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Essay about the victorian era in literature
Essay about the victorian era in literature
Essay about the victorian era in literature
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How are tension and suspense created in The Signalman and The Red Room? My aim is to analyse the way which tension suspense is built up in two Victorian stories – ‘The Red Room’ (by H.G Wells) and ‘The Signalman’ (by Charles Dickens). These two successful authors were both well known for using suspense and tension in their stories. Wells has written many classical books, which include “The Time Machine” and “War of the Worlds”. Dickens has written other illustrious books, such as “Christmas Carol”, “Great Expectations”, and “Oliver Twist”. Also in my analysis I will be briefly mentioning “The Clubfooted Grocer” (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), “The Monkey’s Paw” (by W. Jacobs) and “The Tell Tale Heart” by (Edgar Allan Poe). All of these celebrated stories, like most Victorian stories, are short and their genre is gothic horror. Short gothic horror stories were the main form of entertainment in this time period, as there was a lack of electricity then. These stories are strongly related to Victorian beliefs, which were mainly superstition. The reason for this is that the Victorians were slightly uneducated, and didn’t know better. Ghosts, witches, supernaturalism and black magic were the main focus of these short stories. ‘The Signalman’ provides a fine example into how Victorian railways differ from those ones today. Victorian railways were extremely dangerous, and a signalman’s job was exceptionally strenuous and demanding. The story is basically about a hard-working signalman, who claims to have seen a spectre, warning him about future events. ‘The Red Room’ is more directly related to superstition. It is about a relatively young and fearless man entering a ‘haunted’ room, which apparently contains... ... middle of paper ... ...the ending of ‘The Signalman’ is too abrupt, although tension was still created by the tragedy of the signalman. However, the main difference is that in ‘The Red Room’, the reader can actually decide what happens, but in ‘The Signalman’ he cannot. However despite all this, I still believe that these short stories still provide the reader with a thrilling encounter of suspense and tension. I believe that to make a story mysterious and full of suspense you need to create mystery because mystery in the present creates suspense in the future. You must not reveal everything to the reader and leave them to figure it out for themselves. It should keep the reader guessing right till the end of the story. Again, I believe that both these stories achieve this remarkably well and cover all of these points to make the stories full of mystery, suspense and tension.
Even though some suspense doesn’t let the audience know anything, real suspense involves the audience being aware of everything that occurs. In the essay, it states, “The fact that the audience watches actors go blithely through an atmosphere that is loaded with evil makes for real suspense.” (6) This shows that whenever the audience watches the characters don't know anything that’s going on
Suspense is the feeling of uncertainty or excitement, in waiting for an outcome or decision. Edgar Allan Poe uses suspense in his story “Masque of the Red Death” by using objects and great descriptive detail. Poe’s story is about a prince that tries to escape from the inevitable. He tries to lock himself away from the ‘red death’ and has a masquerade ball that doesn’t end happily. Prince and all of his guests die inside or around the seventh apartment room. The seventh room is preceded by six colored rooms which are meant to symbolize either the stages of life, or the seven sins. Inside the last room there are black velvet tapestries that hang all over the ceiling and down the walls. The window panes are a deep blood red color which gives the room an unwelcoming atmosphere. On the western wall, there is a gigantic clock of a deep black wood. Inside it has a pendulum that swings back and forth with a dull monotonous clang. When the minute hand marks a new hour, there is a clear, loud, deep sound, which can be heard from far away. Although it can give off an eerie feeling, the great eb...
Analyzing the Ways the Director Builds Suspense and Scares the Audience in the Film Jaws
Suspense is an anxious uncertainty and apprehension that writers use to make the reader feel scared, wary and make tension happen. It could also be to attract the reader to the story in the first place and make them read it. Suspense usually happens at a climax; the story has been building up and building up and then something happens that relieves the reader.
Tension is defined as “pleasurable excitement and anticipation regarding an outcome, such as the ending of a mystery novel”(reference.com). In Hamlin Garland’s story, “Up the Coolly” and Sherwood Anderson’s story “The Departure”, both authors portray the tension at a subtle amount throughout the story. In Sherwood Anderson’s short story is about a man makes a life changing decisions which causes the past to fulfil his brain and make him realize that all his memories were made in Ohio. Now that he has made the decision moved to New York, the people who surround him give him advice and get him ready for what the city holds for him. In the same way, “Up the Coolly” provides a dark and depressing vibe that is expressed off the main character Howard
Suspense is a way to gain a reader's attention, writers use suspense different type of ways, for example they change the people's perspective on characters that were good and turn them into bad. “Writers create suspense when a character we care about is in a period or must choose between two dangerous courses of action.” Writers use this so the readers could keep on reading so they could find out what happens. Suspense have readers holding their breath or biting their nails, anxiously wanting to know what happens next.
The narrator is mocking these other characters, which builds suspense as we know that in the end it will be he that will be hurt. Another way in which the writer builds up tension and suspense is by writing the story in first person. This makes us feel emotionally drawn to the character. We feel what the narrator feels, and we only know what the narrator knows. Using first person also allows us to trust the narrator or to empathise with the character.
As an audience, we can see bad guys sneaking up behind the characters in the movie before they realize what is happening. In the movie, Halloween, the audience is able to see the character Michael Myers when he is sneaking up on his victims before they notice him. This gives us the element of suspense in waiting for him to attack. In a situation like this, something bad is obviously going to happen so it is only a matter of time until it does. When something finally does happen, the audience is often startled even if it was predictable. The suspense builds up over time but what exactly is going to happen at that peak moment is never actually known till it
Suspense is when you feel uncertain about what is going to happen. Most people enjoy suspense because the thrill and the guessing is very entertaining. Almost always, the intro to a film or a story is what mainly grabs an audience's attention initially. What keeps the audience attached to the film or story, is the textual evidence and detail throughout the film or story. In stories or films, the most suspenseful part is almost always the rising action. The rising action carries the suspense up until it reaches its peak and falls down; the rising action pushes the audience’s questioning and knowledge upwards going on and on making the scenes more suspenseful. The questioning is suspenseful, because the audience will be more engaged and attached
Suspense is a key factor to the story, “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe. According to the Oxford Dictionary, suspense is the state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen. Poe uses the senses to bring the reader aware of the building suspense. He does this by telling the reader about the ominous setting of all the chambers, especially the seventh chamber. The sound of the grandfather clock, sending sinister shivers throughout the party goers each hour, keeps them on their toes. Finally, the fast-paced chase of the intruder and the Prince build to the suspense at the final moments of the story.
Suspense in the “Tell Tale Heart’’ will be analyzed by using “What is the Horror Genre?” The tension we feel when a character goes into the attic, down into the basement, or just into the abandoned house is partially a result of suspense. One example for the “Tell Tale” Heart is when the old man wakes up and the crazy person is in
Boo! Did I scare you? Suspense is not knowing what is going to happen next in a story. In the short story, “The Landyland”, Dahl gives the reader clues and uses adjectives to create suspense. These technique makes the reader curious and wanting to find out more.
How does Shakespeare build tension in ‘Romeo & Juliet’? Pay close attention to act 3, scene 1 in your answer.
In the short story "Confetti Girl", tension is created from the very beginning. For example, the story starts out with the narrator contrasting her experience with her mother and father, stating that she cherished her mother much more. The narrator goes on to complain about how her father is messy and inexperienced at cooking. When he asks about her day, she responds in a sarcastic and inattentive
Wells uses a number of techniques to create tension in his stories, relying on an understanding of human psychology and using human senses as his tool. He uses them across all three of the stories most of the time though he does it in varying ways.