Red Room
To write a short story, the author needs a certain something, H.G Wells had it, so did W.W Jacobs. But what exactly is "It"? Without "It" short stories would be boring and dull, they would not have the magic to capture the readers mind for however long it takes to read the story. "It" of course is the ability to build up, and sustain, tension.The author of a short story has to attract the reader and keep their attention throughout. In order for any short story to work, tension has to be built in the text, to keep it interesting. In a novel, the writer has to structure and create tension, letting in rise as well as drop to the original level. By adding drama, little by little, the story gains tension but the reader is also reminded of the excitement as he is released from the drama from time to time. Too much fast paced action in a film kills the essence of it and ruins the film for the viewer; it can become almost comical to watch. For a short story, however, it is able to build tension and sustain it without completely dropping down to the original level.Lets take "The Red Room" for example, the title "The Red Room" immediately attracts the readers attention; it leaves unanswered question lurking in the back of your m
The character of the factory worker creates so much tension by the way that he is so intimidated by the prospect of telling the parents of what happened, he is, almost scared. I think the reason that the "The Red Room" is so successful as a short story is mainly because of the characters, they give so much suspension that we always want to carry on reading, the image of three elderly people warning someone not to enter a room called "The Red Room" must put a spooky image in our minds. The way the writer manages to make us wait for so long without boring us to death is what creates all the tension. Even when he finally does enter the house, we still have to wait for even longer before finding out what the man wants. This is a perfect example of opposites building tension in a story. The characters are; a young man, an old man and his wife, and another old man. It takes almost one and a half pages for the worker to finally come out with what happened. " We never find out why that night is important but it gives the reader a 'red herring' question, what will happen tonight? What's different from tonight to all the other nights? Is tonight more dangerous? The curiosity aroused by this question alone makes us want to read on and find out what is going to happen. Opposites always build drama and drama, in tern, builds tension. The 'doomsayer' who is "Sergeant -Major Morris" is such an influential character to the success of this story because he sets the pace, he starts all the tension and suspense. Firstly, we have the young against old, which also symbolizes the inexperienced against the wise. ind, "What is the Red Room?" "Why is it Red?" We associate red with fear and danger is the room dangerous? Overall, just the title raises so much curiosity that it has an overwhelming effect, wanting us to read on and find the answers to our questions. "The old man is trying to warn the young man but at the same time he is leaving the 'decision' with him. If we take away the elderly people and the Sergeant-Major from the two books we have just covered and replaced them with mediocre characters the stories would not be half as good as they are.
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Acceptance Essays
