2. When the major is talking it is like he is talking to a group of school children as they all sit around in a circle
B. Let loose
1. At the very start of the story there is a short verse of a poem. It doesn't really give us a hint of the story but it’s more to set the scene.
2. The whole of the main story is speech; this causes the story to become quite informal and interesting.
III. Language used
A. Monkeys paw
1. The writer uses lots of similes and metaphor i.e. “it twisted in my hand like a snake” this is dramatic because people associate the snake with Satan.
2. The writer uses very simple language so people can read it but writes the sentences so to get the whole understanding of the words you have to read it twice.
B. Let loose
1. In this story the writer uses 3 different narrators, himself, the architect, and the storyteller.
2. The language is very precise and complicated. It isn't a story that any body could read.
Comparisons
Monkeys paw is set in a house. People see their houses as being safe. The weather outside is wet and windy. Their house is protecting them from the cruel outside world. But when the major brings in this monkeys paw he penetrates the houses barriers and the house is safe no more. The house seems cold and unwelcoming after the monkeys paw has had its first wish. The story doesn't move from the house until the funeral and that is only for one paragraph and it doesn't say about getting there or back.
Let loose is set in a small village in the middle of nowhere, which for some people is scary in a sense all on its own, because if any thing was to happen they couldn't get anywhere fast. The writer doesn't say much about what the cemetery or the village looks like so we have to make it up in our own minds. Most of us when thinking of cemeteries think of ghosts, ivy, and tombstones etc. this some times the scene for traditional horror stories.
The dialogue in monkeys paw seems very forced and unreal until the major enters, then every thing seems to settle and the family has fun listening to the stories the major is telling. When he does talk it is almost monologue because every one is listening to him not wanting to interrupt and ruin the story. This seems eerie and unnatural.
In let loose there is a short verse of a poem. This doesn’t really give us a clue to what the story is about but gives a chill down our spine.
“The dead abide with us! Through stark and cold Earth seems to grip them, they are with us still”.
Almost the whole of the story is dialogue; this gives it a more informal and personal feel. It makes the story more like the ones that people tell in the night while sitting around a campfire. Because this story sounds informal people are more likely to read it because it sounds more interesting.
“It twisted in my hand like a snake” one of the many, simple similes used it the story to produce a horror image in our heads. The writer also wrote a lot of the significant and insignificant parts in threes. There were three warnings from the major, three wishes, three knocks on the door, and many more. The number three is often seen as mystical and magic and the way that this has been used in the story reinforces the idea of witchcraft or supernatural forces.
Let loose also uses the power of three this time by using three narrators to tell the story. The story starts with the writer laying out the setting for the story. This then switches to a conversation between the Architect’s Assistant and the Architect who plays the main role within the tale. The sentences are complied using language and form that is much harder to understand that the language used in the Monkey’s Paw.
Conclusion
I felt that Let Loose was more effective as it left much more to the imagination and the language and compilation of the sentences gave the story a much more eerie and spooky feel. The Monkey’s Paw was more specific
