Critical Analysis of the Skull Beneath the Skin Essay

“Beware of pretty faces that you find, a pretty face can hide an evil mind.” This quote from Johnny Ramistella sheds light on the many problems society faces today. This problem is seeing the evil and corrupt passed the semblance person they formed from twisted lies and fake stories. Agatha Christie, the author of And Then There Were None, uses her impeccable writing skills to create a character who arguable is the evilest character in this murder mystery: Vera Claythorne. Because of her motive of her past murder, being the last guest left alive on Solider Island, and self-proclaimed liar, Vera Claythorne is the evilest guest on Soldier Island.

Moreover, the fluidity, represented by the thoughts of the characters, is enhanced by the form of the novel: Mrs Dalloway is not divided into chapters; thus, it does not leave behind a sense of completeness. It is largely intertwined with the narration of Clarissa and that of the other characters and the action largely takes place in the mind. This is presented in form of free indirect discourse: the narrative conveys the thoughts of the selected character. This leaves the readers with an impressionistic story. To demonstrate how different characters bring about unequal messages, here is an illustration from the work: when Clarissa is strolling the streets of London, she and Septimus both see the same car. The vehicle leads them to different thoughts: for Septimus it is seeing in it the power of the modern world, which “was about to burst into flames” (13) or rather the oppressive relationship of technology and war, which ultimately leads to his suicide. He is bound by the internal, his suffering thoughts cannot help but to be captured in the memories of the World War I he fought in. For Clarissa, hearing the noise of the car provokes her to think she has heard “a pistol shot in the street” (12) (which later turns out to be true). By using such a form of representation, Woolf points to the invisible connections of people in a dehumanised, yet technology-bound, world, which create between them a form of interaction that serves as compensation for what Septimus (and

In Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, the nurse Miss Ratched is a fine example of a realistic fictional villain. Possession of three key components is essential in identifying what makes Miss Ratched a villian. Motive is what drives the villain to commit the very acts that allow them to be considered evil in the first place, and often drive their entire being as a character. While they must possess motive, they must also have a sense of morals that coincides with their motives (typically evil, or distorted) and follow their moral compass in a way that often causes trouble for those around them. Additionally, a villain is frequently associated with their opposite; the hero who combats them. Kesey’s character perfectly aligns with these three categories of what makes a villain, and it is unquestionable that she is the villain of the novel.

This is mainly demonstrated through Laura’s death and is also through the treatment of the girl in the newspaper Charlie read. Silvey challenges the reader and the way we look at individuals through Charlie’s strong analysis of the superhero analogy which merits courage and strength. Scenes such as the submerging of the body in the river extensively effect the reader and their attitudes for the rest of the novel as it is clear that this action will have great consequences and cannot be undone. These comparisons between treatment of individuals based on race and gender challenge the

Throughout the study of JB Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’, it is easy to identify that there are many points in which this text both conforms and subverts to the conventions of the mystery genre. The author explores the archetypal mystery genre through firstly, the dead body and murder of Eva Smith, as well as the clues and motives that are revealed throughout the investigation. This is further followed by the series of intertwining characters, and the inquiry of their involvement in the death. However, this typical mystery text can be contradicted by the fact that this death was not a murder, but a suicide case, changing the expectations to instead of who killed her, but what were the lead up in events to result in Eva killing herself.

“The third stage of narrative development was characterized by the appearance of rogues… relying on cleverness more than force, and motivated more by profits than by passion” (Williams 14). Rogues defied whatever came in between their pursuit, whether it be law or authority (Williams 14). In the third stage of criminal literature, the protagonists were all rogues despite of their unlawfully ways, they “aroused reader sympathy” (Williams 16). Williams described these rogues as “outsiders, existing apart from the social structure either by choice or by fate” (William 16). He also described these rogues as “individualistic, opportunistic, self-reliant” as well as “defiant of authority and entirely free” (Williams 16). William argues that the evolution of these narratives took place in three stages: the first being the “early execution sermons and final confessions”, the second being “the incomplete narratives of life and, finally the full length rogue narrative” (Williams 17). Williams’ article describes how criminal literature changed from “promoting obedience, [to] encouraged defiance” (Williams

Most readers identify Stephen King’s works as horror, however, he sees them as suspense novels (“Stephen King interview on Charlie Rose (1993)”). Stephen King is affiliated with the horror genre because of his excessive use of gore in his novels. However, gore is merely a side agenda that helps King shape his ideas. Instead, King’s main goal is to create suspense. By creating a vivid image of the impact of a murder, rape, or other catastrophe he can further his goal by unnerving his reader and creating a conflict. Stephen King’s extensive and creative use of the pitting of good vs evil, foreshadowing, imagery, and supernatural occurrences makes a more suspenseful novel.

He opens by drawing the reader in and put them in the perspective of his supposed “victims,” writing something straight out of a murder mystery novel by eerily describing his encounter with a woman on the street. He utilizes diction such as “menacingly” and listing off all the things she could have considered him to be, some of which being a rapist or a murderer. Upon reading this and the way he builds literary suspense, one is lead to believe that we are being confronted with a murderer, much like the same woman on the street has been lead to believe. This somewhat simulates the perspective of the woman, causing the reader to make predetermined assumptions of which Stapleslater elaborates upon. After drawing the reader in and making an example of the reader, Staples changes personas in exchange for one that is much less aggressive and fearsome, stating that he is, “...a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to raw chicken.”

The quote sparks empathy in its readers by submerging them into a journey where they possess biological features of a criminal, as viewed by society, only to realize they are traveling on a road of fear. The quote strengthens the theme of fear by portraying the emotions of on lookers and feared individuals, people of color. Fear felt by the strangers who view Staples during an encounter, while the reader looks back into personal experience, is felt throughout the story. Once the reader has identified with the fearful figures, the reader experiences Staples’s fear. While knowing how Staples is perceived in public, fear is felt when he compares himself to a hiker hiking through “bear country.” Society is the bear and fear becomes the bear’s sharp claws and teeth when propaganda inspires the mistreatment of a population according to their

In spite of the fact that short in substance this discussion denote a foundation of the books fundamental imagery. By uncovering his emotions of suspicion to Ralph, Jack demonstrated to us that in this dim wild trepidation can infiltrate even the most rough outside "You can feel as though you're not chasing but rather being chased," (page 53)This quote demonstrates that the fear of the obscure has driven littluns to envisioning the most exceedingly bad as well as Jack too. Apprehension is 'chasing them down' through their creative energy by giving them the inclination of being chased, and by making them ponder what this "chase" may prompt.

The American criminal justice system has a principle that everyone has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow is a novel about a prosecutor, Rozat “Rusty” Sabich, who is charged with murder of his co-worker Carolyn Polhemus. The novel’s suspense keeps the readers on edge with the many twists and unpredictable turns of the plot. An analysis of the suspense of the novel shows that it follows the five elements of plot that can be applied to make a story more dramatic. The novel was a thrill to read with a good depiction on how everyone is presumed innocent.

Though set in entirely dissimilar countries at different points in history, Margaret Atwood’s ‘Alias Grace’ and Hannah Kent’s ‘Burial Rites’ possess significant comparisons. Both for instance, are fictionalized historical novels following the tribulations of a female protagonist convicted of murder and both have been widely acclaimed for their incredible literary style which merges classic poetry, epigraphs, folklore and historical articles with fiction. The most striking parallel between each novel that can be drawn, however, is the way in which authors masterfully craft the stories of untrustworthy, cunning and deceptive criminals to elicit sympathy from their audiences. Readers of the novel and secondary characters alike are gradually pulled into sympathising with ambiguous and untrustworthy female leads, Grace Marks (Alias Grace) and Agnes Magnusdottir (Burial Rites). Despite the heavy suspicions of others and a lack of evidence to support their claims of innocence, these characters present artfully manipulated features of their defence stories to provoke empathy, sympathy and trust from those within the novel, and those reading it.

The characteristics of the genre the work does meet is provide the reader thought provoking questions over their morals of what is considered a crime and what punishment should be made by delving into the mind of a criminal tormented by the guilt of a murder which presented psychological aspects, and displaying a situation that involves a criminal with motive and events that led to his imprisonment.

It explores the uses of internal horror. It also sets the scene, which is one of disgust and anguish. A rhetorical question is used in the first paragraph; it is used to make the reader build a picture of just how hideous the monster is.

To categorise texts, allows us to view the world from another perspective, and make sense of the world. This is the function of genre. This allows the responder to class texts even further into sub genres, which have conventions they follow to. Such as Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Purloined Letter’ can be classified into the genre of crime, yet can also be interpreted to fit the conventions of detective crime writing, and mystery. This is made possible through Poe’s utilisation of devices used in mystery and detective novels such as red herrings and denouement.