Creation of Suspense in The Monkey's Paw and The Red Room

Creation of Suspense in The Monkey's Paw and The Red Room

In The Monkey's Paw written by W.W. Jacobs and The Red Room written by

H.G. Wells, there are many similarities and differences in the ways

the stories are written and suspense created. For example, both

stories belong to the horror genre where the supernatural appears due

to human interferences, and both have a fast and frantic climax where

the characters' lives are put in jeopardy. However they do differ in

places, one of the key differences being that The Monkey's Paw is

written in third person whereas The Red Room is a narrative.

W.W Jacobs uses many different techniques in The Monkey's Paw to build

up an atmosphere of suspense and uneasiness. One way this is done is

by Jacob's description of the White family's location, a bleak,

desolate and isolated place. The fact that it is so far away from any

built up area indicates to the reader that if something were to happen

to them, then they would be very vulnerable,

"of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is

the worst".

The words Mr White uses to describe the area creates an element of

mystery. Jacobs builds up suspense even further by describing the

wintry weather. Typical of many stories in the horror genre, "the

night was cold and wet", and at night in the middle of nowhere, the

slightest sounds or movements seems a lot scarier. Jacobs creates a

conventional horror story setting where the reader expects something

to go awry.

However the mood and setting of the outside is a sharp contrast to the

warm, inviting interior of the Laburnum Villa. Here Jacobs creates a

friendly family scen...

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...or "a horrible sensation of falling that lasted an age". This

technique is also adopted by Jacobs while the bolt drew back slowly,

making the reader wait in agonising anticipation. The techniques used

by Wells at the end of The Red Room are very successful as they create

a very emotive and visceral climax.

In conclusion, The Red Room seems to be more successful than The

Monkey's Paw at building up suspense. This is due to the literary

excellence of Wells. He personifies man's greatest fear - darkness

creating a sense of dread and unease which Jacobs fails to do, he uses

onomatopoeia more effectively than Jacobs to create an even more

emotive text making things described in the story seem a lot more real

and the climax that Wells creates in the story is a lot more frenetic

and wild than the climax of The Monkey's Paw.