The characters relationships are very strong in the stories. For example in ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ the quote ‘father and son at chess’ tells me that the father and son get along really well. Also the quote ‘Path’s a bog, and road’s a torrent’ tells me that the characters in the story don’t get along with their neighbours.
In ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ The characters are basically Amanda and her Latin teacher, Mr Thorneycroft. Amanda is a very polite little girl and had people living in her hair. At first Mr Thorneycroft didn’t believe her but after a while he started to understand what she was going through near the end. I can tell that Amanda is a very polite girl as she says ‘Amanda agreed, with politeness.’ Also the quote ‘And what is the other language?’ she then startled me out of my wits by replying, ‘una salus victis nullam sperare salutern’ (there is but one safe thing for the vanquished: not to hope to be safety.) ‘Good heavens Amanda! Where did you earn that?’ This quote tells me that the Mr Thorneycroft and Amanda are getting along with each other and shows me how Mr Thorneycroft is beginning to believe that Amanda has people living in her hair.
In both of the two ghost stories ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ and ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ The climax and tension that takes place during the story have been created differently by the two writers. In the ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ the climax and tension has been created using descriptions of the setting in which it took place. But on the other hand, In ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ The climax and tension has been formed using speech and the character’s dialog.
In ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ the climax has been produced when someone comes knocking on the door. The quote ‘I should hardly thing that he’d come tonight’ tells me that Mr and Mrs White was frightened of someone and they didn’t want him to com in to their home. Also the quote ‘there was another knock, and another’ builds up the suspense, and makes the reader want to read on, and find out what is going to happen next. The quote ‘the street lamps flickering opposite shone on a quiet deserted road’ also builds up the suspense. Furthermore the quotes ‘The matches fell from his hand and spilled in the passage. He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated’. This quote shows the build up of suspense and of climax.
In ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ the tension and climax has been created through out the story. The quote ‘His wing mirror caught the child’s jacket as he shot past us and she was dragged, shrieking, five hundred yards up the road before he could brake to a stop.’ This quote builds up the suspense and makes the reader want to read on. Also the climax and tension has been formed when gets hit by a car.
Both stories ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ and ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ are set in different times. ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ was written in 1863 – 1943 and in ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ is set a lot later.
I can tell that ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ was set in the late 1800s as £200 was a lot back then and women had no rights and could not vote. Also in the book there is an image of the family and they re dressed in old fashioned clothing. The walls in the photograph are covered also in old fashioned wallpaper. There was also a fireplace and probably needed matches to light it. There was no lighting in the picture only a few candles. This could mean that they did not have any electricity for lighting or central heating in the house. I can also tell that the story took place a long time ago as the language they use in the story is not used now a days. The story uses words like ‘Hark at, the wind’, ‘poised’, ‘intercept’, ‘doughty’, ‘rubicund and of visage’, ‘fakirs’ and ‘avaricious’. Also their son calls his parents ‘mother’ and ‘father’. Now days we children call their parent ‘mum’ and ‘dad’. Their technology back then wasn’t up to date at all, it was very poor. And like I said before they didn’t have electricity or central heating. They had to stay warm using an old fireplace and candles for light. The people back then also did not have transportation like we do now days. They travelled by horse and cart or just walked to places, as they could not afford it.
The story, ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ is quite different to the story ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ as it is more of a modern story. The language and dialogue which is used in the story is very similar to how we speak today. I can also tell that this is a modern story because Amanda attends school, and in ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ children did not have the opportunity to go to school because only the rich could afford it. Also the teacher Mr Thorneycroft was not as strict as the teachers which taught years ago. Mr Thorneycroft did not cane any of the students if they did not behave, but in ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ they would have been able to do so. I can also tell that this story is very modern because Amanda had got ran over by a car, and when ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ was written they did not have cars. In addition to that in ‘Who goes down this dark road’ they had electricity and central heating so that they do not need a fireplace to keep then warm. The people in the story wear clothing that we wear today as well.
In both of the stories ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ and ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’, have very different endings. The atmosphere and mystery caries on until the end, in ‘The Monkey’s Paw’, but on the other hand in ‘Who goes down this dark road’ the ending makes you think.
For example in ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ the ending quote, ‘The knocking suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back, and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him the courage to run down to her side, and hen to the gate beyond. The street lamps flickered opposite shone on a quite and deserted road.’ This quote makes the reader want to read want to read the next book to find out what happens next. The ending quote uses a lot of suspense and that is what makes the reader want to read on. Near the end of the story Mr White made a wish, he wished for his son to come back. The quote which shows this is, ‘Bring him back…’
I personally think that he should have wished that his son was alive and healthy, not for him to be back, because otherwise his son could have come back as a spirit. Also his final wish was for the knocking on the door to end, but that was a bad idea as the person knocking on the door was his son, Herbert.
However in the story ‘Who goes down this dark road’ the ending is different. For example the ending quote, ‘I could never go into a butchers shop again. The sight of a piece of steak…People said I’d had a breakdown, and everyone was very simpler form Amanda’s head to mine. And I’m bit bothered now because their Druids are predicting another catastrophe.’ This quote makes you think why he did not want to step in to a butchers shop again and how the people in Amanda’s head got transferred into his. But the last sentence, ‘And I’m bit bothered now because their Druids are predicting another catastrophe.’ builds up the suspense and makes the reader to read the next book if there is ever one. So that we can find out what happens to him and see if he dies like Amanda did.
Both stories ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ and ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ have two very important messages behind them. In ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ the moral is that you should always be happy with what you have got and not to be selfish as there are people out there in the world with nothing, no home, no family, just out there on the streets. Also to be carefully what you wish for because you never know what could ever happen. However, the message behind ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ is to look both ways before crossing the road, otherwise if Amanda had done that in the first place she would not have got ran over by a car.
Overall, I think out the two short stories ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ and ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ the most successfully ghost story, which holds my attention and has achieved its aim in passing there message to the reader is the ‘The Monkey’s Paw’. I have chosen this story over ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ because this story has a lot of atmosphere and mystery involved in the story. Also by the first sentence, ‘Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnum Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly.’ This sentence actually sounds like you are reading a ghost story. Unlike in ‘Who Goes Down This Dark Road?’ the beginning sentence is, ‘it seems singular, remembering that first interview with Mrs King to think I had no kind of premonition or foreknowledge’. With this quote I don’t know how Mrs King is, and this quote could have been from a different story which is not a ghost story. I also like ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ better because, from the beginning to the end there was a build up of suspense and atmosphere and makes the reader want to read on throughout the story.
Samneet Aydee
