In ‘A Vendetta’ tension is created through the behaviour of the main character. The story says that ‘she went to confession and received the sacrament’, she does this just before she is going to kill someone, this creates tension because it seems strange behaviour for someone who is just about to murder someone. She also dresses in man’s clothes, this also seems strange because it makes you wonder what she is doing and why she isn’t wearing her own clothes. Also the story tells us, ‘The old woman returned home in the evening. That night she slept soundly.’ This too creates tension because you wonder how she can sleep when she has just killed someone and you therefore feel uncomfortable.
The colours used by Guy de Maupassant in ‘A Vendetta’ create tension too because colours such as black and brown are used. These colours are dark and traditionally associated with death and evil. This creates tension because it makes the reader feel uneasy and wonder what plan the woman will concoct and if it will be evil.
During ‘A Vendetta’ information is revealed gradually. For instance you don’t fully understand the woman’s plan until the end. This crates tension because it keeps the reader in suspense and wondering what will happen. They are also not entirely sure what she is doing throughout the story.
In ‘A Vendetta’ Guy de Maupassant uses words associated with loneliness such as ‘alone’ and ‘widow’. This creates tension because it makes the woman seem like a victim and vulnerable, therefore creating an uncomfortable and uneasy atmosphere.
Now I have discussed Guy de Maupassant’s techniques for creating tension I will compare them with those used by H. G. Wells in ‘The Red Room.
One technique that H. G. Wells and Guy de Maupassant share is the use of sounds. They even use similar words for example ‘The Red Room’ uses cried, scratching and coughing. These sounds create a feeling of pain, fear and illness which all create tension.
Another similarity between the two writer’s techniques for creating tension is their use of different lengths of sentences. H. G. Wells uses longer sentences such as ‘the man with the withered arm gave this newcomer a short glance of positive dislike; the old woman took no notice of his arrival, but remained with her eyes fixed steadily on the fire’ and shorter sentences, for example ‘he corrected me on one particular. These changes in sentence structure create the same atmosphere of tension as they do in ‘A Vendetta’. The longer sentences create suspense and the longer sentences create panic.
A technique that is also used in both ‘ A Vendetta’ and ‘The Red Room’ is the use of colour. H. G. Wells uses ‘decaying yellow’, ‘red’ and ‘pale pink’. These colours are related to disease, blood and death. This creates tension because it makes you wonder what is about to happen and if the man telling the story will soon die.
‘The Red Room’ uses words associated with loneliness, as does ‘A Vendetta’. Some of the words H. G. Wells uses are ‘alone’ and ‘abandoned’. These have the same as in ‘A Vendetta’, the tension is created because it makes the man seem like an easy target and vulnerable to attack.
A difference between ‘A Vendetta’ and ‘The red Room’ is the technique of revealing information gradually. The writer of ‘A Vendetta’ uses this technique but H. G. Wells does not. At almost the beginning of ‘The Red Room’ you find out that the man is looking for a ghost as it says ‘eight and twenty years I have lived and never a ghost have I seen yet’ and ‘If I see anything tonight I shall be so much the wiser.’
In ‘A Vendetta’ tension is created through the behaviour of the characters but in ‘The Red Room’ tension is created through the behaviour and the description of the characters. For example, ‘the woman sat staring hard into the fire, her pale eyes wide open’, the man with the withered arm’ and ‘his eyes were covered by a shade, and his lower lip half averted hung pale and pink’. Everyone in the house appears to have a disability of some sort. This creates tension because you feel uneasy and wonder if their illnesses have something to do with the house and the ghost.
‘The Red Room’ uses a technique that is different from ‘A Vendetta’. H. G. Wells uses the setting to create tension. He has set the story in an old castle, with echoing passages, creaking doors and dark corners. Stereotypically castles are thought to be haunted or at least scary. This crates tension because as the reader thinks they know what will happen next, they feel more involved which makes them feel more tense and uncomfortable.
From studying both stories I think Guy de Maupassant and H. G. Wells have very similar techniques for creating tension but they both use the techniques to fit their story. For example, in ‘A Vendetta’ colours that are associated with evil were used but in ‘The Red Room’ colours associated with death and disease. So although they used the technique they managed to interpret it into their own style.
Although they have very similar techniques, over all I think Guy de Maupassant relies more on suspense and behaviour when creating tension, whereas H. G. Wells uses more stereotypes and imagery than Guy de Maupassant.
Lisa Andersen 10EJH
