Ever wonder what’s going to happen next in a story? Suspense is that literary element and it’s used in almost all cases of writing. Some authors use a lot of it to build up their stories, others, not so much. Ray Bradbury, an American author and screenwriter was one of those authors who used suspense to build up the tension and develop the plot of his stories. From beginning to end, genre to genre, suspense can be found all over his work. “A Sound of Thunder”, “The Veldt”, and “The Pedestrian” are just three examples of Bradbury’s work where he uses suspense all over the text to keep the reader on the edge of their seat and wondering what’s going to happen next. In Bradbury’s story, “A Sound of Thunder”, suspense is built up from the start …show more content…
His first example is when Leonard Mead’s town and how the homes are at night is being explained. “Sudden gray phantoms seemed to maifest upon inner room walls where a curtain was still undrawn against the night, or there were whisperings and murmurs where a window in a tomblike building was still open” (“The Pedestrian 96”). The reader now gets a feeling of how obscene this town and the world possibly is in this time making thoughts of other things that might be different occur. Later, as Leonard Mead is walking, a police car rolls up to him and questions what he’s doing, which is the next example. “A metallic voice called to him: ‘Stand still. Stay where you are! Don’t move!” (“The Pedestrian 98”). This part of the story especially adds suspense to the story since all Mr. Mead is doing is walking. One wouldn’t think that a man walking would be approached as he was in present time. The last example is after Leonard is questioned and the police car ends up wanting to take him somewhere. “The back door of the police car sprang wide. ‘Get in’. (“The Pedestrian 100”). The reader now knows the car is computer operated, but not where Leonard Mead is being taken which could be confusing and keep the story interesting. The mysterious atmosphere of Leonard Mead’s town simply adds suspense right away and Bradbury continues to build off that as the story moves
“This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last,” Oscar Wilde and many others have given us these small pieces of enlightenment, suspense is hated yet yearned for at the same time. Suspense is waiting for a decision or outcome to happen. Suspense makes everyone who reads it enchanted by it as if it were magic. If it's a book, they cannot stop reading if it is a film they cannot stop watching. People are engrossed by anticipation while trying to figure out what is lurking around the corner with suspense. The three most suspenseful texts I have read this unit are Sorry, Wrong Number by Lucille Fletcher, “Let ‘Em Play God” by Hollywood Reporter and “Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Two Kinds of Suspense All Authors Should Be Aware Of” by Victoria Grefer. I’m going to demonstrate you in the following three paragraphs how the texts show you things, but also leave you guessing.
In “There Will Come Soft Rains”, the reader immediately knows that the house will be disrupted when Bradbury says, “Until this day, how well the house had kept its peace”(2). Bradbury foreshadows that the house’s peace will be broken, by using the phrase “until this day”, making the reader anticipate the loss of the house’s serenity. A suspenseful mood is created when Bradbury hints that the house will be bothered, the reader enters a suspenseful mood because they now know that the house will not be peaceful for long. In Bradbury’s other story, “The Pedestrian”, Mead stumbles over an uneven sidewalk where the, “cement was vanishing under flowers and grass”(1). The narrator adds on that, “In ten years of walking by night or day, for thousands of miles, he had never met another person walking, not once in all that time”(1). Mead has not seen another person on the street because they are all inside their houses watching television rather than spending time with their families. When Bradbury says that the cement is “vanishing under flowers and grass”, it foreshadows that soon this futuristic society will be taken over by nature. Foreshadowing creates an effective story because it reveals the theme that even though people can be overpowered by technology, nature can find a way to come through. Bradbury uses foreshadowing to create suspenseful
In John Irving's novel titled, A Prayer for Owen Meany, suspenseful events are of abundance, and there are multiple ways the author creates this suspense. Among these methods of creating suspense, four that stand out are the use of setting, the pace of the story, the involvement of mysteries to be solved, and the ability of the reader to easily identify and sympathize with the protagonist. By placing a character in a gloomy or solitary place, uncomfortable feelings are created, which append to the suspense. Pace and structure of the story also play into the foundation of suspense, as shorter sentences and stronger, more cutting verbs and adjectives are often used to
One of the first literary devices that is easily noticeable is suspense this is it what keeps the reader wanting more. When Al said “You can change history, Jake. Do you understand that? John Kennedy can live.” (King 111). Jake replies with huge doubts, “What if it went wrong?” ……. “What if I managed,……., to stop it from happening and made things worse instead of better? What if I came back
What makes a good feeling of suspense in a story? In many stories, it is the use of dialogue or description, and stories like The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher and The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury are no exception. In The Hitchhiker a man is traveling cross country when a strange man keeps appearing, asking for a ride, while in The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury is about a man who walks every night in the world of 2053, but The Hitchhiker by Lucille Fletcher is overall more suspenseful than The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury because of Fletcher´s use of description, dialogue and imagery. The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury uses dialogue as a technique to create the feeling of suspense.
Suspense is the feeling of uncertainty and feeling anxious mainly because you don’t know what is going to happen. One suspense story is called "The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury. “The Pedestrian” takes place in 2053 and is about this man who walks around town at night, when no one else is walking. He is always alone until the police car comes up to him and starts questioning him. They eventually force him into the car and take him somewhere.
Suspense is very important when it comes to stories; the author can use it to hook the reader and get them interested. In this essay, the use of suspense in two short stories and how it affects the conflict and resolution will be addressed. The two short stories are, “Button Button”,by Richard Matheson and, “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been”,by Joyce Carol Oates. Both of the authors use suspense, which creates tension in the reader and keeps them intrigued.
The world is made up of two classes-the hunters, and the huntees.” This short story written by Richard Connell, “The Most Dangerous Game,” contains many literary devices that make a story come alive. In this specific short story, conflict, plot, and suspense are used to push the story onward. Connell's way of using these three specific elements keeps the reader attentive, and leaves them questioning what will happen next.
All stories have that sense of anticipation, or worry that readers feel, the thing that uses them to keep reading. It leaves them wondering what will happen next. This element is suspense. Suspense is a literary device that keeps readers interested in the story. It is a series of event that build up the rising action. In the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, the author, Richard Connell, uses suspense to enhance the story.
Literary Analysis Outline I think the authors of the short story "The Interloper" and the chapter two of the book "Live To Tell" make the use of suspense in their stories to have the reader get a good story by giving him/her a surprising ending in each of the stories which is going to make them read more of their wonderful great work. Suspense in the story "The Interloper" makes it have a surprising ending. There is a part of the story where there are two enemies together in the woods with no one to help them: "And each prayed a private prayer that his men might be the first to arrive" (Saki 4). They both were scared and silently praying for their men to come help them know that they are out in the forest hurt and unable to move, I consider
Many details hold the reader's attention on creating suspense in the story. One detail that holds the reader's attention is by telling the readers the whole story and the characters in the story don't know what is happening. This creates suspense so the readers will want to keep on reading the book or watch the movie since they want to know what will happen to the character. Another detail is that suspense makes you feel like you are a part of the story or makes you want to be part of the story. You know who is the villain so you will want to step in the plot and solve the conflict. In the story, Cujo, the author creates suspense by making a dog the villain and a little boy and mom facing it. In paragraph 14 it states, "And the dog seemed to know. His terrible, thoughtless eyes never left Donna Trenton's wide blue eyes." Telling us that the dog is evil and is targeting to kill someone. In paragraph 15 it states, "The Tad saw the dog, recognized the blood which streaked its fur, and shrieked." This tells me that Tad saw the dog and got terrified so he started screaming. If we stopped reading from here, then we would keep on wondering and thinking about what would happen to Donna and Tad. It would put us on the edge of our seats because we want Donna and Tad to survive. We need to finish the book or else we will be very eager to find out what will happen next. The author also includes other details that make the story suspenseful. For example, in paragraph 23 it states, "Cujo began to bark again, the sound incredibly loud even through the Saf-T-Glas. And suddenly it occurred to her that is she had not rolled up her window up as she brought the Pinto to a stop..." This creates more suspense because we would wonder if there are any other windows that have not been rolled up or if the dog will still find a way to kill them. All of this would make us want to finish the story to know the
Without suspense, the world is dull, boring, and uneventful; many people need suspense and drama to feel motivated and engaged in things; this is the same for books. In the book, “The Most Dangerous Game”, by Richard Connell, the author used various literature methods to create suspense; the techniques he includes are used differently depending on which part of the plot they are used in.
Suspense is a literary device that creates a feeling of growing tension and excitement in a reader; an author creates suspense to entice the reader into their story. For instance, in A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens creates suspense by using foreshadowing into the main character’s, Ebenezer Scrooge, future and imagery of the ghosts who guided Scrooge. Similarly, in “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, W. W. Jacobs and Edgar Allan Poe, respectively, create suspense in their gothic fiction short stories. Jacobs and Poe develop suspense by adding unstable characters to their stories.
Suspense is a feeling of excitement uncertainty about what may happen. One way Roald Dahl builds suspense throughout his stories with his creation of sympathetic characters in danger. For example, in his short story “Genesis and Catastrophe”, we are introduced to a character named Klara who has just given birth to a baby boy. She seems very concerned about his health and when the doctor questions her concern, she states “None of my other [children] lived, Doctor”(Dahl 459). This causes great sympathy for Klara from the readers, and this also causes suspense because now the readers want the baby to survive.
Authors incorporate suspense in their story in numerous ways. The author also uses various elements of suspense. For example, in the story “The Hitchhiker,” the author includes foreshadowing, sound effects, and mood. The Lucille Fletcher includes