show how H.G Wells builds tension in The Red Room

Authors Avatar

H.G Wells-“The Red Room”

Show how the Author Creates and builds tension in this ghost story

                   H.G Wells is a typical pre 19th century gothic style writer who uses stereotypical horror scenes & props to create fear and mystery. The author used many different senses, sights and feelings in his stories such as using the dark to personify an atmosphere or use a variety of furniture to create light and shadows. Also the writer includes a depth of thought out and realistic characters to give the story a more realistic and appealing horror plot.

                   In this assignment I will be exploring the many ways in which H.G Wells creates tension and how he uses this mystery to draw the reader into the many frightful in-depth catacombs of “the Red Room”.

These catacombs create a blind spot of fear within the reader’s subconscious this “black fear” as it is referred to in the story line.

                  I will start with the title “The Red Room”.

                  At first glance the word red taken into to context would you presume to mean a room of a deep passionate red innocent and astute? However through-out history red has been used to personify blood shed and as a symbolism of evil that goes hand in hand with the black of darkness. Even such sinful things as brothels have a strong connection with the colour red after the deep passionate source of mans weaknesses adultery & murder something you could call to be evil?  

As a result this one single word gives the writer something to think about from the offset and immediately proceeds to pump the blood trough your veins.

                   But even the other word in the title “room” gives you the feeling of entrapment almost like a lonely prison shut off from the outside world by four solid walls that shields your existence but also plays with your mind like a safety falsely believe by some one who could so easily be a prisoner or a victim rather than a guest another tantalizing prospect for the reader’s that helps to get the reader curious of the plot.

                    Picture the Scene one young man standing in front of a roaring fire two elderly people proceed to question him on his reasoning behind staying in “the red room” tonight.

                     The first description of these people is one of almost ghostly qualities as if he is describing these people in an expectant sort of feel for instance:

“The man with the withered arm”

                      It is almost as if the man beliefs these are from the afterlife with such ghostly tendencies of course when you think of something that is withered almost as if it is rotting away and is not really meant to be there like A ghost trapped in the wrong dimension. Also it is a chilling sign of the decrepit and presumably fragile appearance the old man would almost certainly convey all over. The old people seem to be as integral a part to the setting of this room as say the fire that burnt. But even as if this was not enough of a scene setter the writer continues to extend and exaggerate, he continues onto include an even older, more bitter & even more withered away arms with the introduction of this new man which is designed to take the mystery and horror, He makes everything ten times worse.

Join now!

                   If you look at all these different characters take into account all there different aspects you realise that the writer is creating the scene for both the readers conscious mind and subconscious, for instance he shows the obvious chilling aspects like the man with the withered arm a clear warning that appeals to the reader more than say a normal arm and draws them further into the plot. But he also plays to the reader’s subconscious by for instance when the woman says:

“This night of all nights!”

    ...

This is a preview of the whole essay