The Narrator and His Friend mirror Lavinia and Francine, The Narrator is overpowering and looking for a bit of fun, this makes him forget about his welfare and safety.
Additional characters are also used to create and use fear, suspense and tension in The Whole Town’s Sleeping druggist creates fear when he tells someone Lavinia’s address, not knowing who the person is, also knowing that The Lonely One Is about, this is really scary, he later realizes he has done wrong and immediately regrets what he has done. He deeply regrets his actions, when he hears the news about the death of Eliza. The druggist does something against Lavinia, not intentionally but he does do something that might lead to danger in her life. In A Terribly Strange Bed some additional characters in the story are the blackguards, who are described as, ‘these men were something worse’, ‘vulture eyes’, and ‘sunken eyes-fiercely watched’, Pg 58. The images created by Collins are scary and this increases the readers fear. It gives the impression of bad and evil and this could be due to the gambling. The soldier does something which leads to the narrators life being jeopardized, he drugs his coffee knowing that he has just had a big win in the gambling house, unlike the druggist the soldier knows exactly what he is doing, he knows that the narrator has had a big a win in the Gambling house. Someone carrying a large amount of money around like the Narrator is bound to be in a lot of danger. The soldier knew that if he were to persuade the Narrator in staying the night, he would be in for a big win also. The descriptions of the additional characters heighten the reader’s awareness of danger. The ways the characters are portrayed are backed by the settings.
Settings are an important device used by both Bradbury and Collins to create fear and suspense. Bradbury uses the ravine as a dark, scary unwanted place. The ravine is described as ‘terrible dark’ pg. 39.The ravine has a old rickety bridge which could collapse very easily this gives the impression that it is a unstable neglected place. The ravine is a place where bad is expected to happen, this creates fear in the reader. The description of the town also increases fear in the reader. The town is small, isolated strange place. 'The streets were clean and empty. Not a car, truck or person in sight'. This description would make the reader wonder where everyone is, it is also said that, 'They saw eyes peeping out at them from curtained windows' this makes the reader question why these women where the only people out on the street, it creates a sense of unease, it also brings the reader to the conclusion that something is going to happen to the women. Both the town and the ravine are lonely places that can be used to shadow the lonely one.
Collins uses the contrast between two gambling houses to create fear. Frascati’s is a “respectable gambling-house”pg57. Whereas The Gambling house is seen to be a Un respectable as a bad place, the Narrator says 'let us go somewhere where we can see a little genuine, blackguard, poverty-stricken gaming.'Pg57. It’s a place for people who are not well off, for the “Poverty-stricken” pg57, to go, the people are described as 'dirty, haggard long haired' pg.58.Its for the dirty unwanted people. This straight away causes a sense of unease the lonely unwanted people are going to this place. The room in A Terribly Strange Bed is portrayed as a bit of safety for the narrator, he barricades himself in and it seems safe. The fact that he has to barricade himself inside, immediately insinuates that the narrator knows something’s wrong. The ways the settings are set contribute to the fear.
A lot of suspense and tension is used in both A Terribly Strange Bed and A Whole Town’s Sleeping. Both writers use the same technique in different ways they both use Characters, setting and plot to create and sustain the use fear, tension and suspense. Technique is used well in The Whole Town’s Sleeping. This is emphasized when, a voice murmurs, 'I am the lonely one. I kill people' Pg41. Also the voice says' 'I’m Eliza Ramsell. Look. And I’m dead, see my tongue out my mouth, see!”Pg41, this increases fear which is then quickly released by the realization that it’s children trying to scare them. The technique in which Bradbury uses builds up tension quickly this leads to the reader wondering what is going to happen.
In A Whole Town’s Sleeping, Collins use of technique is not as effective as Bradbury’s. One time during the story when fear is not used it is created, is when the narrators friend gives him instructions on how to get home he says 'Send for a cabriolet when you feel well draw up all windows when you get in, tell the driver to take you home only through the large and well lighted thoroughfares'. The way in which his friend describes the journey he should take, and the safety precautions he should make, creates a sense of fear. The opposite to safety is danger, the way his friend warns him, and takes all kinds of precautious measures to get him home increases the fear quickly. Released quickly by the realization that the Narrator arrives safely in a coffee house, trying to sober up, or so we think so, until the tension is then built up to by our realization, that the soldier drugs the narrators’ drink. This then quickly released by the understanding that the narrator is offered a bed to sleep in that night. The build up of tension is used a lot in both stories and is overwhelmed by a quick release. The language used supports the way the tension and fear is built.
Bradbury and Collins have different writing styles, which reflect on the eras the have written in. Bradbury uses a lot of simple language that is not hard to understand or relate to. Francine’s pleadings not to go out creates an extreme tense atmosphere, she is certain that something unlawful is going to happen, she repeatedly asks for them not to go, it came to a point that she says 'Maybe we shouldn’t go to the movie, The lonely one might follow us and kill.' Pg38. This shows she is fearful; this great fear can pass through and be dominated by the readers fear. Bradbury uses a lot of repetition in his writing like when he is describing the town, “empty streets”, “empty lots”, “empty lawns” the sound went”. Pg49. Repetition of “empty” make us realizes how the street was totally deserted and it wasn’t safe for Lavinia and Helen to be out on the street by themselves. Bradbury also uses a lot of symbolism, he takes something that is lifeless and gives it a sense of life. The contrasting number of people on the streets compared to the number of people behind the windows, creates a lot of tension so its like the women don’t belong. ' There were a thousand people in the windows, stiff and silent, and three people on the street,'pg47. The people that were described in the window were not real, they were the dummies, they were “stiff and silent” like they were observing the outside world. Bradbury says, 'the hot wax dummies stood. Their blank blue eyes watched as the ladies walked past them' pg47. Dummies are lifeless objects. The dummies that Bradbury uses are very effective, the dummies are representing safety, they are safe behind the windows. The dummies are like a warning to the woman, a warning that they need to get inside. It's like the dummies know that it’s not safe for the women to be out at night, walking the streets. This translates great fear to the reader, the dummies are not real but even they can sense fear, so it must be a huge mistake for the women to be out alone.
Collins uses 19th century words that are not used in speech now in the 21st century. Collins uses symbolism in his story, he refers to “Guido Fawkes”, this is unnerving because Guy Fawkes (a.k.a. Guido Fawkes) was a young man who tried to burn down the houses of parliament, was trailed for treason and burnt at the stake. He died a terrible death, this heightens the readers’ awareness and brings them to conclusion that maybe The Narrator was going to die a horrific death, this increases tension dramatically.
I preferred A Whole Town’s Sleeping to A Terribly Strange Bed. It was structured better, the language was easier to understand, it was generally, more interesting than A Terribly Strange Bed. The methods in which Bradbury used the characters, plot and settings to create and sustain fear, tension and suspense was increasingly effective a lot more obvious than Collins uses of them.
Bradbury mirrored the stereotypical view of woman. His uses of characters made them believable, realistic and also relatable. E.g. Lavinia- headstrong woman that listens to nobody. Francine- the fearful, innocent and sensible friend. . On the other hand, Collins uses people that are unrealistic and non believable. The narrator- Foreigner, who gambles with strangers, stays in an unknown destination over night, on his lonesome.
To summaries Ray Bradbury's use of the plot, characters, setting and language created and sustained immense fear, suspense and tension in A Whole Town’s Sleeping very effectively.
Collins uses of the plot, characters, setting and tension in A Terribly strange Bed, although effective it wasn’t as effective as A Whole Town’s Sleeping. and didn't really appeal to work as well as that of the uses of Ray Bradbury.
