The Creation of Fear and Suspense in 'The Red Room' by HG Wells
HG Wells conveys the experiences in the red room in many ways
throughout the story. He is an English author and a political
philosopher, most famous for his science fiction romances that
variously depict alien invasion, terrifying future societies and
transformed states of being. The story of the red room is written in
first person, which suggests that the reader believes it is from
personal experience. The `Red room' can be described as a gothic
story, which means that it is written in the late eighteenth, early
nineteenth century. A gothic story is a romantic fiction with its
setting usually in a ruined gothic castle or abbey. A gothic novel
emphasises mystery and horror and it is filled with ghost haunted
rooms, underground passages, and secret stair ways. The scene in the
red room is set in an old, derelict castle- Lorraine Castle in which a
young duke has died. This setting already suggests a mystery and
immediately contributes to suspense in the story. The meaning of fear
is when one is afraid to face up to their phobia. HG Wells wrote the
story in 1896 and the following essay will discuss the genre, the
structure, the setting, the language used the atmosphere and also
imagery.
The genre builds up a mount of tension in the story where the
characters description of the house gives the impression that it is
old and derelict. The old woman states, `and eight and twenty years
you have lived and never seen the likes of this house.' This
illustrates that the house is historic and it could also be decaying.
At the beginning of the story, the character of the narrat...
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...hat will not have light nor sound, that will not bear with
reason, that deafens and darkens and overwhelms. It followed me
through the corridor; it fought against me in the room.' This is how
the character describes what fear really is and shows that he realises
the fear of his own fears encouraged him to imagine phantasmal
thoughts. The character becomes aware of how powerful the mind is and
what imagination can do to you, it can play tricks on one.
Fear is conveyed effectively through the plot, characterisation, the
language to describe the shadows, the genre and the setting. It could
be said that darkness is the most important part of the red room, as
darkness seems to what the narrator is most afraid of, `closed upon me
like the shutting of an eye,' `wrapped about me in a stiffing
embrace.' and `sealed my vision'
Authors often try to interweave themes or meanings into their works in order to create a deeper and more intriguing work of literature. For instance, The Crucible, a film written by Arthur Miller, and “The Minister’s Black Veil”, a parable by Nathaniel Hawthorne, are two pieces of literature that share the recurring theme of how fear affects a person’s decision making. By examining two of the characters from The Crucible, Abigail Williams and John Proctor, one is able to see how fear can lead people into hysteria, causing them to do things they normally would never do. Another example of fear changing peoples’ views and actions is displayed in “The Minister’s Black Veil”. This theme is well displayed in the town’s responses to Mr. Hooper’s
Also if I look at the genre of the story, suspense is built at the
The idea of fear is a fairly simple concept, yet it carries the power to consume and control lives. Fears have stemmed from an inadvertent psychological response to situations deemed threating to one’s personal safety, but have evolved into a complex web of often illogical misconceptions which are able to cloud a person’s judgment and result in situations often worse than originally intended. Fears can be hard to quell, but it has been shown the best way to overcome fears is often to face them, as author James Baldwin asserted when he wrote, “To defend oneself against fear is simply to insure that one will, one day, be conquered by it; fears must be faced.” Baldwin makes strongly qualified statement, and his idea fears must be faced to ensure one is not conquered by them is evident frequently, and is especially visible in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter, two characters are placed in situations in which they are directly confronted with their fears, but react much differently, resulting in contrastingly different consequences. Baldwin’s assertion is qualified by the journeys of Hester Prynne and the Reverend Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter, who show how facing one’s fears can have a positive outcome while defending oneself from their fears can have detrimental consequences.
American History by Judith Ortiz Cofer is a short story that presents the audience with an average teenager 's emotions. The main character, Elena, lives in a cramped ghetto-like building that is looked down upon by the public eye. Elena is shy has difficulty reaching out to others to make friends, but when a new boy named Eugene moves in across the street from her, she eventually takes a step outside of her boundaries and confronts him, hoping that they can at the least be friends. However, the public view of her lifestyle makes Eugene 's mom turn Elena away and they never get a chance to meet.
for them to stay in and not go out, she had the chance to stay in, not
How Tension and Suspense Is Built Up In The Red Room There are many different ways in which HG Wells builds up tension and. suspense in The Red Room. One way in which he does this is through the use of language in the process. One of the main effective uses of language in The Red Room is the use of personification; "made the shadows cower" and quiver. The shadow embeds fear into the reader, as they wonder if the shadow is alive, which creates tension as the reader wonders what.
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.
Fear brings forth a certain atmosphere which compels us to act upon it. The era in which the book was published allows us to see how common these fears were. Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is an excellent portrayal of how fear controls the human mind by using the characters as examples. In the book Eleanor, Theodora, Luke, and Dr. Montague have all been influenced by fear in the story, whether it be the fear of love, the unknown, family, rejection, expression, or loneliness. These different types of fear plagued their minds causing their actions to reflect upon them. Jackson explores the theme of fear in The Haunting of Hill House by creating a cast of characters that in turn are manipulated by the inner workings of their minds and the
How W.W. Jacobs, H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens Create Suspense in their Gothic Horror Stories
How does the writer create tension and suspense in The Red Room? The writer is able to create tension and suspense through various ways in the short story ‘The Red Room’. The opening sentence in the story immediately mentions the supernatural, which immediately tells us that this is a gothic story. The first sentence is dialogue, but we do not know who is speaking.
Fear is the emotional state that someone goes into when they feel threatened or endangered. The fact that we do not know everything makes us think that everything we do not know is feared. There are many stories that include the fear of the unknown. Each poem, story, and drama include some type of fear. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, “Hills Like White Elephants”, and “Poof” there is an extensive amount of fear for the unknown. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ernest Hemingway, and Lynn Nottage all used the fear to their advantage while writing and making an entertainment for the readers.
A Comparison of The Story Of An Hour by K. Chopin and the Red Room by H.G. Wells
In the Crucible, Arthur Miller shows us how fear and suspicion can destroy a community. As the play develops, Miller shows us how fear and suspicion increase and destroy the community. Throughout the play it becomes apparent that the community gets more and more divided as time goes on. In the beginning there were arguments about ownership of land between some of the villagers. As the story progresses people fear for their own safety and begin accusing their neighbours of witchcraft in order to escape being hanged.
Throughout one’s life, he or she will experience many situations where a lesson is learned, or a fear is amassed. One person may be able to deal with such terrors easily, while another will suffer because of the dread and panic that now haunts them. The poem ‘My Fear’ by Lawrence Raab discusses the haunting situation of fear following someone, and the personification, imagery, and tone of the speaker all provide depth to this seemingly innocent poem and allow one to truly appreciate how fear and troubles affect him or her.
Tension and Suspense in The Red Room by H.G. Wells In H.G Wells’ The Red Room tension and suspense are created through the characters, the plot and the setting. The setting is typical of Gothic and Victorian ghost stories. In these times there was no electricity so use of candles for light created an eerie atmosphere. They had no modern technology like televisions for entertainment so they used books and story telling.