"A short story should stimulate the imagination and hold its reader in suspense."Consider the statement in relation to stories from the ghost / mystery genre.

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“A short story should stimulate the imagination and hold its reader in suspense.”

Consider the statement in relation to stories from the ghost / mystery genre.

(Think about style, language, setting characters, suspense and climax)

A short story is a condensed fictional narrative typically concerning a relatively small number of characters. Short stories may aim to excite the reader provoking emotional responses, to the situations or characters described in the piece. The ghost / mystery genre presents unexpected events, building a sense of anticipation as the reader waits to see how the plot will develop.

The short stories that this essay will examine were written in the nineteen-century, a period in which people were intrigued by the supernatural and mystery. In particular, the ghost and mystery genre provided Victorian readers with an escape from their strict moral codes of behaviour. It was in this period that the short story first became recognised as a genre in its own right. Victorian audiences favoured the short story format as they became a popular feature within newspapers and magazines. In the early 1900s, education improved, more people were taught to read and therefore short stories were seen as a good method to increase levels of literacy. Consequently, reading became a social pastime with short stories being a form of education and entertainment. Authors such as Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë and Edgar Allan Poe promoted the short story format as a way of increasing their audience. Within such a tight structure, the authors must immediately stimulate imaginations and hold their readers in suspense. In the days before television or radio, reading aloud was a much more popular form of entertainment than it is today, and we know that short stories or instalments of serials were often read aloud within families or groups of friends. As these short stories often reached a wide audience they often dealt with themes and issues that were of considerable importance to people’s lives. Like popular fiction today, particular types of story – such as supernatural, mystery, horror or detection – had an especially wide appeal.

Titles such as H. G. Wells’ horror story, “The Red Room” immediately engage the readers’ attention. Adopting a first person narrative in it allows the audience to delve into the narrator’s thoughts. Dickens’ “The Signalman” makes use of an oppressive setting to create tension, while Thomas Hardy’s “The Superstitious Man” portrays the collision of two worlds – the living and the dead.

It is vital for short stories to immediately attract the readers’ attention so that they may be encouraged to read on. The plot must quickly be established and the title may be a valuable aid in doing this. Titles often raise questions and create intrigue such as Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart” which suggests secrets that may be divulged. Instead of such information being spoken, the title implies that the heart may expose a secret. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” is a much simpler title but the use of the word “adventure” is significant, as it suggests excitement and danger, thus stimulating the reader’s imagination

The first person narrative is often a popular style for a short story, because it makes the reader feel involved with the story, as if the narrator or main protagonist is actually talking directly to him/her. This is effective primarily because it evokes empathy and sympathy from the reader.

Edgar Allan Poe uses the first person narrative effectively in “The Tell Tale Heart” as it allows a deep exploration of the main protagonist’s thoughts by using an informal style. The reader is engaged by direct speech:

“… but why will you say that I am mad?”

Hyphens are regularly used which makes sentences disjointed and replicates his fragmented mind. It is as if the narrator is pleading his own sanity but, by directly addressing the reader, his behaviour seems more intriguing and frightening. Therefore the readers can clearly identify with the protagonist, experiencing the same anxiety, as they delve into his thoughts and see the true extent of his paranoia.

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Dickens’ “The Signalman” is very different from “The Tell Tale Heart” where the language is more formal. The main protagonist is anxious and somewhat bewildered by the signalman and we are encouraged to see this too,

“there was something in the man that daunted me.”

The reader adopts the suspicion the narrator has of the signalman.

“the monstrous thought came to my mind…that this was a spirit not a man.”  

The fact that the reader knows the narrator’s thoughts through the use of first person narrative allows the reader to share the doubts and nervousness of the narrator. ...

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