Many aspects of stories are eye-catching, jaw-dropping, and pull you into the words on the page. Suspense is a particular tool that creates a tense situation that leaves you on the edge of your seat, wanting more. Some types of suspense work extremely well, and sometimes even better than others. The short story “Night Drive” by Will F. Jenkins is one example, in which the main character, Madge, is thrown into quite the suspenseful situation, with a killer and a deserted road. “Night Drive” uses multiple kinds of suspense, and amazingly weaves them into the story, keeping any reader on edge. However, the most effective suspense techniques used in this story were isolation, setting and thoughts.
One particular suspense technique used in “Night Drive” was isolation. The author does a great job of singling out Madge, and
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This technique is extremely prominent throughout the story, constantly pointing out what Madge is thinking about, or how she’s reacting to a situation. To name a few examples, Madge notes some suspicious things about Eunice even before Eunice starts acting weird, but quickly dismisses the thoughts. After Madge begins to suspect Eunice is not what she says she is, Madge’s mind starts racing, trying to think of ways to escape the situation. Or, how Madge keeps having recurring thoughts about Mrs. Tabor’s murder. She even considers pretending to crash her car near a lone gas station just to get away from Eunice. In almost every part of “Night Drive,” Madge worries, and tries to think her way through the problems, which definitely makes the reader begin to think as much as Madge does. The use of thoughts in this story is the best way to create suspense, given Madge’s situation. It is a very helpful technique that is used well in “Night
The book had a dull plot, witless characters, and a predictable ending after the third chapter. 7 Having taken down the license number and now following the car, the detective was ready to close in on the murderer. 8 Sometimes I feel as though l 'm badgered by my boss, ignored by my husband, and abandoned by my best friend.
Through this letter, Shreve gives a fictional account of the life of Maren Hontvedt yet provides an entirely plausible, if not shocking, account of the events that could have happened on the night of the murders. Both stories build deadly and somewhat unexpected climaxes. 2. Shreve tells us a stunning story with great climax and mysterious plots and themes. There is plenty for the reader to reflect and savor in this accomplished inquiry into the circle of
In the Monkey’s paw on page 108 the quote said “his tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the room.” The tell - tale heart and the monkey’s paw are entertaining short stories that meet the criteria to be categorized in the horror genre because they both contain suspense. In the tell tale hearts it creates suspense because allen said that the old man did him no wrong but he wanted to kill him because of the old man’s eye and that he had the eye of an eagle, and that his eye was blue and pale .
In life, everyone has gotten the suspenseful feeling of being insecure or scared of something. In the novel, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, the characters are invited to Soldier Island for various reasons by the same person identified as Mr. Owen or U.N. OWEN. Upon their arrival to Soldier Island, they are greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Rogers who have announced to them that their host, “Mr Owen” is delayed and won’t arrive until tomorrow. By the end of the night, one of the guests is dead and slowly, each guest gets killed off. In “And Then There Were None,” Christie uses symbolism, foreshadowing and inner thinking to build suspense for the reader.
The Suspense and Surprise in And Then There Were None Although every well-written murder mystery has not fixed mode because the writers of detective story always want to give their readers a unique feeling, suspense and surprise are essential and indispensable features in a well-written murder mystery. (Alewyn 184) In Agatha Christie’s
Do you ever get frightened reading a grisly book? Robert Dahl used many methods to create suspense in the short story the LandLady. The writer gave many unique clues. Suspense is when the biggest moment, where you just wanna leap out of your chair. To begin with, In the short story the LandLady Robert gave her clues that the Landlady was alarming and suspicious.
Suspense is a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen. For instance, page 173 states, “And this I did for seven long nights- every night just at midnight- but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do the work; for it was not the old man who vexed me; but his Evil Eye”. Page 173 has many examples of suspense but, the main one was that he wouldn’t kill the man for seven days. He was safe because, his eye was closed but, this then makes the reader fear for the man because, what if one of his eyes opened.
Suspense, the state of tension, anxiety, and uncertainty, like waiting for an outcome that comes very slow. Authors usually create suspense by using story elements. In the story “The Monkeys Paw” by W.W. Jacobs, he uses story elements such as foreshadowing, conflict, and surprise ending. Foreshadowing is one of the biggest ways that expresses suspense in the story. For example Sergeant Major Morris states that the first owner of the paw wished for death.
Ray Bradbury’s, The Whole Town’s sleeping, is about a woman Lavinia Nebbs, who is going to the theatre with her 2 friends, Francine and Helen. On their way, they find a dead body, which was their other friend Eliza Ramsell’s. Assuming it was the anonymous serial killer, nicknamed “The Lonely One”, they call the police. After the theatre trip, the friends head home. However, Lavinia senses someone is following her.
In tense moments when everyone is awaiting something to come, like a test grade, a strong sense of suspense can be felt. In the novel, “And Then There Were None” the characters face the feeling of suspense. Ten people were brought over to an island where they would experience something new. However, it didn’t necessarily go as planned. A mysterious killer was on the loose and took the life of each person, one by one.
In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, suspense is created through the use of foreshadowing, different points of view, and cliffhangers. Without suspense, the book would be boring and uninteresting to read. The author uses these three main techniques to keep the reader engaged. First off, Connell uses foreshadowing to create suspense by using appalling words to map out the near future, and by using dialogue. The author uses dreadful words like “dark” and “cannibal” to foreshadow the daunting future.
[He] does not notice the police car… follow him.” This one event, mixed with the stereotype the protagonist has thrown upon him by the cop, seals his fate. All three of these situations foreshadow the ironic and deadly situation that the poor lost man is about to find himself involved. It is these subtle hints to his death that not only add suspense to the plot, but also hold a key importance in conflict development. W.D. Valgardson uses many great elements of fiction to build plot and conflict, as well as teach the lesson of not making snap judgments in his short story Identities.
Suspense is used in literature to give off a feeling of uncertainty. In W.F. Harvey’s story “August Heat”, he writes about our protagonist James and how he meets a bizarre character named Mr.Atkinson who he feels is an unnatural person and feels uneasy with him. Later when he is invited to stay the night, Harvey finished the story off with James saying he will “be gone in less than an
The authors of the two texts “The hitchhiker” and Don’t Look Behind You” effectively created suspense through the use of dramatic elements. The two text use imagery to create suspense in the stories. The description of the character’s fear/anxiety also was effectively used to create suspense. The dialogue created suspense through the stories “Don’t Look Behind You” and “The Hitchhiker”. Therefore both of the stories “Don’t Look Behind You” and “The Hitchhiker both use the 3 elements successfully.
Walking through downtown Brownsville, Lesley saw a vast amount of silhouettes emerging from a distance. The night stood dark as well as misty while steam rose from the vents making it harder to see, however the shadows that once seemed far from reach, now rose to the top of buildings. She felt her heart rate rise besides speeding up as she approached an ally that remained unavoidable. The sound of fast cars passing by in addition to rigid brakes made her think of so many unwanted situations she recalled from movie clips. The street lights began to flicker causing the ally to grow darker, which made it seem longer to cross.