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Compare the ways that H G Wells and WW Jacobs create tension in the two Gothic stories, The Monkey's Paw and The Red Room.

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There are a variety of different ways that H G Wells and WW Jacobs create tension in the two Gothic stories, The Monkey's Paw and The Red Room. A Gothic genre uses several techniques that help to build up tension and suspense. Nearly all Gothic stories are set in an eerie place, for example a castle or a derelict house. This is seen in both stories, The Red Room being set in a castle, and The Monkey's Paw being set in a derelict house. Also, all Gothic stories have an element of the supernatural. This is where an object, or story, has a supernatural element behind it. Again, this can be seen in both stories. The main way in which these two stories create suspense and tension are by using key techniques, for example, withholding information, the language used and the setting of the place. WW Jacobs creates tension by having a well structured plot. The fact that the plot has peaks and valleys in tension is effective because the author manipulates the reader's emotions. By having three high tension points, the author makes sure that the reader is not prepared for what is going to happen. Instead of having the whole story leading up to a climax at the end, Jacobs uses three tension points to keep the readers interest. These tension points are when Mr White has made his first wish, and are in a state of shock, the second is when the ...read more.


that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me". This creates suspense throughout the story as the reader expects the smug non-believer to be a victim of the story which compels the reader to continue reading. However, as the story continues, we see that there is very little dialogue in the later parts of the story. Conversely, the fact that the story is written in the first person compensates for the lack of dialogue in the later parts of the story. The fact that the story is written in the first person, means that you are more emotionally drawn into the story because you are experiencing the same emotions as the narrator. Also, when a story is written in first person, we begin to trust the narrator more as we only have his point of view. We can also see that where there is dialogue, it is the narrator speaking to himself; "'Steady on!' I said. 'These candles are wanted'". This creates tension as it makes it seem as though the narrator is reassuring himself that nothing bad is going to happen to him. Tension and suspense is also created through the use of shorter sentences; "His wife sat up in bed listening. A loud knock resounded through the house." By using short sentences, it adds pace to the story which aids the build up of tension and suspense. Furthermore, we can see that there is a contrast between sentence structures in key areas. ...read more.


This shows that there is not enough light to fully illuminate the room and therefore there are uncertainties. This creates tension as the reader knows something may be lurking in the shadows which could harm the narrator. This can be compared to 'The Monkey's Paw', where there is also this conflict to aid the creation of tension and suspense. Furthermore, there is also a conflict between old age and youth. This is seen at the beginning of the story where the narrator seems to be the only young person, with everyone else being old. In conclusion, the two stories both use a number of different methods to create tension and suspense. The main similarity between the way in which these two stories create tension and suspense, is that they both use language to create a sense of foreboding. Furthermore, the reader's interest is maintained in this story by having a good plot structure. There are peaks and valleys of tension in the story which intrigues the reader and makes them want to read onto the end. However, there are also many contrasts between these stories. The most obvious contrast is the fact that 'The Red Room' is written in the first person. This makes the reader feel more emotionally involved with the story, whereas 'The Monkey's Paw' is written in the third person and means that the reader is less emotionally involved. Compare and contrast the ways in which the authors create suspense and tension in the two Gothic short stories The Monkey's Paw and The Red Room 1 Taner Shakir 10L ...read more.

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