Hound of the Baskervilles coursework.
Hound of the Baskervilles coursework.
This piece of coursework aims to show how Arthur Conan Doyle uses the setting and language to successfully create atmosphere and tension in the story of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" Arthur Conan Doyle lived in London in the late 19th century. His career was not exactly very successful in the early stages of his life. It started as him being a doctor onboard a ship, he was then an general practitioner in Southsea, but this career did not work for him either, and later he became an unsuccessful optician! So Doyle made the decision to dedicate himself to writing. Undoubtedly his most famous works are the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Watson. They were loved by all the public, who made Holmes a cult figure.
At the time, the streets of London were full of crime. There were uncountable murders occurring and there was always someone breaking the law, whether it was petty theft, stealing, or even murder. The police force at the time were very disorganised and undisciplined and there were only a few of them who actually did their jobs properly and an even smaller number that were actually out on the streets. This enabled London to become a crime infested city, with such well-known criminals as Jack the Ripper being able to kill without being caught. This influenced Doyle's writing to a great extent. Holmes was made to be the perfect gentlemen and detective. He always caught his man and was always dressed in very smart gentleman like clothes, precisely the kind of person London needed, and nothing like the police force at that time. This is why he became an instant success.
When people read Doyle's books it allows them to think that they live in a world rid of crime and violence, a safe place with no criminals and murderers nothing like the London in the late 19th century. The novel was written in 1902, the main plot of it is that many years before a member of the Baskerville family, Hugo Baskerville, had beaten a young lady and had kept her in the house as his prisoner. While at a banquet this lady escapes and runs onto the moor to attempt to escape. Hugo, when he discovers she has escaped gathers his men and chases her onto the moor. Hugo then decides to go ahead and chase the lady personally. After a while, his men come to see whether he has caught the lady, but they are horrified to see that the bodies of Hugo and the lady are lying dead on the floor, they are then terrified at the sight of a Gigantic hound standing over Hugo's lifeless body, ripping flesh from his throat. Since then, it is said that this hound stalks the Baskerville family, and will kill any of the descendents if they wander over the moor at night.
In addition to the legend of the Baskervilles there are many other features that also make the novel successful as a horror and suspense thriller. Firstly, the scene is set on the moor, a barren and desolate place with a very evil reputation "But the moor with its mysteries and its strange inhabitants remains as inscrutable as ever." Secondly, within the moor there are many supernatural things such as the Grimpen mire. The Grimpen mire is an area of bog with rather strange tales been told about it, which I will discuss in more detail later on.
"The Hound of the Baskervilles" is set on Dartmoor in Devon. The moor is the main setting in the story as this is where the notorious hound lives. It is also a very dark and gloomy area, allowing Doyle to create a far more effective atmosphere.
"... And the old trees shot their branches in a sombre tunnel over our heads. Baskerville shuddered as he looked up the long, dark drive to where the house glimmered like a ghost at the father end."
This shows how Doyle creates his atmosphere; it also shows how unsure are the characters are about the moor and its surroundings. They are clearly quite worried about something, whether it is the legend of the hound or of Selden the escaped convict " It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer." being out on the moor. The setting and ...
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"... And the old trees shot their branches in a sombre tunnel over our heads. Baskerville shuddered as he looked up the long, dark drive to where the house glimmered like a ghost at the father end."
This shows how Doyle creates his atmosphere; it also shows how unsure are the characters are about the moor and its surroundings. They are clearly quite worried about something, whether it is the legend of the hound or of Selden the escaped convict " It is Selden, the Notting Hill murderer." being out on the moor. The setting and atmosphere are very important in a story, they are like the music in a film, creating the mood and grabbing the attention of the readers/viewers. The weather is also another important aspect of the setting. The weather on the moor is extremely dark, foggy and mysterious, which helps to keep the reader in suspense."... There hung a dense, white fog. It was drifting slowly in our direction, and banked itself up like a wall on that side of us, low, but thick and well defined." This shows how the language Doyle uses gives the reader a clear impression of the setting and lets them imagine the fog almost creeping up on the unsuspecting characters as if the fog was alive, almost trapping them. The inhabitants of the moor are very superstitious about the legend of the hound. This allows the moor to seem much more supernatural and create an un-nerving effect on the reader.
Another point I have to consider is the Grimpen mire, this is an area of land which has an unusual reputation, the people of the moor say that the mire acts as though its alive, swallowing every victim that passes. "A false step yonder means death to any man or beast. Only yesterday I saw one of the moor ponies wander into it. He never came out." This shows the dangers of the mire and how any man or beast that walks into it is almost certain to be dead. All of these factors help create the dark, mysterious and dangerous atmosphere. The legend of the hound creates the mystery, and the mire and the moor symbolise the evil and the grip and power in which the characters seemed trapped, this links to the plot when Watson says that this case is bogging him down, just like the mire does to all its victims. The setting, the atmosphere and the plot all combine to create a very successful story.
The setting of the moor and the dark, mysterious and dangerous atmosphere create a perfect horror setting for the story to be based in. If this story were set in a different location it would definitely be less successful in creating setting and atmosphere and would have less of an effect on the reader. For example if this story was set in the busy streets of London, where the weather is quite consistently clear and there are many people wandering the streets, it would not be very effective. Imagining the hound running through alleyways and roads does not create much horror and will not excite the audience. The main point that makes Doyle's story so effective is how desolate the area is, whereas London will be full of people going to and from work all the time, which would not be appropriate for the creation of horror and suspense.
Throughout the book, the moor is described as being a "weird and desolate place"; this is shown especially well in chapter 6 when Sir Henry, Dr. Watson and Dr. Mortimer are on the train. "Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood, there raised in the distance a grey, melancholy hill, with a strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance, like some fantastic landscape in a dream." This section of the text portrays many features of the moor and has many underlying meanings.
Firstly, there is contrast in the passage. At the start the image of the moor is that of calm, beautiful and undisturbed woodland and fields, "over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood", however, this image is soon destroyed by another image that greatly contrasts the first one "there raised in the distance a grey, melancholy hill, with a strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance".
This second quote gives an image of a darker, supernatural and more mysterious moor. Since darkness is usually associated with evil, it may connotate a presence of evil about the moor, which will give the reader a first impression of the moor being a very scary and uninhabited place. This mixes well with the legend of the hound, which is also considered supernatural and evil.
Another interpretation we can take from this paragraph is that it is trying to say that the deeper you go into the moor, the more the darkness and gloomy it becomes. It is as if you are moving into a storm, it gets more and more violent and more unbearable the further you go in. Another quote, which emphasises this is "but behind the peaceful and sunlit countryside there rose ever, dark against the evening sky, the long gloomy curve of the moor, broken by the jagged and sinister hills."
This also emphasises the idea that as you get further and further into the moor, the atmosphere and weather gets darker and more sinister. It is also giving the reader the impression that the moor may look nice on the outside, but once you go in it has an evil in it that shown in many ways, such as the dark and foggy weather. Within the moor there are many dangers like Selden the escaped convict and the hound, but none are greater than Grimpen mire. This is a bog in the central part of the moor. Throughout the book it is used as a source of atmosphere, and because of its ability to swallow a horse fully, it is also said to act as though its alive, which adds to the supernatural effect of the moor. It is especially represented as being alive in chapter 7 " I saw its head for quite a long time craning out of the bog-hole, but it sucked him down at last." This gives the reader the impression that the mire is eating the ponies as a meal in order to sustain itself.
In addition, the presence of Selden on the moor affects the appearance and atmosphere surrounding it. It makes it seem more of a hostile and secretive place, because it is a place where a murderer would be able to escape the police just by hiding there, and the police force would be reluctant to go after him because of the fear of the moor and its inhabitants. Selden is a very evil character who reflects the mood in the moor as being one of great danger. Generally, the moor is an excellent location for the story to be set. The gloomy, sinister and dark atmosphere along with the isolation and desolation of the moor make it seem susceptible to many kinds of supernatural activities, of which this story is based upon, this is well supported with the quote "Yes, the setting is a worthy one. If the devil did desire to have a hand in the affairs of men".
The atmosphere created by Doyle's writing is very effective in this story, he uses very descriptive words to emphasise the darkness, gloominess, and danger in and around the moor. "As we watched it the fog-wreaths came crawling round both corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank...So as the fog-bank flowed onwards we fell back before it until we were half a mile from the house, and still that dense white sea, with the moon silvering its upper edge, swept slowly and inexorably on."
Those quotes show the sort of language Doyle is using to create his atmosphere; it also gives the reader a mental image of what is happening in the scene, which allows them imagine themselves as the characters and experience the horror in a first person perspective. The way in which the atmosphere permeates the characters is by the characters speech and things they do. "Shall we move backwards onto higher ground?" This shows that the characters are very weary of the moor and are retreating from the fog because they know of its dangers and really don't want to get stuck in it. Another example of how the moor permeates the characters is in chapter 7. "But why should you wish to go into so horrible a place?" This quotation emphasises that the moor is a very dangerous place and allows the reader to realise that the moor is a place of evil and should not be ventured into.
There is however another explanation for the strange happenings on the moor; this is one of supernatural activity. There is no evidence to suggest that there is not any supernatural activity going on in the moor. It could be that there is some sort of strange, out of this world creature that is living in the moor and feeding on passers by. The characters in this novel all predict that it is the hound that is reeking terror in the moor, but they only think this because of the legend. Although, if you look at it from another perspective the hound could be the strange creature from out of this world. There are many different ways of looking at this case, this is why Doyle is successful in keeping the reader in suspense, because the reader does not know who is causing these murders and so reads on to find out more.
Doyle builds up his atmosphere by gradually making his use of language more extreme and much more descriptive. Towards the end of chapter 6 Doyle uses language such as " The journey a swift pleasant one, spent it in making the more intimate acquaintance of my two companions, and playing with Dr. Mortimer's spaniel." This uses some use of descriptive language but is not clear enough to create a mental image in the mind of the reader. Whereas later on in the book in chapter 14 Doyle extends his language to create more atmosphere such as "I sprang to my feet, my inert hand grasping my pistol, my mind paralysed bye the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon us from the shadows of the fog. A hound it was, an enormous coal black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame." Now this passage uses a vast amount of descriptive language to capture the reader and create horror. This description also lets the reader imagine the hound leaping out at them from amid the fog. So as you can see Doyle builds up his atmosphere throughout the duration of the story. This atmosphere adds a lot of suspense to the story; it really grabs the reader's attention and makes them never want to put the book down.
The weather in this story is very important in creating the effect of supernaturalism, mystery and suspense especially in chapter 14. This is because in the later stages of the book, just before the hound gets killed there needed to be a big climax, to create an effect on the reader. One of the factors used was the weather. The weather contributes greatly to the setting and atmosphere because it allows the story to be very effective. "The night-air was heavy with the smell of damp and decay. Now and again the moon peeped out for an instant, but clouds were driving over the face of the sky, and just as we came out on the moor a thin rain began to fall" This gives you an impression of what sort of language Doyle is using to describe the weather. He is going into detail to allow the reader to picture what the weather would be like; this helps when creating the atmosphere and setting.
The weather affects the plot because it creates a dark and gloomy setting for the story to be set in. If the story was set in a sunny area it would be a lot harder for Doyle to create atmosphere and setting. "The moon shone on it, and it looked like a great shimmering ice-field, with the heads of the distant tors as rocks borne upon its surface...The stars shone cold and bright, while a half-moon bathed the whole scene in a soft, uncertain light."
These are two quotes that show how Doyle uses descriptive language to describe the weather on the moor. They give the reader a picture of a cold and desolate landscape that is plagued with strange noises and peculiar shapes. This is important because it allows the characters to be alert at all times, giving the reader the impression that something is about to happen, and therefore successfully keeping them reading.
In conclusion, all of the elements I have discussed so far contribute in creating a perfect setting and a dark, mysterious and dangerous atmosphere. Doyle makes this story a frightening horror story by using strong descriptive language and the use of imagery, this is a very clever and simple way of creating an enormous effect on the reader because they imagine they are in the story and can therefore experience the suspense and thrill in a first person view. This story was very effective when I read it, I especially liked the end few chapters where the suspense and atmosphere were peaking. This book really pulled me into the story and made me feel as though I was one of the people in the story, and all of these events were happening to me. This is why I think this book is so very effective in creating a powerful setting and atmosphere.
