for George's death, Bill also blames It for Stan's death.

It's been a long time since I either read the novel or watched the miniseries adaptation, but I do vaguely remember Stan having a more significant encounter with IT in one of the abandoned houses in Derry? Maybe another user can pick this up and run with it.

Answer 4

Of all the kids, he was the least childlike. He never really had the resiliency or faith in good magic of a child. When called back, he didn't have the well of childlike innocence to dip into, so he didn't have the strength to do it again. I believe he also had his bar mitzvah before the final child battle (been a long time since I read the book, could be wrong). With bar mitzvah he's no longer a child.

Answer 5

I think Stan kills himself because unlike every other member of the losers club, Stan remembers what happened to them in the summer of 1958. As adults, each of them are scared when they get the call from Mike, but none of them can remember why. I think Stan immediately kills himself after Mike calls because he never truly forgot what happened to them under Dairy, and would rather die than face IT again.