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Suspense in gothic literature
An essay about suspense
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Short stories have influenced our society and opinions just as much and as powerfully as novels have. They have made us think, brought issues to our attention that we have may never have even considered and made us ponder deep, philosophical questions. Often, they are beautifully crafted to make us think these things. Often, that is a result of three main literary techniques. Suspense, Foreshadowing, Mood, and Tone. Suspense is what keeps the reader on edge and what makes the keep reading, while foreshadowing is often not recognized until the final plot twist at the end when all of the subtle hints in the story click together.The mood is the emotions and feelings brought upon the readers due to the story, while tone is the emotional atmosphere …show more content…
They work together, hand in hand, each contributing to each other. The foreshadowing causes there to be rising suspense and in the suspense there is more foreshadowing and so on and so forth. Suspense is the main factor in adding to the overall mood of the story. There is much suspense in “The Landlady” because from the beginning you can tell something is off. From Billy Weaver’s reactions to the Landlady’s behavior you know something is wrong. Except you cannot tell what is wrong and what is going to happen. This gives an air of excitement as well as dread because you know something is going to happen to Billy Weaver at the end, but what is it? This quote is an especially well written example of suspense and foreshadowing bringing an intense mood to the story, “‘I suppose he left fairly recently,’ Billy said. He was still puzzling his head about the two names. He was positive now that he had seen them in the newspapers – in the headlines. ‘Left?’ she said, arching her brows. ‘But my dear boy, he never left. He’s still here.’” (Dahl 4) Dahl was clearly going for a dark tone in the book, meant to scare and chill the readers. This is present in the quote stated before, the foreshadowing and hidden references to something gruesome in the past and something horrible to
In Dahl’s short story and in Jacob’s short story, both depict suspense through tone and description. For example, in the “The Landlady”, the narrator stated, “I stuff all my little pets.” This example reveals suspense by providing the landlady killed and stuffed her pets. Furthermore,
Elements that make for the best literary short story are character, meaning, tone and tension. These four literary elements make your story have a plot. These elements also contribute to your story’s purpose and ambition. The short stories we have read this semester integrate these elements, making successful and literary filled works.
It gives clues to the readers of what might happen next in the story or what the story can result in. In the "Sorry, Wrong Number" the narrator is foreshadowing when he dramatically says, "She overhears two men division a secret plan.” Foreshadowing is clearly introduced here when the narrator of this story gives hints to the reader that something is about to happen next. When there are two men plotting together making a secret plan, the readers know that they will find it out. This creates more suspense and intimidation within the reader. The wife in the story is fearful. She doesn’t know what the plan is, but she has an idea that it has to do with her husband. The foreshadowing builds suspense before she finds out what the plan really
In the story The Monkey's Paw the foreshadowing creates tension and suspense because during the story there was so many things going on and you didn't know what was going to happen next. I say this because in the Monkey's Paw the author writes He raised his hand. "I wish my son alive again." This quote explains foreshadowing by suspense because when he wishes for his son to be alive again it gives the audience suspense if he is going to actually be alive again or if it's not going to come true and they are going to be disappointed.
Literary devices are tools used by the author to help the reader understand a given literary work. Writers use different literary devices depending on their style and what they wish their reader to get out of their work. One important literary device that is essential for a successful literary work is theme. Theme is the general insight into life that the author shares with the reader. There are a number of different methods from which an author can choose to present his/her theme. One common strategy is to communicate the theme through the use of mood; the overall feeling or emotion conjured within the reader. In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," and in Saki's short story, "The Interlopers," the mood evoked within the reader is used to communicate the short story's overall theme.
Short stories usually convey a theme message, a statement which motivates the reader to be a more moral person. In order for the reader to understand this life lesson, authors implant different literary devices such as foreshadowing and conflict into their stories. Foreshadowing is the use of clues to suggest events that may occur later in the story, and conflict is when there is a struggle between two opposing forces. In Charles by Shirley Jackson and The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov, the authors use foreshadowing and conflict to enhance the story's ultimate meaning and to keep readers absorbed in the story.
Stories frequently use both figurative language and tone to shape their meaning(s). In his short story, “The Tell Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe uses Imagery to enhance his tone of foreshadowing to illustrate the franticness at the end of the story.
During the story the author often uses foreshadowing to give hints to the reader of things that will happen in the future. When the story starts, a storm is coming on a late October night. The storm symbolizes the evil approaching the town. Usually it seems a storm would resemble something dark and evil, because a stormy night is always a classic setting for something evil. At the climax of the story, Charles Halloway reads a passage ...
Foreshadowing is used in many novels, but S.E Hinton uses this perfectly. She makes the foreshadowing easy to find. She also uses foreshadowing many times throughout the story. Most of the foreshadowings in her novel was crucial to the story. Foreshadowing is important to many stories. They move the plot a long and make to story possible. Some foreshadowing are so important, like in S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders. Without Johnny having the blade, he wouldn’t have been able to kill Bob. There would be no story without Bob being dead. Foreshadowing is an important part of literacy and makes the novel more
Many tools are used by those who create short stories in order to achieve their goals and get their messages apart, thought it must be done carefully and quickly as they aren’t granted the same leniency to drag it out as exists with novels. They use the characters to create images and, in cases like Harrison Bergeron and other satirical pieces, to generalize certain aspects of society and demonstrate how they, for the most part, would respond to the situation. Literary assistants are used as well, such as similes, metaphors, imagery, and symbolism. With a short story, there is only really one conflict within the story, and as thus the
2. In paragraph form and with reference to the story, discuss the role of fear in creating suspense.
For instance, foreshadowing takes place when, after shooting the doe, Andy runs away and “Charlie Spoon and Mac and her father crying Andy, Andy (but that wasn't her name, she would no longer be called that);” (338) this truthfully state that she no longer wanted to be called Andy, she wanted to be called Andrea. Finally, Andy realized she is at the stage of growing up so she depicts between the woods where she can be a male or the ocean where she can be a female. She chose to stay true to herself and become Andrea because “Andy” lost her innocence when she shot the doe. Another example of foreshadowing is when Charlie was having distrust that Andy should come with them because she is a girl. The allegation Charlie made can be an example of foreshadowing because of how Andy will never go hunting ever again because she hated killing doe and it hurt her to see the doe suffering. This resulted to Andy never wanting to kill doe ever again. She changes her nickname to Andrea, her real name, because that’s who she is. Andy must face the reality of death before she can grow up. Additionally, foreshadowing contributes the themes overall effect by explaining how Andy’s loss of innocence happened and how she realized she must grow
First, a key method used to create suspense is the usage of the setting. When a character is in an unwelcoming or uninviting location, uneasy or tense feelings can be formed. When there is a sense of not knowing what is around the corner or lurking in the shadows, suspense is created. Also, ominous weather, such as threatening thunderstorms, can lead the reader to anticipate an unfortunate event occurring. An example of an uncomfortable setting is the secret passageway, which is dark, dirty, and most often only occupied by a single individual. Under these conditions many people become anxious, and because of these uneasy feelings that one may encounter, when a character is subjected to these conditions, the reader may become apprehensive, which leads to the formation of suspense. When Dan Needham shuts John Wheelwright in the secret passageway while both are in a drunken stupor, a high level of suspense is created. The description of the secret passageway adds to the suspense of the scene, "The passageway was dark; yet I could discern the scurrying of spiders.
As Mccarthy once said “The suspense of a novel is not only in the reader but in the novelist, who is intensely curious about what will happen to the hero. (Mary McCarthy)” In this quote, McCarthy means the main characters in the story are suspenseful to draw the reader to be anxious. Above all, the author incorporates the use of literary terms in his or her’s story to create the feeling of suspense. To be specific, in the story “The Hitchhiker” by Lucille Fletcher, the author includes the elements foreshadowing and supernatural to leave the reader anticipated and anxious what is going on in the story. Also, in “The Monkey's Paw” by W.W Jacobs, the author develops suspense by adding literary devices such as situational irony and cliffhanger
What elements are needed to create a good short story? As John Dufrense quoted "A good story has a visionary quality, a personal voice, a signature gesture(1969). The elements used should be used so strongly that it pulls you in; forcing you to connect to the people in the story. Not every story is written well enough to be capable of doing this. This also creates a connection with the reader; leaving some type of effect or impacting the reader along with the characters’ lives. Although there are many elements in writing but one of the greatest things of writing is the ability to make the reader empathize with the characters. This goes beyond than just a connection with the characters; when the reader is able to apprehend with the characters he or she is truly relating and reaching out to them. The author has accomplished something truly special when the reader has the ability to feel the agony that a character is feeling.