Fear and Tension in The Whole Towns Sleeping and A Terribly Strange Bed
The essay i have written is a comparison of two short stories. One
written by Ray Bradbury in 1950's and titled "The Whole Towns
Sleeping". The other was written by Wilkie Collins in 1856 and
entitled "A Terribly Strange Bed".
"The Whole Towns Sleeping" is about a middle-aged spinster called
"Lavinia" 37, who goes to the cinema with her friends while a
mysterious killer, is at large. She is fully convinced that the killer
would not strike again for another four weeks because a murder has
just occurred, and they seem to happen at intervals when 'the moon is
full', and superstitiously then 'men do strange things' because of the
influence of the moon on their minds. This brings in the horror
aspects and the superstitions that people believed in, and creates a
false sense of security in Lavinia.
"A Terribly Strange Bed" is about a wealthy young educated man who
lives in Paris. He is used to going to the best gambling houses, but
tires of them with there showy surroundings, and goes with his friend
to a 'seedy looking' gambling house in a salubrious area. Normally he
finds that winning money gives him no pleasure, because he has plenty,
but winning in a seedy gambling house, gives him a sense of excitement
because he meets people who desperately need to win to survive. He
wins a lot of money and is persuaded to stay the night by an old
soldier because he has had quite a bit to drink. While trying to
sleep, the bed canopy descends and he narrowly escapes death. He
realiseshe's been fooled and escapes through the window.
"The Whole Towns Sleeping" ends on a cl...
... middle of paper ...
...terror was, and I wouldn't let myself
think!"
Also in "A Terribly Strange Bed" when the canopy descends Faulkner
says "I looked up motionless, speechless, breathless", this
effectively builds up tension, like "without stopping to draw my
breath, without wiping the cold sweat from my face i rose instantly on
my knees to watch the bed top".
In "The Whole Towns Sleeping" the ending is tense with a cliffhanger,
and we can assume that Lavinia is the next victim of the killer the
people call 'The Lonely One'
In "A Terribly Strange Bed" the ending is drawn from the information
of how the police discover that the employees of the gambling house
have tried to kill Faulkner and the way they have tried to kill him.
The Protagonist has resolved not to be so foolish again and put
himself in such a dangerous situation.
Winter Dreams follows the life of Dexter Green as he pursues wealth and societal affluence in the hopes of winning the love and affection of Judy Jones, a spoiled socialite from a wealthy family who he first met when he was an adolescent while caddying at an exclusive golf club. As a result of this meeting and the embarrassment he felt in his role as a mere caddie; Dexter makes the irrational decision to quit his caddying job and begin his quest for upper-class social status. The author recapitulates this decision by the protagonist with the following statement; “It is not so simple as that either. As so frequently would be the case in the future, Dexter was unconsciously dictated to by his winter dreams.”
The long journey on planet earth known as life has it ups and downs, growing up as a young individual in today’s world is an obvious rollercoaster. The characters of Phoebe and Theo, are two young girls who endured completely different lives in the books The Hollow Tree, and Awake and Dreaming although they did encounter some similarities throughout their stories. The two children encountered similar family complications, utilised similar coping mechanisms to escape reality, and both became more assertive over their lifespans in the novels. These two novels offer young females readers a logical view on how tough life can get, and how the readers can overcome similar complications they have in their personal lives, while doing all this generating
“When you say 'fear of the unknown', that is the definition of fear; fear is the unknown, fear is what you do not know, and it's genetically within us so that we feel safe. We feel scared of the woods because we're not familiar with it, and that keeps you safe.” – M. Night Shyamalan
Shakespeare’s literature exemplifies creativeness and powerful word use to create bodies of work with strong attributes that grab the reader’s attention. Midsummer’s night dream is an example of some of Shakespeare’s best work. The thesis of this essay is Hermia’s father, Esues wants his daughter to marry someone that he approves of and more importantly he wants someone for her that is respected by the rest of society to admire. This play has love, drama and characters that follow their hearts. Hermia is told she is not allowed to love or marry Lysander by her father. Her father Esues wants her to marry Demetrius. The setting of the play is taken in Athens. Athens is a place of order and royalty and a place where people are supposed to marry
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.
I saw the play Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman on Saturday the 7th of December 2013, at my school Dubai International Academy. It was about how a single but dangerous plant makes and breaks the Mushnik's Skid Row Florists business, and the romantic conflict as well as the traitorous characteristics of Seymour Krelborn. The main themes of the play are horror and comedy. I think that the production of the play was very successful as they had the audience locked into the story and overall, it was a very enjoyable and entertaining experience.
In this documentary by The National Geographic, The New World: Nightmare in Jamestown captures what it must have been like for the settlers of Jamestown. It takes place in an archeological site which is owned by the APVA where they found remains of the original men who first arrived to the New World and who set up the colony at Jamestown. They were sent by the Virginia Company in hopes of being able to bring home gold and other riches that the Spanish had already been taking advantage of. Unfortunately, in the process, they faced disease, death, hunger, and hostility from the Indians.
We are born afraid of only two things: falling and loud noises. All our other fears are learned and influenced by the environment and cultures surrounding us. The world we live in helps differentiate the “insanity of man” that we all share (3). Since “we’re all mentally ill” (King, “Why We Crave” 1), it leaves us the decision of our degree of sanity. In his essay, “Why We Crave Horror,” Stephen King thoroughly claims that we humans crave horror to face our fears, restore humans feelings of being normal, and to encounter a peculiar sort of fun.
William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream utilizes the technique of multiple characters playing leading roles. The fairy character Puck stands out as a dominant and leading role in the play. Puck is the best fit for the role of the protagonist because he is mischievous and therefore, has the ability to change the outcome of the play through his schemes and actions. As the protagonist, Puck is responsible for creating the major conflict that occurs between the four lovers throughout the play. This is important because the play focuses on the lives and relationships of the lovers. In addition, because of Puck’s interaction with these characters, his actions throughout the play, alters the final outcome. Finally, Puck’s relationship with all the mortals in the play, his connection to his fellow fairies, and the bond he has with his boss, King Oberon make him the best choice for a protagonist.
The Grim Sleeper is one of the most gruesome serial killers cases known in United States. The case dumbfounded LAPD for years. The Grim Sleeper left fear in the women of Los Angeles especially African American women who were the target of this merciless serial killer and rapist. The Grim Sleeper case was infamous due to his string of murders spanning through almost three decades.The coalition launched a media campaign and set a monetary reward aiming to capture the killer. Motivations involved in serial killings are fears of rejection, power, and perfection. Serial killers tend to be insecure, and irrationally scared of rejection. Serial killers tend to avoid developing painful relationships. They are terrified of being abandoned, humiliated,
Most of the people are not aware of what a bad bug is until they start facing the universal bed bug bites problem. For those who do not know what a bed bug is, it is a small insect that sucks blood out of human. It is a parasite that gets its food from the mammals. Most of the times, he gets its food in the form of the birds. If not the birds, he chooses humans to be its next prey. Bed bug is not of one type. There are many kinds of them however; the most important as well as common of them all is the one that creates trouble for the human being. It is known as Cimex lectularius. Bed bugs most of the times come out into existence in the night time when the environment is a bit warm and cozy. When they do not get food and have nothing to feed on, they can still survive for several days. However, most of them bite human and cause marks on the skin of the person they bite. If you have encountered the problem of bed bug bites, this article is written specially for you.
Money talks, sex talks, and lots of violence.. When someone tells you to think of the present world they really don 't think about what Raymond Chandler brings up in the big sleep. The values and believes in 1930 or completely different than our present-day values beliefs and attitudes. Yes there might be a slight similarity but for the most part there is many differences in our time today. Into his book the big sleep many different types of themes are brought up. Wealth, violence, sexuality, and much more. Yes we do live in a time of wealth, violence, and a world with sexuality. The difference here between present day and passed in 1930, is that back then it was a whole different type of principles put into it. So that being said, in 1930
Order and disorder is a favorite theme of Shakespeare. In A Midsummer Night's Dream the apparently anarchic tendencies of the young lovers, of the mechanicals-as-actors, and of Puck are restrained by the "sharp Athenian law" and the law of the Palace Wood, by Theseus and Oberon, and their respective consorts. This tension within the world of the play is matched in its construction: in performance it can at times seem riotous and out of control, and yet the structure of the play shows a clear interest in symmetry and patterning.
The author, Gloria Ladson-Billings, discusses in her book, "The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children," how African American students perform at lower academic levels in part due to teacher approaches and attitudes. She performed a study on eight teachers of different races and backgrounds and their approaches to teaching African American students. The purpose of the study was to identify what approaches or techniques have been most successful in helping African American students to achieve academic success. She also focuses on the idea of "culturally relevant teaching" and how it can positively impact students when teachers are aware and incorporate a student's culture and backgrounds into the classroom. Throughout the book, the
What if you had to live in constant fear because of the inhumanity in humans? In the story Night by Elie Wiesel, he gave the spine-chilling side of his experience of the holocaust. Elie was taken from his home and forced into a concentration camp. For years Elie and his father endured much pain and suffering. The theme of inhumanity in humans is displayed throughout Elie’s memoir.