Although Sergeant-Major Morris did give the paw to Mr White he tried to warn him on many occasions about the dangers which might befall the bearer of the paw and I therefore feel some compassion towards him. He warned them,” but I warn you of the consequences,” and, still they ignored him which helps to create suspense as we ourselves believe him and so know they are in danger.
A sense of suspense is created when it talked about “watching the mysterious movements of a man outside.” The man was pacing up and down passed the gate of the house and then suddenly he flung open the gate. It talks about the stranger, “who seemed ill at ease” and “He gazed at her furtively, and listened in a preoccupied fashion,” which all helps to build up suspense leaving the reader wondering what horrible thing is going to happen next. “The Monkey’s Paw” is written in chapters which help to separate the three wishes and their consequences. It also creates a cliff hanger at the end of each chapter which encourages the reader to read on. This also helps to build the suspense throughout the story until it reaches a horrific conclusion at the end. It is written in linear narrative.
“The Monkey’s Paw” is in the third person. This allows us to interpret the characters’ opinions and to make our own judgements. If we had only heard from one person, who thought the paw was good, then we would also believe it to be good. However as we heard a range of different opinions we could decide for ourselves what we thought of the paw. At the start of the story the language is very warm and welcoming,” The old man rose with hospitable haste.” However it ends with great despair and fear. Some words help to describe the fear felt. ‘“For God’s sake don’t let it in," cried the old man trembling.’ The word trembling shows that he was very afraid of his son and the word “it” suggests the old man no longer believes the body is that of his son. At the end of the story Mr White uses words such as “mutilated” to describe his son. This creates a sense of horror and helps the reader to visualise the monster that almost enters the house.
“The Monkey’s Paw” is all about a mysterious and magical object which causes havoc in a peaceful home however “The Tell Tale Heart” is about the mad ideas of an insane man. The author of “The Tell Tale Heart”, Edgar Allen Poe lived a hard life. He suffered from depression and almost committed suicide. This helps us to understand how he could so easily write a story about a mad man, as if he were that man. He suffered from bad health and had a heart attack which might suggest why he wrote about a beating heart.
The setting of this story is in the house of the old man. The time is midnight which everyone relates to being the bewitching hour. The fact that it is so late helps to create horror as it would be pitch black and even harder to see things around you, “to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked upon him while he slept.” This helps to create horror as we imagine how vulnerable the old man is while he slept in his room under the vigilant watch of the mad man.
The first character we meet is the mad man. Even though he does not believe himself to be mad, “How, then, am I mad?” only persuades us that he is. The writer, or the mad man, helps to create suspense and horror as we discover that just because of the eye, “Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold,” that he wishes to murder the master who is nice to him, and so we think him definitely mad. However he thinks that he is sane as he was able to think up this complex plan and so we see irony in his actions. It is obvious that he is completely insane as he goes to great lengths to murder his master and dismember his body which he afterwards places underneath the floorboards. When the police arrive he becomes so paranoid that he believes that he can still hear the beating heart of the dead man. He becomes hysterical and confesses to the murder, ‘“Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed! - Tear up the planks!”’
I feel very sorry for this old man as he lives with the mad man. Suspense is created as the man sits terrified on his bed after hearing the noise during the night. If I had been in that situation I would also have been terrified. It would have been like being blind and deaf but still knowing that is someone present willing to kill you. This makes the story very scary and creates suspense as they both stand in darkness, without moving a muscle.
The policemen do not play a big role throughout the story but cause so much tension at the end that the mad man admits to the murder. The fear that the man had of being caught made the imaginary noise of the heart grow louder until he broke down. Suspense is created as we realise that the beating of the heart is only heard by the mad man, not by the policemen and so there was no reason for the confession.
The eye that the old man had is personified, “but his Evil Eye.” which allows us to treat it as a character. The eye is the reason that the old man was murdered so it almost has human characteristics as it gave the mad man a reason to murder.
“The Tell Tale Heart” is written in the first person which helps to make the story more personal and allows us to imagine that we are the writer. This helps to create a sense of horror and suspense as we feel that we are inside the mind of a murderer. It is written in monologue so there is only one person speaking. This means that we do not get to hear what other people think or believe and only get the murderer’s opinion. The writer uses words like “dismembered” to help create a sense of horror as we are shocked by this mad man’s actions, “First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.” This really shows that this man was insane as he shows no real signs of remorse, he seems almost gleeful. He also seems to be well prepared, “A tub had caught all- ha! ha!” this means that there was no blood and no evidence. The tone of the laugh gives us the impression that he is proud with himself as the murder was so well planned. We are fearful that this mad man might get away with the murder. Suspense is created as the pace increases in his fear, “quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant.” We can tell that he is hysterical and the repeating of the words help to show fear and suspense as we build up to the climax.
The events are described in a cyclic structure which is when the story starts and finishes in the same manner. It is also written in linear narrative.
These two stories are similar in many ways. The settings are virtually the same as they both take place in a house late at night. This helps to create suspense, as many things can happen in the dark without our knowledge, such as in “The Monkey’s Paw” where the mutilated son returned and in “The Tell-Tale Heart” where there was the continual watching at twelve every night by the mad man. Both stories seem to have an object of evil. “The Monkey’s Paw” has of course the bewitched “little paw, dried to a mummy.” “The Tell-Tale Heart” has the “vulture eye”. Each helps to create suspense as each seems to bring bad luck to the owner, quite often death.
These two stories both create a feeling of despair. We can see that Mrs White is so desperate for her son and the feeling of despair is evident ‘“It is colder for my son.” Said the old woman and wept afresh.”’ We also see this in “The Tell-Tale Heart” as the old man waits in fear and his heart beats so fast, “The old man’s terror must have been extreme!”
The difference between these stories is that in The Monkey’s Paw the suspense is gradually increased until there is a climax. However in The Tell-Tale heart the suspense is created immediately as we wonder why he is dreadfully nervous.
Each of these stories helps to create a sense of horror and suspense, from “The Monkey’s Paw”, with its twists of fate, to “The Tell-Tale Heart” and its insane murderer. However I prefer The Tell-Tale Heart as it gives us an insight into the mind of a mad man which I believe is scarier. I also believe that it is more genuine as W.W Jacobs went through similar situations himself.
