In the first section, it describes their journey through ‘primeval forest’. Arthur Conan Doyle has used many different ways of writing to set a certain atmosphere for this section. The atmosphere formed is a gothic, dark and scary atmosphere. A quote he has used to support this is ‘Dimly discern’ Which is the technique alliteration. The effect given is that those two words give this grey, murky image. Also ‘All the drums rumbled and whispered’. This quote uses two techniques of personification and onomatopoeia. This creates a real atmosphere and almost makes you imagine yourself in these very woods listening warily to the rumbling, whispering drums. It draws the reader in by involving their senses. The pace is also a massive part in creating the desired atmosphere. Arthur Conan Doyle used this when he wrote ‘ We will kill you if we can’ as a repetition. However, he did not only keep a fast adrenaline rush pace but also slowed things down to create a mysterious, lonely atmosphere. He did this by writing slow and hushed descriptions ‘Hush fell upon our souls which comes upon us in the twilight of the abbey.’ So in this section Arthur Conan Doyle has used many techniques that makes the atmosphere of that section clear. It also gives a image of the setting and the characters feelings which makes the piece more enjoyable.
However, in section two Conan Doyle has drastically changed the atmosphere completely and this technique is called contrast. It showed the scene as a gloomy, depressed scene but then Arthur Conan Doyle quickly swaps the situation when you read about the beautiful ‘fairyland’. As I read this section I realised that he has written in a way that reinforces the atmosphere. When he uses ‘fairyland’ as repetition he does this to plant the idea and the image of it being a magical place so everything after will fit, flow and make sense. Also when he wrote ‘baleful eyes glared hatred at us’ he uses the same technique. He reinforces the description of the puma by saying he has ‘baleful eyes’ and then reinforcing us with his next few words, ‘ glared hatred at us’. I think it is written like this to make it easy to read and for it to flow, but also to give a very clear view on the atmosphere created.
The two sections are very different and are written in ways that easily separate the writing styles. Section one describes a very grey gloomy atmosphere, whereas section two paints a picture of a tranquil, quiet and beautiful scene. I think Arthur Conan Doyle does this in his writing to make his story more complex to give the piece more depth and texture.
This very descriptive style of writing draws the reader into the very pages of ‘The Lost World’ making it easy for the viewer to feel as if they are ‘really there’. The more complex Doyle’s descriptive writing the more the reader can build a picture or scene in their minds as if the book is playing out like a film.
