"Steady on!" i said "These candles are wanted," Speaking with a half - hysterical facetiousness." He tries to reassure himself, yet there is the impression that there is some super-natural force around him.
"The Black Cottage"(Wilkie Collins) is the other story which uses the theme of isolation. The maid in the story is alone and has the self impression that she must protect the cottage because it is a responsibility she has been left with. She tries to seek comfort from a cat which is the only company she has inside the cottage:
"The next thing that attracted my attention was my poor pussy, crouched up, panic - stricken, in a corner. I was so fond of the little creature that i took her up in my arms and carried her into my bedroom." The reader is able to visualise a woman who is vulnerable and at the mercy of her own resourcefullness.
In all three of these short stories i think that the writer has cleverly used this technique of isolation to draw the reader into feeling scared for the character. Then the writer takes pity on the character and the reader also, by creating some company, whether it be the character talking to themselves, which from the readers perspective seems as if the character is talking to them, or the character finds warmth and becomes less afraid when they befriend an animal or talk to their pet. When a person/character talks with an animal they know that the creature cannot reply, so they ask alot of rhetorical questions so that they can reassure themselves that they will be alright. This also leaves the writer an opening to surprise the reader with a sudden shock, e.g a knock at the door, or a loud noise. Using this technique creates a climax, the reader is not expecting a surprise or a shock when the character is talking to a animal or to themselves. As the character is talking with the animal, i think that the reader is distracting them from what is about to happen, therefore surprising the reader when a sudden "BANG" or "CRASH" happens, this goes from being a warming moment when the character is seeking comfort (Anti-climax) to a sudden shock which surprises the reader (Climax). This brings me onto the use suspense.
In every good story the writer always uses suspense, this keeps the reader interested and makes the story more compelling and engaging, when the suspense is drawn out for a long time because the reader becomes more anxious about what is going to happen.
In each one of the three stories there is a climax in the story. In "The Red Room", the climax of the story is when the narrator, walks along the small, thin subterranean passage way leading him to the red room:
" The long, draughty, subterranean passage was chilly and dusty, and my candle flared and made the shadows cower and quiver."
This suggests that the narrator is being pursued by a supernatural element. The use of personification implies that the shadows are taunting the narrator. HG Wells has personified the shadows so that they too appear to be intimidated and threatened by a hostile environment.
In "The Black Cottage", the climax of the story is the whole time the robbers are lying to get into the cottage and the poor chamber maid is scared and looks for comfort so she cuddles up to her pussy:
"I was still sitting in the window seat drying my face, when i suddenly heard their voices close behind me. They were feeling the outside of the window against which i was sitting. It was protected, like all the other windows in the cottage, by iron bars. I listened in dreadful suspense for the sound of filing, but nothing of the sort was audible."
The reader is fearful for bessie's vulnerability and is eager to know what her fate will be. She is clearly unprotected and will need to rely on her own resourcefulness.
In "The Signalman", the climax of the story is held around the part of finding out where the mysterious voice is coming from and if it is actually real at all:
" I showed him how that this figure must be a deception of his sense of sight; and how that figures, were known to have often troubled patients." This is Dickens trying confuse the reader, into believing whether there is a super-natural force or not. At this moment in the story the reader will still be deciding on whether they believe there is somthing super-natural in the red room, so when the narrator goes into the room it comes as more of a surprise to the reader when the secret is revealed.
The main character in "The Red Room", is the Narator, he is very arrogant but when he meets the supposed supernatural in the room, he starts talking to himself and tries to reassure himself that nothing supernatural is in the room and he loses his arrogance therefore making the reader feel attached to the character. This is a trait shared by all three narrators - cynicism, arrogance and scepticism.
The Main character in "The Black Cottage", is the Maid, she is very brave throughout the story and she keeps the two men out for a very long time. She also manages to escape from the cottage without being hurt, but she then turns into a stereotypical woman by fainting when help arrives and she marries her saviour. This leaves the reader feeling relieved that the character has a happy ending. The ending is something of an anti climax for the reader, because she intially breaks with victorian conventions as she is resourceful, strong and refuses to be submissive.
The Main character in "The Signalman", is The Train Signalman, he is a very honest and hard working man. He teaches himself Algebra and physics, and he stays true to his job and does it very well. But once he starts getting tormented by the supernatural he becomes troubled and he gets relieved by finally being killed by a incoming train. This leaves the reader feeling sad and sorry for the character which is the desired effect the writer of the story would have wanted.
In each of the stories the way the story is developed is on a big line of suspense, tension and fear, for example:
"The Red Room", throughout the story there is a lot of suspense created by the myths that surround the red room:
" I entered the great red room of lorraine castle, in which the young duke had died. Or, rather, in which he had begun his dying." Wells uses this type of suspense very effectively, it tells the reader that it wasn't just a normal death for the young duke, but by saying he began his dying it creates and eerie and spooky theme about the red room.
"The Black cottage", A maid becomes in need of help when her cottage is being broke into by two ugly men, this creates fear and realisiation to the reader that things like this do happen:
" There was a dead silence for a minute or two; and then the two ruffians attacked the door." Collins creates this effect of dead silence, to leave the reader in suspense for a while, therefore when the ruffians attack the door it surprises the reader and the maid panics which excites the reader. The use of the word Ruffian, is well portayed, it gives the reader a sense of knowing that the attackers are dim-witted and are ugly and scary to the maid. This gives the reader some comfort in knowing that the maid could well be alot smarter than the attackers and could escape from the terrorfying situation she is in.
"The Signalman", Alot of climax and suspense becomes apparant in this story because the character tries to find out whether the supernatural that haunts him is real:
""Will you come to the door with me and look for it now?" He bit his under lip as though he were somewhat unwilling, but arose." Dickens shows here, that the once arrogant and self admired narrator is frightened of what might be on the other side of the red room's door. This then creates an understanding for the reader that even the most arrogant person will be afraid, once in the presence of the red room.
With these examples you can see how the writer creates fear, suspense and tension, and why these stories are so brilliantly appraised as excellent pieces of writing.
