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atmosphere of fear in literature
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How the Authors Create a Feeling of Fear and Terror in The Ostler, The Red Room and The Superstitious Man's Story
In order to answer this question I read the relevant stories, i.e.
'The Ostler' by Wilkie Collins, 'The Red Room' by H.G. Wells and 'The
Superstitious Man's Story' by Thomas Hardy in great detail. I will now
attempt to compare the methods the authors have utilised to create the
impact mentioned above. In order to see which one has been more
effective in conveying fear and terror, suspense and the
extraordinary, in my opinion. Furthermore, I will endeavour to point
out the similarities and differences in tense, style and prose between
the stories, using quotations where appropriate. Moreover, I will
discuss the roles the various characters play. These people are
important, as the reader needs to identify to some extent with the
narrator and his description and interpretation of his 'human props'
as well as the setting they are placed in.
The opening to any story is crucial, since the reader may not decide
to continue with his intention to 'read all' if he/she is not
sufficiently interested in the first few sentences. In 'The
Superstitious Man's Story' the reader is struck immediately by an air
of mystery, and somehow feels privy to a secret. This is a story
steeped in 'hearsay'. The narrator (the seedman's father)
painstakingly talks us through every minute detail 'putting away the
irons and things, and preparing the table for his breakfast in the
morning.' By placing so much emphasis on mundane issues the impact of
the extraordinary is in stark contrast. It is almost as if the reader
is lulled into a sense of security, ...
... middle of paper ...
...e unknown is intriguing to many. Even though the three stories
have a different approach they all centre of the supernatural. They
are all written pre-1914 - well before the advent of technology, which
has accelerated at an alarming rate. Nowadays, our culture revolves
around technology and people require proof. It is essential for an
author to set the scene, draw the reader in and when that is
accomplished deliver the punch line. All of the authors succeed in
doing this. 'The Superstitious Man's Story' is too stark, and puts the
reader 'on guard' as to its content. I prefer the gradual style of the
other two stories. In 'The Red Room' and 'The Ostler' the settings and
the characters enhance the plot immensely. The characters are not
developed enough in 'The Superstitious Man's Story', and the setting
is rather boring.
In the year 1625, Francis Bacon, a famous essayist and poet wrote about the influences of fear on everyday life. He stated, “Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark; and as that natural fear in children is increased with tales, so is the other” (Essays Dedication of Death). Clearly, external surroundings affect perceptions of fear as well as human nature in general. Although C.S. Lewis published the novel, Out of the Silent Planet, over three centuries after Bacon wrote his theory on fear, Lewis similarly portrayed external surrounding to manipulate perceptions of fear. From the first chapter of the novel, Lewis revealed fear to be a weakness that leads to ignorance. It was this ignorance that apparently fueled the cycle of corruption and immorality on “The Silent Planet.” Using the character Ransom to reveal the effect of memory and morality on fear, C.S. Lewis demonstrates that fear is a quality of the “bent” race (humans), and only by eliminating fear in our lives can the human race become hnau.
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear. It is inevitable to have ups and downs in everyday life; however, to fear or not to fear, the person is in control. In John Connolly’s novel, The Book of Lost Things, people who arrive in Elsewhere all bring their own fears, and those fears color the events for everyone who lives there. First of all, people can become a better version of themselves once they overcome their own fears. Yet fear can sometimes impact people negatively, as it is often a weed growing over the roots of kindness. However, the fear of fear is the most dangerous kind of all because it is the basis of anxiety and panic attacks. Every character in The Book of Lost Things must face their fears at some point, but how they go about it makes all the difference.
Inside us all there is a deep dark fear this is what grabs us by the thresh hold of life. It controls the most important aspects of our lives. This is found within the deepest and darkest chasms of our souls. The very creature that wreaks havoc in our minds we cage and never confront we lock this beast away to afraid to overcome it. If the beast is not confronted it begins to contort and change who we are as a person and how we interact with others. Even the very decisions we make as a person to affect those around us and are loved ones to also suffer the consequences of our actions. Such as the crucible and how each person was warped into their own monster by greed.
Throughout A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Conor, the protagonist worries about many issues. He suffers through all the emotions he has to combat about his mother's battle with cancer. However, the greatest emotion Conor has conflict is with fear itself. He is so fearful of countless issues he has to struggle with such as the fact he might have to possibly live with his grandmother for the rest of his life, or if he might not stay with his father the way Conor would like to. Primarily what Conor suffers through the most is the fear of his own mother's health. Conor cannot handle the fact that his mother is not getting any better and her health is slowly failing. Conor has an incredible amount of conflict with his fear, he tries to hide it, pretend it is not there, but soon his fear will grow until his fear finally get hold of him. In similarity, it is like procrastinating on an assignment in some sort, when there is no time left the assignment must be done. When there is no time left Conor has to acknowledge and face the fear. Patrick Ness tries to say that, through the way Conor deals with all his fears, Ness says it is better to overcome his fears than hide them. Also, not acknowledging his fears will lead to painful internal conflict, and acknowledging fears is difficult, but facing them is for the better of Conor.
How Tension and Suspense Is Built Up In The Red Room There are many different ways in which HG Wells builds up tension and. suspense in The Red Room. One way in which he does this is through the use of language in the process. One of the main effective uses of language in The Red Room is the use of personification; "made the shadows cower" and quiver. The shadow embeds fear into the reader, as they wonder if the shadow is alive, which creates tension as the reader wonders what.
Nowadays, people are still enticed by fear, they have a curiosity for the supernatural, evil and frightening. Although modern day society is supposedly politically correct, we are still an immoral society and many of us would treat a creature like Frankenstein’s creation or a vampire like Dracula like a monster. In this way, the novels still have social significance.
Fear brings forth a certain atmosphere which compels us to act upon it. The era in which the book was published allows us to see how common these fears were. Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is an excellent portrayal of how fear controls the human mind by using the characters as examples. In the book Eleanor, Theodora, Luke, and Dr. Montague have all been influenced by fear in the story, whether it be the fear of love, the unknown, family, rejection, expression, or loneliness. These different types of fear plagued their minds causing their actions to reflect upon them. Jackson explores the theme of fear in The Haunting of Hill House by creating a cast of characters that in turn are manipulated by the inner workings of their minds and the
In both ‘Eve Green’ and ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’, the protagonists experience fear in many guises. Although traumatic events in both Eve and Antoinette’s lives do lead to moments of sudden, striking fear, fear is also presented as having the potential to be subtle and muted, and therefore, “haunting”. Fletcher and Rhys seem to suggest that this form of fear is more damaging to the psyche than fear in its more conspicuous manifestations, as it is more deeply intertwined with the characterisations of the protagonists, therefore allowing for the fear to “pervade” the novels. As a result, it could be argued that fear has an almost constant presence in each novel, particularly because fear is seemingly linked to other prominent themes in each novel.
Fear is the emotional state that someone goes into when they feel threatened or endangered. The fact that we do not know everything makes us think that everything we do not know is feared. There are many stories that include the fear of the unknown. Each poem, story, and drama include some type of fear. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, “Hills Like White Elephants”, and “Poof” there is an extensive amount of fear for the unknown. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ernest Hemingway, and Lynn Nottage all used the fear to their advantage while writing and making an entertainment for the readers.
Horror is one of many fears humans have. We all have many terrors, but horror is the one that gets the best of us. Some crave, while others resent, the feeling horror movies bring to our body and the emotions that we experience. In Stephen King’s article, “Why We Crave Horror,” he explains that it is a part of the “Human Condition,” to crave the horror. King gives many strong and accurate claims on why we crave the horror movies, such as; testing our ability to face our fears, to re-establish our feelings of normality, and to experience a peculiar sort of fun.
Suspense is the feeling of uncertainty or excitement, in waiting for an outcome or decision. Edgar Allan Poe uses suspense in his story “Masque of the Red Death” by using objects and great descriptive detail. Poe’s story is about a prince that tries to escape from the inevitable. He tries to lock himself away from the ‘red death’ and has a masquerade ball that doesn’t end happily. Prince and all of his guests die inside or around the seventh apartment room. The seventh room is preceded by six colored rooms which are meant to symbolize either the stages of life, or the seven sins. Inside the last room there are black velvet tapestries that hang all over the ceiling and down the walls. The window panes are a deep blood red color which gives the room an unwelcoming atmosphere. On the western wall, there is a gigantic clock of a deep black wood. Inside it has a pendulum that swings back and forth with a dull monotonous clang. When the minute hand marks a new hour, there is a clear, loud, deep sound, which can be heard from far away. Although it can give off an eerie feeling, the great eb...
In 1896 Herbert George Wells wrote ‘The Red Room’ and using a heavy Gothic theme, which is popular for ninetieth century stories, he invites the reader to become engaged with the mystifying events that he creates. Wells captures and sustains the reader’s imagination using suspense, setting, gothic convention and language techniques which allow for a remarkably eerie tale to be told. The significance of the title immediately creates a sense of mystery, as the reader does not know why the adjective ‘red’ is used to describe the room and this colour is usually associated with danger, blood, hell and fear, suggesting that Wells is preparing the reader for anguish. Also using alliteration in the title enhances and puts emphasis on the ‘Red Room’, as no other colour would create the same effect which captures the reader’s imagination. This links directly to the Gothic genre, drawing attention to the allegedly haunted ‘Red Room’. Similarly in the first sentence attention is instantaneously grasped ‘It will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me’, making a ghost feel almost tangible to the reader as well as leaving them asking questions, especially as the story develops and centres around an unnamed protagonist. This is equally important because the ‘Red Room’ is written in first person, which makes the story more personal and makes the reader feel a direct connection with this unknown narrator. It seems only knowing one viewpoint restricts the reader's knowledge and therefore many key details are omitted resulting in an element of ambiguity.
It is said that this book is considered as one of the most famous horror novels, if not the most famous one. The Gothic descriptions in the novel are very prominent at the beginning. The portrayal of the countryside of Transylvania, of the ruined Dracula Castle, etc, all provide the effect of horror in the sense of spooky and gloomy atmosphere, which you can obtain close at hand. Everything is so obvious. The originally beautiful scenes are changed by the writer¡¯s magnification of some specific details which provide certain effect on the readers. All of the above reminds how one¡¯s personal feelings can alter their attitudes towards what they see or what they experience. Sometimes when you are sad, everything look so depressing. It is like the whole world is against you. The sunset could be a fantastic scene when you are filled with joy but an extra source of sorrow when you are not in the mood. Harker is separated from her lovely fianc¨¦e to meet some foreign count in the exotic and unknown eastern world.
An Atmosphere of Fear and Horror in the Opening Chapter of Dracula by Bram Stoker
Your imagination likes to twist situation when fear occurs. There are infographics in “ How to Tell You’re Reading a Gothic Novel”, by Adam Frost and Zhenia Vasiliev that tell us how certain things said in the story that are suppose to surprise the reader making them fear the story. The examples shown tell us what we are suppose to fear most in a story. Setting and how characters act in a story are the reason why imagination can overcome reason. For setting, a lot of gothic novels are set in the olden days to give the story a creepy vibe. The way characters act in a story can also scare or confuse the reader. Gothic novels use the olden day setting because it can set the tone for a scary story, which the reader’s imagination uses to make their own scary assumptions. This happens in “The Fall of the House of Usher”, when the narrator describes everything around him as lifeless.