Narration Techniques Add Interest in Charles Brockden Brown's Wieland
In today's popular horror movies, one common element is that the audience always knows what is going to happen. The main character, of course, is clueless. The girl always runs up the stairs when she should be running out the door or into the woods when she should be running to an open area. I am usually forced to yell in exasperation at the TV screen, always hoping that the girl will hear me. Somehow, she never does. Even though the audience can see the masked man standing around the corner, the blond actress running in high heels is oblivious. These are the movies that I can watch without being scared. The real terror comes whenever I am placed in the situation of not knowing what is lurking around the corner. The same principle can be applied in novels. Sometimes, it is necessary to have an omniscient narrator, someone who can read the minds of the other characters and explain to the reader exactly what is happening. Other stories, however, are better crafted by using a narrator who does not know what is happening. Wieland, a novel by Charles Brockden Brown, is an example of this latter type of book. Brown uses Clara as a first person narrator - one who does not fully understand the details of the circumstances surrounding her. While Clara may give an inaccurate account of the details of the story, allowing the reader to view events through her eyes gives an added sense of terror. Instead of merely plodding through an account of events, the reader is taken with Clara on a roller coaster ride of emotions. As Clara's opinions and views change, so do the readers.
One of the main sources of terror in this story is the idea of disemb...
... middle of paper ...
... or so thoughtlessly inflicted" (273).
Reading a novel is an active experience. Opinions are formed and changed during the course of a plot. Not knowing what is going to happen next, or what is lurking around the corner, can provide the same sort of fear in a novel that is present in a scary movie. Brown's use of first person narration may have exposed some bad judgement in the characters, especially Clara. Her ever-changing views and assessments of Carwin, however, play a large part in maintaining the suspense of the story. It is the use of first person narration that allows us to see Clara's judgement of Carwin for what it is, without the help of an omniscient narrator. As a result, the story is able to capture our attention and instill us with fear.
Works Cited:
Brown, Brockden Charles. Wieland; or The Transformation. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998.
How W.W. Jacobs, H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens Create Suspense in their Gothic Horror Stories
Although golfers end the day on the 18th green, their day begins on a tee box. A drive, the first hit off a tee toward the objective hole, may seem very routine and insignificant, but, in fact, it is the most important shot taken on each hole. If golfers hit a long drive into the nicely cut fairway, they have only to hit the ball off the nicely cut grass on usually a clear path to the hole. But if they hit a drive into the woods, then they have to make sure the ball does not hit any trees, branches, or other obstacles when exiting the woods. That’s why hitting a good drive is a must. With practice, even you can hit a fundamental drive.
During the story the author often uses foreshadowing to give hints to the reader of things that will happen in the future. When the story starts, a storm is coming on a late October night. The storm symbolizes the evil approaching the town. Usually it seems a storm would resemble something dark and evil, because a stormy night is always a classic setting for something evil. At the climax of the story, Charles Halloway reads a passage ...
The use of first person narration limits the reader to the perspective of Withencroft, so the reader only knows as much as he does. The narration also allows the reader to know Withencroft’s feelings. “A sudden impulse made me enter” (Harvey 385), moments such as that in the story show Withencroft’s feelings. This expands the reader 's knowledge of the story, because the actions of the narrator are explained. In the previous quote, the inside knowledge on the character lets the reader know why the character went inside. This, again, expands the understanding of the story. The limited view and Withencroft’s feelings create a shady view in the story. “Then a cold shudder ran down my spine.” This is another sentence that seems simple. It is, yet it adds to the story. By including small details like this, the author not only broadened the reader 's knowledge of the story, but made it more enjoyable. The first person point of view also helped the story more personal to the reader. This made the story more enjoyable, because at the end of the story the feeling of suspense is greater, and the reader was hoping that the main character would not be killed. The first person view gave the reader more comprehension of the story, made it more enjoyable, broadened their knowledge on the story and let the reader connect and feel closer to the
Through the use of suspense, authors can truly draw the reader into the story. Suspense in the case of gives the reader the sense of apprehension about was is going to happen next and anticipation. Two stories where suspense is depicted is Roald Dahl’s short story, “The Landlady” and Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “The Tell Tale Heart”. Roald Dahl’s short story, “The Landlady,” is about a young man, Billy Weaver who wants to find somewhere to stay for a night for cheap, since he is traveling for business. However, when he comes across a cheap bed and breakfast, the Landlady there, ends up acting very strange and Billy only uncovers some of her secrets, before it is too late for him to escape. In Edgar Allan Poe’s story, “The Tell Tale Heart,” is about someone, the narrator, who finds an old man’s eye immensely disturbing. After of seven nights of attempting murderer, on the eighth night, not only does the
Over the past five years Americans have seen many horrific tragedies related to gun violence. Each of these terrible events has been accompanied with scrutinizing media coverage, and subsequently, a push on government level for increased gun control. On the surface these movements to take away guns from Americans may seem justified because of these events. In reality the federal government is encroaching upon our Second Amendment, the right to bear arms.
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution states, that since there is a necessity for a Free State and regulated militia, the right of the American people to keep and bear arms would not be infringed by the United States government. One cannot stop and wonder the calamities that are caused by guns in their completely proper usage. This nation needs to have a talk over its malignant obsession with guns.
...ary devices covered in this paper cannot even begin to cover the entirety of a great short story. The point of view, the symbolism, and the setting are just a few things that make these stories so memorable. The ability of Shirley Jackson to make a reader question the way society allows as normal with its traditions, families, and customs causes the reader to think that this can happen anywhere. Charlotte Perkins Gilman makes the reader wonder throughout the story is she crazy or is she possessed. The ability to make the reader sit white knuckled holding the book is amazing and the writing styles of Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Shirley Jackson will forever go down in literary history.
It is said that this book is considered as one of the most famous horror novels, if not the most famous one. The Gothic descriptions in the novel are very prominent at the beginning. The portrayal of the countryside of Transylvania, of the ruined Dracula Castle, etc, all provide the effect of horror in the sense of spooky and gloomy atmosphere, which you can obtain close at hand. Everything is so obvious. The originally beautiful scenes are changed by the writer¡¯s magnification of some specific details which provide certain effect on the readers. All of the above reminds how one¡¯s personal feelings can alter their attitudes towards what they see or what they experience. Sometimes when you are sad, everything look so depressing. It is like the whole world is against you. The sunset could be a fantastic scene when you are filled with joy but an extra source of sorrow when you are not in the mood. Harker is separated from her lovely fianc¨¦e to meet some foreign count in the exotic and unknown eastern world.
The issue of gun control has always been a hot topic among the American public. Most everyone, if asked, will tell you that gun control is an issue needed to be dealt with because of the event that took place at Columbine High School back on April 20th, 1999. The American public has been wrestling with gun control long before then. If we take a look back at August 1st, 1966 at the University of Texas, a man armed with a hunting rifle committed one of the most violent mass murders in history. Gun control refers to the Government placing restrictions on the American public to buy, own and sell firearms. If we read the constitution, our second amendment right is the right to bear arms. This has been the ongoing controversy of this issue. We the people say our constitutional right to buy and own firearms is being seized from us. The government is using our society’s violent incidents as cover to place restrictions and bans on firearms. This essay’s purpose is to provide proof that buying and owning firearms is our legal constitutional right and that our government is trying to attack the wrong angle when trying to fight crime involving guns in the United States.
The reader would need to connect with the character to fill the excitement, and fear. The reader would also need to pay attention to clues, and the communication the characters are having.
Throughout the course of history, the gun control debate has been an issue that has been dealt with since the age of the colonial Americans and it is also being disputed today. The US currently holds over 200 million guns and has weaker gun laws in comparison to other developed nations, mostly because the Supreme Court has advocated gun control rights. Not many actions were taken until numerous gun shootings and incidents revolving around guns have occurred. These incidents have aroused a pleading to pass gun control laws, but the Supreme Court is against passing of the laws. Although the Supreme Court considers it unnecessary to have them, recent tragedies and past instances clearly support the implication of gun control laws.
Societies will always have problems that cause some sort of reaction from individuals who believe that their social stability is being endangered. There have been a number of moral panics which have captivated society in terror and more often than not, owing to unfamiliarity. This essay will discuss the perception of a moral panic and will look at the case of the September 11th Terrorist attack against the United States of America, which triggered a colossal conflict of morality within modern day society. This essay will also analyse terrorism as a perceived deviance, the role of the moral entrepreneur and folk devil, in order to develop a level of understanding to the causes of this particular moral panic and its effects on society.
Firstly, one must be familiar with the rules of the game. Before playing a game of golf there are a few things to ask the course attendants: “Is there a frost delay?”, “Is it cart path only?”, or “Might lightning be present
... represents his ultimate downfall. By the end of the novel, Nelly, the narrator, is well read, even commenting that she ‘could not open a book in the library that [she had] not looked into.’ (ch. 7). She even manages the finances of the house, which, when this book was written would have been strictly a male-only affair. Having previously only taken over the narration from chapter four onwards from Lockwood, who is condescending about local people, again showing a great challenge to male dominance by narrating almost the whole story.