"Jumper" is a short story by
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
. Originally serialized in the
self-published
Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...
newspaper ''Dave's Rag '' in 1959–1960, it was later collected in the 2000 work ''
Secret Windows''. It was King's first piece of fiction to be published.
Plot summary
The protagonist of "Jumper" is Jeff Davis, a police counselor. Davis is summoned to the
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
after Robert Steppes, a "serial
jumper", threatens to jump from the 15th floor. The police accidentally knock Steppes from the ledge he is standing on when trying to catch him with a hook, but he is able to pull himself back onto the ledge. After talking to Steppes, Davis becomes convinced that "although theoretically, any man can take his own life, few men could really commit suicide, and Robert was not one of those men" and walks along the ledge to Steppes, who ultimately does not jump.
Publication
King wrote "Jumper" at the age of 12.
It was originally published in ''Dave's Rag'', a weekly neighborhood newspaper
self-published
Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...
by King's older brother David King in
Durham, Maine
Durham is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,173 at the 2020 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New Eng ...
using a
hectograph
The hectograph, gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing process that involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame.
While the original use of the technol ...
, as a three-part serial from December 1959 to early-1960. In 2000, it was collected in ''
Secret Windows'', unchanged other than spelling corrections.
Reception
Rocky Wood describes "Jumper" as "clearly juvenilia" but with "some sentences that are stunning when one considers a 12-year-old boy wrote them", noting "sophisticated thinking is evident".
Patrick McAleer describes "Jumper" as "
flash fiction
Flash fiction is a brief fictional narrative that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the For sale: baby shoes, never worn, six-word story; the 280-character story (also kn ...
".
See also
*
Stephen King short fiction bibliography
This is a list of short fiction works by Stephen King (b. 1947). This includes short stories, novelettes, and novellas, as well as poem
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary ...
References
External links
"Jumper" at StephenKing.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jumper
1959 short stories
Literature first published in serial form
Short stories about suicide
Short stories by Stephen King
Short stories set in New York City
Works originally published in American newspapers