Mystery and Suspence Created in The Signalman and The Monkey's Paw

Compare how mystery and suspence and created in The Signalman and

The Monkey's Paw-which text do you think is most effective and why?

The uses of imagery and diction contribute to the mystery and suspense

in a story. Whereas in motion pictures mystery and suspense are

potrayed using other factors such as sounds, visual effects and other

components that the viewer may understand that the characters dont.

This builds up a lot of tension for the viewer because they feel the

need to inform the character in the scene. Each story uses mystery and

suspense and conveys them in differant ways. Even though 'The Monkey's

Paw' contains a lot of mystery and suspense it reveals much more

information than 'The Signalman' does which decreases the level of

tension. Whereas in 'The Signalman' less information is given out

which enhances the tension because the reader wants to know more.

In the Monkey's Paw the atmosphere in the beginning is typical to that

of a horror story: "Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the

small parlour Laburnum Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned

brightly". Many stories leave it up to the weather to set the scene

and that is shown in the Monkey's paw the Imagery and the weather

helps the reader set the scene for themselves using their imagination.

The villa itself is located in an isolated area: " Thats the worst of

living so far out' bawled Mr White...i suppose because only two houses

in the road are let, they think it doesnt matter." This increases the

level of mystery and tension as if anything were to occur they'd have

no where to escape to. Isolation is a common cliche in horror stories.

'The Signalman' is located in a cutting with a groggy, damp and

presispitous atmosphere. : "the cutting was extremely deep, and

ususally precipitous it was made through a clammy stone."

there are also frequent pulsations due to the tremors caused by the

train passing: " just then there came a vague vibration...Quickly

changing into a violent pulsation...This rapid train had passed me."

This shows a dismal yet solitary setting for a story we can only

assume will be full of mystery.

What adds to this suspense is the signalman's alarmed response to the

narrator saying : "halloa! below there!."

We are given very little information about the characters in 'The

Monkey's Paw' especially how the family know the sergeant major. When

asked questions he was hesitant and was avoiding the subject of the

monkeys paw this made the family as well as the readers more eager to

know the mystery of the monkey's paw.