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Joe Camber is a minor antagonist of the Stephen King multiverse.
Serving as a minor yet pivotal antagonist of the novel Cujo and the overarching antagonist of its film adaptation of the same name.
He was the abusive husband of Charity Camber and father of Brett Camber. He is a friend of Gary Pervier, as well as the owner of Cujo.
Cujo[]
Joe Camber is a mechanic that lives on a farm near Castle Rock, with his wife, Charity, his son, Brett, and his son's dog Cujo. He is a typical "stiff macho" man. He goes hunting with his friends, he is abusive to his wife and is a bad influence on Brett.
On the day Charity won the lottery she buys him a gift. She wants to visit her sister Holly with Brett. Joe says no and gets ready to strap her. Charity stands up to Joe and assures him she will make her son hate him. Joe then lets her go with Brett. That night Joe and Charity have sex. Charity is scared to make any sounds because she assumes he doesn't know if women make sounds with sex.
On the day they are leaving, Joe tells Brett that his uncle (Holly's husband) is a phony, a man who hasn't worked a real job. He sends him off with bad thoughts.
While Charity is in Danbury with their son, Joe decides to travel down to Boston with his friend Gary Pervier to take in a Red Sox game and visit the city's red light district. Gary is happy to join him and they plan to leave the next morning. However, before they can get on the road, a hungover Gary is attacked and killed by Cujo.
Joe finds a large pile of dog feces on the floor in front of his work bench, knowing full well that it is Cujo's. He is shocked by this because Cujo never would've relieved himself in that spot. He cleans up the mess anyway and suddenly realizes that he forgot that Cujo will need to be fed while he's gone. Thinking that Gary may know a teenager who can come by and feed the dog, he travels down the road to Gary's house. He finds Gary dead inside. When he sees another pile of dog feces in the kitchen, he realizes that Cujo has gone rabid. While he tries to dial the police, Cujo appears, having been sleeping in Gary's basement. He attacks Camber, easily killing him.
Personality[]
Joe is violent, abusive, narrow-minded, stupid and sexist. He dislikes people who are wealthier and more successful than himself and influences his son in a bad way. He is careless and selfish. His decision not to have Cujo inoculated for rabies was an example of his short-sighted nature.
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Joe can be considered the overarching antagonist of the novel, since he refused to vaccinate Cujo, though the true overarching antagonist is Frank Dodd, because it is heavily implied that Dodd's evil spirit took control over Cujo's mind.