Diction In The Red Room

The Red Room is a novel that was written by H.G Wells. In the excerpt I read there were four characters two elderly men, an elderly woman, and a twenty-eight year old man. Many people describe elders as stubborn, stuck in their ways, and wise. Wells elaborately describes his characters in the novel. The younger man was the narrator. Wells uses diction, foreshadowing, and imagery to characterize the young man.

In the novel Wells diction was very prominent and distinguished. “"Eight-and-twenty years,” said I, "I have lived, and never a ghost have I seen as yet."” In the lines above Wells did not use modern language as the narrator’s voice. Most people would say twenty-eight, not eight and twenty. This red flagged that the narrator was different. He is not your average person. He does not talk like anybody else. This was Wells first introduction of the man’s character.

This displayed him as brave and persistent. "I can assure you," said I, "that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me." In the line above the young man states that he is not afraid of ghosts. This foreshadows that he is somewhere ghosts have been known to appear. In the novel when the wise elders told him not to go up the stairs he insisted. Elders are known to have almost all the answers and are very informative. The elders warn the young man but instead he is persistent and he states “"If," said I, "you will show me to this haunted room of yours, I will make myself comfortable there."” The foreshadowing used by Wells furthers the narrator’s character in which, he is perceived to be brave and