How Are Suspense and Tension Created in The Red Room?

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How Are Suspense and Tension Created in The Red Room?

In The Red Room by H.G. Wells a lot of suspense and tension is

created. The Red Room fits into the gothic genre because it has some

of the requirements for a gothic story in it, like, being set in a

castle, an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, a prophecy, the

supernatural and high levels of emotion. The story creates tension in

lots of ways such as, shadows, noises, charcters and general mystery

surrounding the red room.

At the beginning of The Red Room the author creates tension by having

the narrator straight away in a scene which is unusual to him, he is

in a dark old room with old people who are mostly disfigured and

slightly other worldly in the way they look and behave.

“… I had scarce expected these grotesque custodians.” He sees them not

as ordinary people but as being grotesque so is clearly unhappy being

with them. The author also immediately creates tension by talking of

ghosts and the supernatural straightaway.

“… It will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me.” So we already

have talk of ghosts in only the first line! As the narrator begins

his journey to the red room more tension is created.

“… and my candle flared and made the shadows cower a quiver, the

echoes rang up and down the spiral staircase…” so we have shadows

cowering and quivering which is exactly what people do when they are

frightend, the shadows are also being personified which could be a

representation of the narrator’s fear. The author uses shadows again

to create tension when he is on his way to the red room.

“… and as a shadow came sweeping up after me…” so we feel that the

narrator is being chased up the staircase by something perhaps not of

this worl...

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...king him and

this could result in something happening to him. The description also

enables him to understand how the rumours in the red room could have

started which makes him very nervous. Light and dark are obviously

very symbolic, dark represents danger and the unknown whereas light

means we are safe because we can see everything around us and it is

harder to be fooled by noises or shadows in the light.

Tension and suspense were constantly created in The Red Room by H.G.

Well’s using various techniques, the writer uses a lot of different

techniques to keep the reader wondering and to make sure that tension

and suspense are always present in the story. In my opinion there is

no one technique which is used to greater effect than any other one.

I think that they are all used in equally effective amounts and they

all help to create suspense and tension.

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