The Red Room by H.G. Wells

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The Red Room by H.G. Wells The Red Room is a chilling tale of the quest of a brave man to come face to face with a ghost that is said to haunt an old castle. This castle has a history of unexplained deaths and misery, that, in the tradition of old tales is ascribed to unseen forces and ghosts. The setting for this story is a castle that is almost deserted, except for three old people, who bear witness to unexplained tragedies that have befallen countless people in the past. The narrator of this story is yet another person who wants to confront whatever lies within the red room, in an effort to finally dispel all the superstitions that surround it. Wells begins the story by introducing the character of the narrator, who like the other characters remains unnamed. Wells does this to emphasize the physical appearance and the behaviour of the people in his story, because we have to remember them by how they look and what they do, rather than by their names. The contrast between the narrator and the old people is very striking and in describing them Wells introduces the idea if fear into the story for the first time. In the first few lines of the story we see that the narrator is a confident and strong-minded person, who is at the same time fair and, although it is difficult in this situation, he tries to be patient and polite to the others. The story is written in the first person, which helps to draw the reader close to the narrator because it gives the sense that he is speaking directly to the reader. This is important for later in the story when Wells needs to make sure that the reader believes in the narrator. He shows his confidence in the first line when he says, "I can assure you that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me." He appears defiant when he stands up in front of the fire with his glass in his hand.

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