Jacobs uses the history of the paw to build the tension and suspense when Sergeant Major Morris says “it had a spell put on it by an old fakir”. This builds tension because at the time Victorians were strong believers of “magic” and believed it posed a danger. Also he withholds information when he says “The first man had his three wishes . . . I don’t know what the first two were, but the third was for death”. This builds tension because the wishes before must have brought him bad luck and so much bad luck that he wished for death. Also when asked if sergeant major Morris has had his three wishes his answers and unexplained and short for example he uses short answers like “I did” and “I have”. The withholding of information is suspicious and therefore builds tension and suspense because the reader wants to know what he wished for and what happened.
Like Jacobs, Wells uses the history to build tension. “The red room of Lorraine castle in which the young duke had died”. This builds tension because death is mentioned and the fact that the Young man is going in to the red room where the death occurred builds tension and suspense because the reader now knows the reason for why the room is referred to as ‘haunted’. Also the cockiness of the young man builds tension and suspense when he says “Eight and twenty years I have lived and never a ghost have I seen yet”. Note the word yet is mentioned which hints that maybe he will see a ghost. Also when he says “I can assure you that it will take an extremely tangible ghost to frighten me” shows his arrogance and cockiness. His arrogance makes the reader uneasy because usually it is the cocky one that is the first victim. The journey to the red room builds the most tension in the story because after all that is said about the room he still goes there. “Then I shut them in and walked down the chilly echoing passage”. Tension is built because of the adjectives used, for example ‘chilly’ and ‘echoing’. They describe the passage to the red room which therefore builds the tension and suspense of the journey.
There are many similarities between the stories as both writers use characters attitude to create tension and suspense. The cockiness of the young man when he says “if you will show me to this haunted room of yours, I will relieve you from the task of entertaining me”, is comparable to Herbert in the Monkey's Paw when he says “ill expect you’ll find the cash tied in a big bag in the middle of your bed”. They both do not believe in the ‘supernatural’ and they both make jokes about it. However the difference between the two stories are that the characters are described to be grotesque in the Red Room and in the Monkey’s Paw the characters are described as a typical family. Also the writers both use different techniques to build tension and suspense for example Wells uses sensory language whereas Jacobs uses emotive language.
Wells uses sensory language to create an atmosphere. The sensory language takes the reader close to the main character’s reactions and state of mind, which increases the tension. “I bruised myself on my thigh” this tells you what he is feeling and where he is feeling it. This brings us closer to what the character is feeling and thus builds the tension. The conflict between the young and old also builds tension because the young man does not believe in the supernatural “ eight and twenty years I have live and never a ghost have I seen yet” whereas the old believe in the supernatural when they say “eight and twenty years you have lived and never seen the likes of this house”. The old represent religion and superstition whereas the young represent new ideas of science and technology. The reader now wants to see who is right the old or the young and this therefore builds tension and makes the reader read on. Wells also uses the varied sentence length to build tension, for example “I entered the room, closed he door behind me at once, turned the key I found the lock within”. The long sentences keep the story moving fast whereas the shorter sentences make the reader stutter causing the story to move slowly. Wells also uses figurative language to intensify the atmosphere “It was like a ragged storm-cloud sweeping out of the stars”. This simile builds tension because it tells us of the darkness which therefore gives us an image of what it is like for the character and therefore build suspense and tension.
Jacobs also uses language to increase tension and build suspense. Jacobs uses emotive language. “Get it, she panted” normally animals pant but Jacobs describes Mrs White to. This builds tension and suspense because from being a normal mum Mrs White has turned into an unstable woman. This plays on the Victorian fear of becoming uncivilised. This contrast builds tension and suspense because the reader sees how the characters have changed. Also Jacobs choice of adjectives like ‘cold’ and ‘beastly’ helps create tension and suspense because they make the mental image clearer. Also Jacobs uses sensory language to create tension and suspense for example “a loud knock resounded through the room”. The knock builds up tension and suspense because the reader wants to know who it is and therefore this creates the suspense and builds tension. Also, Jacobs uses repetition to build suspense and tension for example “there was another knock and another”. This repetition builds the suspense because it makes the reader want to know who is at the door and also make the reader wait. Also the repeated warning by the pensioners that the room was haunted build tension and suspense because this means the room might be unsafe.
Both authors use symbolisation and contrast to build tension and suspense. Jacobs uses contrast well when he describes the Whites cosy home where “the fire burned brightly” to “he sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire”. This builds tension because it shows the reader the dramatic change from good to bad. Also, symbolism is used to create tension and suspense. The Monkey's Paw is a symbol of an untamed space. At the time India was under British control and the British were continuously going back and fourth from India and England. This builds tension to the reader who were the Victorians at the time because the culture from India was entering Britain and if it was anything like the Monkey's Paw then the Victorians who were strong believers in the ‘supernatural’ must have been fearful that the Monkey's Paw may become a reality for them.
Wells also uses contrast and symbolism well. Red is the colour of blood so the ‘Red’ in the Red Room therefore symbolises danger and death .The character describes the dark corners of the room, “in its back corners its germinating darkness”. He cannot see the dark areas and this symbolises his fear of the unknown. Also the contrast of the story helps to create tension because at the beginning he does not believe in ghost and makes jokes about it. “I can assure you it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me”, to “I flung out my arms in a vain effort to thrust that ponderous blackness away”. This builds tension because the reader sees the difference in the character at the beginning and the end.
Overall I think that both writers create suspense and tension extremely successfully. However, I think that Wells does this more successfully. This is due to his successful use of language which brings us closer to the character’s physical state “I bruised myself on my thigh” and his mental state “There is to my mind something inhuman in senility, something crouching and atavistic”. The build up to the room creates immense tension and suspense as well as the history of the castle. Wells uses the setting better than Jacobs to create suspense. However Jacob’s ending leaves more questions unanswered than the Red Room. This is because in the Red Room the main question is answered and that is, was the room haunted? And the unnamed man answers the question. No. Whereas in the Monkey's Paw many questions are left unanswered like did Herbert come back? What did Mr White wish for? And what happened to the Monkey's Paw after? So whist reading the Red Room creates more suspense and tension, but after reading both stories the Monkey's Paw leaves more questions unanswered, and therefore leaves the flavour of tension and suspense.