'Compare and contrast the ways in which writers represent the supernatural in The Red Room by H.G Wells and The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy'.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Martin Hogan 5E2

GCSE ENGLISH COURSEWORK

Short Stories coursework

' Compare and contrast the ways in which writers represent the supernatural in The Red Room by H.G Wells and The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy'

The Withered Arm is a supernatural story, which is set in a west Sussex town in the 1800's. It is narrated in the third person. The narrator is Hardy. The Red Room is also a supernatural story. It is set in a mysterious, old castle in England again in the 1800's. It is narrated in the first person, the narrator happens to be a scientist, determined to prove that the paranormal does not exist. Both Hardy and Wells use a variety of techniques to explore the supernatural, including examination of character, the context of the period and changing notions of the supernatural.

The title The Red Room immediately imbues the story with a sense of danger and the thought of the supernatural, because we associate red with warning and danger. This quickly creates a feeling that the room is potentially dangerous. A reader's attention is immediately grabbed, because readers become curious about the room and what events have