suspense in short stories

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Suspense is one of the most important elements of storytelling. When one reads a story the setting is a very important key to creating suspense for the reader this is very crucial for short stories because they have a shorter period for the reader to get intrigued. Many of today’s modern world readers prefer a fast moving intense drama, which is filled with plenty of character drama. This in terms will grab the reader’s attention as well as holds their attention from the first page to the end of the book. More so most settings serve as the backdrop, and create the mood and feeling of the story. And suspense is a given in most stories. Suspense is feeling tension or anxious uncertainty about what the outcomes of certain events in a story will be. In this essay I will be discussing, suspense in terms of its uses in a short story. I also intend to discuss the importance/role of suspense in two short stories which are as follows, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart. I believe that suspense in a story is what determines if a reader continues to read the story or decides that it is to predicable and places it back on the shelf. Therefore one story that suspense plays an important role is, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson .Even though when reading the story at first time the mood given by the setting is normal day in a typical small town; however the questions that the readers begin to think of creates the suspense in itself. This is because many other readers may begin to wonder why, who, how, and why drawing up conclusion which in terms makes the story more suspenseful. An example would be when as the reader becomes very intrigued to read what will occur next and who will finally win the ... ... middle of paper ... ...r has, and all the questions that the narrator provided the reader will keep them in suspense until they know or can answer the, how’s, whose, where and why. Moreover both stories The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart are examples of how important the role of suspense is in a story. If there suspense factor was not included in the stories then one will be able to predict the ending. Furthermore, in my personal opinion predictable endings sort of makes readers stop wanting to turn the page and put the book down. Suspense draws the readers through the story, and compels them to keep reading. However suspense is more than just making a reader want to continue reading on, it’s making them want to read the complete book and most likely read any other books that comes next and overall that is was every author thrives for.

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