Essays About Short Story
‘The Red Room’, which is written by H. G. Wells, is a totally different gothic story from ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ by Edgar Allen Poe. ‘The Red Room’ is about an arrogant man who thinks that he can brave a night in the sinister red room, however the red room is haunted by some unknown…
‘Captain Murderer’ is a farcical fairytale-like story that is packed full of predictable out comes and unreal characters. ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ is true to life, which is the reason why they are so different. It has a very real plot and believable realistic characters. ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ is a post war piece written…
The to stories that I’m going to compare are “The Red Room” by H. G. Wells and “The Signalman” by Charles Dickens. “The Red Room” was written in the pre 20th century and “The Signalman” was written earlier. Both stories are of a gothic genre. The authors try to keep the reader gripped until the…
The conventions of the murder mystery genre are that a murder is usually committed at the start of the story and is carefully premeditated. A detective and his colleague are brought in to investigate the felony, but all they find are a lot of perplexing clues and insinuating evidence, which are gradually and meticulously put…
Lamb to the slaughter Lamb to the slaughter was written by Roald Dahl in 1950. The short story has only a few characters but the most important character is Mary Maloney. Mary is a pregnant housewife who is attached very strongly to her husband, she often makes dinner for him and feeds his every needs….
This essay will compare and analyse the Red Room, The Monkey’s Paw and the Signalman and will look at how each author build up tension and suspense. We are exposed to graphic imagery everyday in books, films etc and so is a common thing to us but people in the pre 20th century who were…
My essay will be about how Wells can create and sustain horror in his story ‘The Red Room’. I will be paying close attention to how he makes the reader feel, by looking at the language and techniques he uses. The story is a Victorian gothic horror/ghost story written in the year 1896. The first…
The main purpose of any ghost story is to scare the reader. There are many techniques used to accomplish this in both ‘The Darkness under the Stairs’ and ‘The Red Room’. In this essay I will compare the ways in which the two writers create suspense and focus on how they communicate fear. Their stories…
Story 1 Story 1 is about teenagers in a club who go around helping old people. The club is called the Good Neighbours’ Club. There is a girl called Sandra. Pat asked her to go to Mrs. Rutter’s house to help out. Mrs. Rutter lived in Packer’s End. Packer’s End is a place where you…
Fear is the primary focus in both ‘The Whole Town Sleeping’ and ‘The Red Room’. It revolves around the central character in each story and is used to help you empathise with the characters and what they are experiencing. The purpose of both stories, however, is not just to make you afraid but to make…
During the Victorian era, there was much scientific discovery and scientific explanations more importantly. People felt that everything had a scientific explanation. The idea of something that could not be explained with good logic or understanding came across as frightening which is a key motive for horror; the unexplainable. Because a great amount of the…
The Red Room is a traditional gothic story, which in Victorian times would have been very popular with the readers. The author H.G Wells creates suspense in an unusual way rather than describe fear in to the readers mind with the use of long silences which have been known to work, the author develops the…
The Red Room and Farthing House are both ghost stories which use the setting of unfamiliar places, The Red Room in a castle, and Farthing House in a residential nursing home for the elderly, to introduce their concept of a ghost. While The Red Room was written in an earlier period, Farthing House is more…
I have chosen the following three stories ‘The Ostler’ written by Wilkie Collins, ‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ written by Elizabeth Gaskell and ‘The Red Room’ written by H. G. Wells. All these stories are taken from the 19th century collection of mystery stories. In this, I will be discussing how the author holds the audience’s…
Compare and contrast how the language and techniques used create characters, atmosphere and setting in The Red Room and A Vendetta In this essay, I will compare and contrast two stories; The Red Room by H. G. Wells, and A Vendetta by Guy De Maupassant. Both of these authors use confusion and contrast, in both…
Compare and Contrast “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and “Flowers For Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, Discuss the themes of alienation and isolation in both novels. In 1818 Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’, the story of a man, so consumed by ambition and a thirst for knowledge that in the end his desire to live his dreams, became…
Flowers for Algernon is about a man called Charlie, he is 37 and lives in New York, America. He attends adult night school because he isn’t very bright but wants to become clever. His teacher Miss Kinnian puts Charlie’s name forward for an experimental operation that should make him very clever. He was given a…
The murder mystery genre was first recognised as a major genre during the 19th century. Pioneers of this genre include the Norwegian writer Mauritz Hansen as his novel “The murder of machine operator Rolfsen”, published in 1839 is considered to be the earliest known novel of this genre. Another pioneer of the genre includes Edgar…
Outline briefly what the dilemma is and go on to discuss how the characters reaction to it gives you a deeper understanding of the story. “Roselily”, a short story by well known author Alice Walker, is the tale of a black woman of the south facing a difficult decision on her wedding day. The story goes…
The three characters I will compare and analysis include; Lindo Jong (from the short story Red Candle by Amy Tan), Mary Maloney (from the short story Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl) and An-Mei Hsu (from the short story Scar and Magpies by Amy Tan). I will be focusing on how these characters react…
The idea that the carnival is jolly and fun and the rest of the story is dark is a huge contrast in moods which unsettles the reader and could be regarded as ironic. An example of the theme of disguise is noticeable when Montressor leads Fortunato away from the carnival as he is “putting on…
Edgar Allen Poe is the author of many great pieces of literature. He uses his narrators to explain situations that are going on in their life. The narrators of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Black Cat” demonstrate their love for mans inhumanity to man and animals through horrific murders. In “Cask of Amontillado”, Montresor…
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle is an ‘ugly duckling’ of a little boy and an invalid. Despised by, and an embarrassment to his older brother, Doodle is a seeming candidate for low self-esteem. He has no friends and rarely leaves the house. His older brother begins to take interest…
Nemo me impune lacessit (Poe 21), Latin meaning no one assails me with impunity. In this one line Poe characterizes The Cask of Amontillado. It is a story of the perfect revenge and why it is unattainable. The main character, Montresor, executes a plan, which he hopes will punish with impunity (18). The short story…
In The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the dark side of human nature is exemplified through the character of Montresor and his victim, Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative and vengeful person. These characteristics lead to the death of Fortunato, a man who has wronged him. Through the acts, words, and the thoughts of…
Lamb to the Slaughter and The speckled Band share some of the characteristics of murder mysteries. Explain the similarities and differences between the two stories and say which you think is the most compelling to read. Roald Dahl wrote the story ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ in 1954. Dahl is best known for his short, entertaining…
Lamb to the Slaughter’ was written by Roald Dahl in 1954. Roald Dahl is famous for writing children’s stories, like George’s Marvellous Medicine and James and the Giant Peach, which I have read and enjoyed. Roald Dalh also writes stories for adults. They are usually about ordinary people doing strange things. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle…
Plan: Introduction to the collection of poems Similarities and differences between this poem and original fairytale Imagery – how has Duffy used the words used to create pictures in the reader’s head? Syntax – word order. Why has she written sentences the way she has? Emphasis on a particular word. Structure – length of stanzas…
Throughout the story “Barn Burning”, author William Faulkner conveys the moral growth and development of a young boy, as he must make a critical decision between either choosing his family and their teachings or his own morals and values. The reader should realize that the story “Barn Burning” was written in the 1930’s, a time…
A good ghost story depends upon the creation of atmosphere and the build up of suspense. Show how these two ingredients are important in at least two ghost stories Ghost stories are popular with people because we enjoy being frightened. This feeling is created by the build of suspense and tension in the stories, making…
