“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” This is a quote by Neil Armstrong, and it shows what authors should strive for when writing their mystery books. Are the books ‘Favorite Father Brown Stories’ and ‘A Morbid Taste for Bones’ high-quality mystery books? A high-quality mystery book should have adequate character development, a developed plot, and solution that is satisfactory to the reader. Do those two books fit the criteria? One characteristic of a high-quality mystery book is that it has adequate character development. ‘Favorite Father Brown Stories’ is a collection of six short stories. Because they are short stories there isn’t a lot of time to fully develop the characters. Some characters are …show more content…
It is intriguing, but doesn’t give away an excess of information and leaves the reader wanting to know more and trying to figure out the ending for themselves. In ‘Favorite Father Brown Stories’, how the developed the plot is, depended on the story. In some, there is a distinct plot that leaves the reader trying to figure out the ending, but in others, there doesn’t seem to be much of a mystery in the plot. The first and the third story best illustrated a developed plot. In ‘Morbid Taste for Bones,’ there is a murder. It leaves the reader wondering who did it and why it was done. Then as the reader thought they know who it is, another aspect is revealed. Even to the end the reader is guessing. The last characteristic of a high-quality mystery book is that the solution is satisfactory to the reader. In ‘Favorite Father Brown Stories,’ each ending is unique. In the first and the third story, the ending solves the questions in the plot. But in the second story, the ending creates some more questions because there isn’t much of a mystery to resolve. In ‘Morbid Taste for Bones,’ there is a serious plot which is resolved nicely and to the characters satisfaction. Because the ending resolves the plot and doesn’t leave any major questions for the reader, it is
Suspense. Mystery. Murder. This book kept you thinking about them all. There are ten people on an island they are all mysteriously dying one by one. Everyone is accusing each other of killing others. In the novel And Then There Were None written by Agatha Christie, the mystery elements that were used were: main conflict, setting, characterization, and the author's techniques of giving clues.
Agatha Christie, author of the murder mystery And Then There Were None, used foreshadowing and both external and internal conflict to portray the theme of her novel that justice can be served for the crimes that go unpunished. Christie used these elements because she enjoyed mystery and she liked to keep her readers engaged while reading. Agatha Christie is still considered one of the best, if not, the best murder mystery writer today because she wrote the first murder mystery novel and she wrote many more after that that was well loved by people.
Plot is very important to a story, novel, or even movies. It helps to make object of the story plain to the reader, and make it as enjoyable to the reader as the author wanted it to be. Plot starts out with an introduction of sorts then runs into the rising action, followed by the main point of the story, then the exposition. When that is over the falling action occurs and finally, the resolution of the story. Willa Cather expresses this very intently in his story “The Sentimentality of William Tavener.” He draws the reader in with a man that is strict with his son and wife who are worthy to participate in the circus in town. Willa tells of the wife trying to convince her husband to allow them to go. Then he surprises the
The detective genre is recognizable by the mystery that it represents or establishes. Every word of a fiction novel is chosen with a purpose, and that purpose on a detective novel is to create suspense. The excerpts from The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Murder Is My Business by Lynette Prucha, and Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley, create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery. Even though they all fit into this category, there are some differences that make each novel unique. The imagery that the authors offer in the excerpts helps the reader to distinguish the similarities and the differences.
A good mystery story needs a hero, a villan and an out of the ordinary storyline. In my opinion the story should have a realistic drama and the right setting, something to drastic will not allow the reader to relate to the story. A narrator may make the story more personal and the reader can really get inside the story to know what the character is feeling and fears, increasing tension. There also should be a range of suspects; some of these characters can be used as red herrings, which can mislead the reader, adding to the shock at the end of the story. In ‘The speckled band’ the suspects are the gypsies, the exotic animals and Dr Roylott, there are some obvious and some not,
People reads books and they get their captured by the suspense the authors use to write their stories. Suspense is a key point for most readers it keeps them reading the book to see what happens next. Both Edgar Allan Poe and Richard Connell are very good authors that use a lot of suspense throughout their short stories. Poe’s “Cask of Amontillado” and Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” are two stories full of suspense. It’s unpredictable, surprising that we can’t figure out what happens next. .Through conflict, setting, and diction Poe and Connell are able to build suspense.
The author shows the readers that today so-called cozy mysteries has no big difference from Golden Age style mystery writing. The story occurs mainly in a small setting, such as part of a closed group, in a manor or a small village. Christie’s works still influence the readers: They still love to read Agatha Christie’s novels today.
In the short story “Brownies,” it seems that Arnetta is the strongest character while Daphne is the weakest. Arnetta seems stronger because she takes the lead of the girls brownie troop. All the girls follow and obey Arnetta and do whatever they have to in order to make her happy. Daphne is seen as the weakest because she doesn’t talk. She also gives in under Arnetta’s pressure when Arnetta claims a white girl called her a nigger. However, it was Daphne who did not follow Arnetta in her mission to get revenge and it was Daphne who indirectly scolded Arnetta for her rude behavior.
“The Purloined Letter” and “The Big Sleep” are two stories that clearly defines the suspense genre. For this, it’s shown to have that mystery and twists throughout the story as it progresses. Each story had their own protagonist and criminals with a complex storyline that would shift the whole plot. As the readers would see throughout the books, they are left with this exciting and antsy feeling that makes them drop their jaws to what has happened or what happens next. The texts refined this genre because the whole overall plot does the suspense feeling justice. It is more concerned with anticipation with determining the next move of the detective or criminal and less focused on the action.
This is all to have them anticipate the ending and the solving of the mystery, to keep them gripped. Even the very title of the novel is unclear and does well to conjure up ideas inside the readers mind. It is only until the whole story is took in and the ending is unveiled that the reader can fully appreciate and understand
In 1911, G. K. Chesterton publishes “The Innocence of Father Brown”, a book with numerous detective stories that besides entertaining does a great job in describing the culture of England at the beginning of the 20th century. By looking into “The Hammer of God”, one of the stories, a reader also gets an insight into the life of a small English community. Mainly focusing on Wilfred Bohun, the protagonist of the story, a limited narrator gives a somewhat biased description of other characters. However, even the least important characters contribute to the realization that the English community from the early 20th century was not much different than other communities of that era. Since the quality of the community can best be evaluated from
The Ways in Which the Writers Create an Atmosphere of Tension, Mystery and Suspense in the Stories The Monkeys Paw and The Red Room
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes many detail-oriented literary elements to develop the many adventures of the famous fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, John Watson. Long winded description and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to accentuate Holmes’s great intelligence. By incorporating such a heavy, educated tone upon the mysteries, the tales of Sherlock Holmes are expressed as very complicated stories that challenge readers in comprehension as well as encourage curiosity through puzzling cases.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes many detail-oriented literary elements to develop the many adventures of the famous fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, John Watson. Long winded description and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to accentuate Holmes’s great intelligence. By incorporating such a heavy, educated tone upon the mysteries, the tales of Sherlock Holmes are expressed as very complicated stories that challenge readers in comprehension as well as encourage curiosity through puzzling cases.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes many/several detail-oriented literary elements to develop the many adventures of the famous fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, John Watson. Long winded description and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to accentuate Holmes’s great intelligence. By incorporating such a heavy, educated tone upon the mysteries, the tales of Sherlock Holmes are expressed as very complicated stories that challenge readers in comprehension as well as encourage curiosity through puzzling cases.