Mystery Definition Essay

According to Newingham (2007), what makes a good mystery are key elements such as the characters, but not just any characters, the setting, the plot, clues and red herrings.
CHARACTERS - Lets start with the characters and as I mentioned before, these characters are not just any ordinary characters. For the story to be a mystery, there has to be suspects, witnesses, and at least one detective. The suspects are those characters that could have possibly commit the crime based on motive or evidence tying them to the crime. The witnesses are those who saw the crime being committed and can provide some information as to what really happened and/ or who did it. The detective is the one who attempts to solve the mystery.
SETTING - Another element

They can be things people say or do, or objects that are found that provide important information” (Newingham, 2007).
RED HERRINGS – Some times the writer will create distractions to lead our minds away from the truth to increase the suspense a surprise us in the end. These false clues are called red herrings.
In order to create the story the characters are introduced in the beginning and the reader learns about the problem and the suspects who could have caused it. Next the detective(s) work to solve the mystery by interviewing suspects and gathering clues. At the end the mystery is solved and the offender faces the consequences of their actions.

The story I read this week is called “ The Tell-Tale Heart”, by Edgar A. Poe. It belongs to the mystery genre because in this story the narrator tells the tale of a murder he committed, giving details as to what happened but even though the murder was calculated, there were no motives behind it. The narrator explains that he had no hatred for the old he had killed but he carefully planned the murder and then cut the body into small pieces. This is definitely a mystery because, why would you kill some one who has done you no