Racism

Racism within The Shining happens in two places: One is subtle and one is overt.

As Jack talks with Lloyd in No.47, he mentions the White Man’s Burden— a reference to a Rudyard Kipling poem. In a direct way, he’s talking about his alcoholism, but the poem (and the metaphor it’s now attached to), speaks to the white people’s duty to colonialism.

Merriam-Webster Online defines the phrase 'White Man's Burden' as "the alleged duty of the white peoples to manage the affairs of the less developed nonwhite peoples." The white man's burden was to raise non-white people out of poverty and ignorance through imperialism, whilst at the same time alcohol was turning white men into savages.

The overt reference is where Jack and Grady are talking in No.53 and Grady refers to Haloran as a “N***er Cook”, showing how deep racism goes in American society.

For one, he’s head chef. But because he’s black, he’s reduced to a disgusting word and a description that demeans his profession and his status.

This is also pointing to how the true elites in American society pit poor working class whites and blacks against each other in order to maintain their position as the ruling class.