August Heat Analysis

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Performance Assessment Essay Suspense; Suspense is the intense feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events. It basically leaves the reader holding their breath and wanting more information. The amount of intensity in a suspenseful moment is why it is hard to put a book down. Without suspense, a reader would lose interest quickly in any story because there is nothing that is making the reader ask, “What’s going to happen next?” In writing, there has to be a series of events that leads to a climax that captivates the audience and makes them tense and anxious to know what is going to happen. And Suspense, is what “August heat” primarily uses to keep its story so invigorating. The first element of “August …show more content…

It was extremely heavy and sometimes obvious with the amount of foreshadowing. It starts on the first lines of the story. “Penistone Road, Clapham, 20th August, 19-” (Harvey 385). The year being missing gives a clue to a major point later in the story. With good analytical skills, the reader can (correctly) assume that the end of the story will be the narrator writing about himself writing the story. The narrator most likely did not include the year because he wanted the reader to figure out that it was not supposed to be a year, but another date. The way the story is told is like a diary entry. The missing date at the end helps the reader determine the end for himself. In the end it is suggested that the character dies. However if the character does die, he does it after the story ends. This piece of foreshadowing shows that the narrator most likely dies. The story was finished being wrote close to midnight. If the character did in fact live, he would have made it to the next day and the date for the next day would have been written. Since the date is not there, the reader can assume that the character died, which fills in the missing pieces that the narrator leaves the reader to figure out. The foreshadowing continues on the same page. The main character, Withencroft draws a sketch depicting a criminal, who he meets later that day. Three pages later comes the next case of foreshadowing. The criminal that …show more content…

The use of first person narration limits the reader to the perspective of Withencroft, so the reader only knows as much as he does. The narration also allows the reader to know Withencroft’s feelings. “A sudden impulse made me enter” (Harvey 385), moments such as that in the story show Withencroft’s feelings. This expands the reader 's knowledge of the story, because the actions of the narrator are explained. In the previous quote, the inside knowledge on the character lets the reader know why the character went inside. This, again, expands the understanding of the story. The limited view and Withencroft’s feelings create a shady view in the story. “Then a cold shudder ran down my spine.” This is another sentence that seems simple. It is, yet it adds to the story. By including small details like this, the author not only broadened the reader 's knowledge of the story, but made it more enjoyable. The first person point of view also helped the story more personal to the reader. This made the story more enjoyable, because at the end of the story the feeling of suspense is greater, and the reader was hoping that the main character would not be killed. The first person view gave the reader more comprehension of the story, made it more enjoyable, broadened their knowledge on the story and let the reader connect and feel closer to the

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