How does the writer create tension and suspense in The Red Room? :: Free Essay Writer

How does the writer create tension and suspense in The Red Room? The writer is able to create tension and suspense through various ways in the short story ‘The Red Room’. The opening sentence in the story immediately mentions the supernatural, which immediately tells us that this is a gothic story. The first sentence is dialogue, but we do not know who is speaking. This creates tension as it is withholding information. This is the main technique used to create both tension and suspense through out this story. Throughout the whole story we are not given any names of the character, but are distinguished by a certain phrase ‘the man with a withered arm’ shows us that each of the characters mentioned in this story has a negative description. The negative description and the withholding information build up tension as we want to know more about these characters and who they are. Using negative words make out that the characters are evil or decrepit. The words used to describe these characters are withered, old decayed and pale. We are also not given a name of the narrator or what business he has at the castle. All we know is that he is sceptical about the ghosts that these people are telling him about. ‘That it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me’, shows a conflict between the superstitious and the sceptical. This builds up tension as we know that in most gothic stories, the sceptical are usually the ones to get punished. The narrator is mocking these other characters, which builds suspense as we know that in the end it will be he that will be hurt. Another way in which the writer builds up tension and suspense is by writing the story in first person. This makes us feel emotionally drawn to the character. We feel what the narrator feels, and we only know what the narrator knows. Using first person also allows us to trust the narrator or to empathise with the character. The use of imagery or personification increases the suspense in the story, ‘Shadows cower’ is a very descriptive way of showing how frightening the mansion is. It sounds as if the shadows which are linked to darkness themselves are afraid of a greater evil. We wonder what this great evil could be that makes evil itself tremble. Another personification used is ‘candles writhing’. Candles are usually associated to gothic stories, as it is only small source of light within a vast darkness of the room. These personifications and imagery brings the house to life as it makes you feel and see things much