How Does The Black Cat Create Suspense In The Outsider

The short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar are two well known works of literature that encompass unique literary styles. Poe utilizes Gothic literature in his story, a style of writing that incorporates elements of darkness, gloom, drama, and intense descriptions. On the other hand, Cortazar uses Magical Realism and its realistic characters, setting, and fantastic and unusual events to tell his tale. Despite the two being completely different genres, they share many similar traits, specifically relating to fear.

With our imagination we can have many thoughts in our mind, we can think of how we want to be in the future. Everybody in this world has their own way of thinking. “In the Gothic stories, “The Fall of The House of Usher written by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar the authors write about how both stories have some type of interest that makes the reader want to be very eager about the story. The imagination can overcome reason through issues such as: fear, paranoid, delusion, etc. The House of The Fall of Usher talks about how Mr. Usher is trying to get over his “dead” sister and the narrator is trying to help him. They begin to hear things inside the house, and realize that the sister was alive at the end. House Taken Over about a bother and sister that share a house that’s been passed over from previous family members and normally they have a typical daily routine but at night they come across “spooky” occasions.

Transformation plays a role in stories meant to scare us by playing with our imagination safety and mood of a story. Imagination appears in both Edgar Allan Poe’s, gothic fiction story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Usher’s isolated environment and in Joyce Carol Oates gothic literature story “Where is Here?,” by foreseeing who people are. Transformation also plays a role by it assists knowing our own selves are safe in a scary situation. This is shown in, “ Why do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?,” by Allegra Ringo and in “ House Taken Over,” by Julio Cortazar. Transformation plays with our imagination and our safety it also plays a role in the mood and setting. This appears in , “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Dream Collector,”

The fear creeping up my skin as goosebumps begin to appear with the first steps into a haunted house filled with monsters, screams, and darkness. The weird smells and sounds and occasional air blasts lead to a rush or adrenaline, which create a dreadful sensation. The idea of having someone creep up behind me causes my spine to tingle and the hairs on my neck to rise. Fear is an inevitable emotion that comes in various forms whether it be monsters, Gothic elements, or transformations within stories. Through the three short stories, the readers are introduced to the effects that the transformations in the mood, characters, and setting have on the tension and build of fear in the readers.

Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.

The spookiest experience of my life was when i saw my grandmother sitting in her old chair after she died. This scenario is related to Gothic Literature and Magical Realism because it contains supernatural things like a ghost, a strange or scary plot, and a gloomy mood. Those two genres are similar because they both show dull and odd events throughout the stories. However, Oates’ “Where is Here”is an example of Gothic Literature because it contains a spooky and egear plot, an ambiguous ending, and tortured characters.While Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is an example of Magical Realism because it uses weird, strange plots that seem regular as if it were a part of daily life.

In modern society, people tend to enjoy terrifying and horrific films and novels because of the anticipation and thrill of the character’s fear, in which they are not aware of. One of these common and popular genres is known as Gothic Horror. Although this entertainment is common in our society today, in past time periods, it was written during a mass transition. The age’s in which there are religious, cultural, and technological advances and changes, is a particular time when novels in this genre come to light. People are typically not comfortable with change, which is why these transitional times can cause anxiety, in which causes novels in this genre to be written. The short story, The Judges House, written by Bram Stoker is properly categorized

After evaluating the work of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, he utilizes with imagery to build up the feeling of terror. First of all, the passage is about an ill man, Roderick Usher, who invites his old friend of his to come meet him. In this passage both him and his sister, Madeline Usher, are the last remaining of the Usher race and is diagnosed with an unnatural illness. The narrator begins to feel terror with the supernatural things going on in the house of Usher and the illness of the Ushers. Although the narrator feels the sense of terror from the moment he entered the house, through the use of imagery, Poe is able to bring emotion to the reader. Throughout the passage, the author continues to build up the sense of terror by asserting the image and setting of both the passage and the atmosphere. For instance, he starts the passage by stating “a dull, dark, and a soundless day...clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens” (Poe 194). In relation to the previous quote, the quote illustrates the image of the atmosphere and the setting of the story. In particular, because Poe expresses the sense of terror by describing the atmosphere as dark, quiet, and gloomy, the reader can get an image of the surroundings and get the feeling of the darkness and horror. In addition, according to Poe, during the first glimpse of the house of Usher, the narrator describes it as gloomy and unpleasant. In particular, Poe states “the shades of the evening drew on… a sense of insufferable gloom” (Poe 194). Additionally, the description of the house adds on to the sense of terror that Poe established in the beginning of the story. Based on the past two quotes stated by the author, the reader can begin to picture a dark and dull day with a gloomy house adding on to the darkness. Lastly, in regards to Edgar Allan Poe, the house of Usher is

"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe has a gothic horror story setting. Gothic means that the author emphasizes the mysterious, the horrible, the ghostly and the fear that can be aroused in the reader. Everyone knows that a gothic story or a ghost story will often have a setting that will be in an old, decaying mansion far out in a desolate countryside. The mansion will be filled with cobwebs, strange noises, bats, and an abundance of secret panels and corridors, in which people might be running and screaming in terror. The author uses every literary trick to give us an eerie sensation or to scare us if we hear an unexpected noise. The

Supernatural phenomena can be seen with a side where everything can have a logical explanation, correspondingly in “The Tell Tale Heart” all tormenting sounds and visions can be explained by the insanity the main character contains. An example of this is “It grew louder-louder-louder!and still, the man chatted pleasantly and smiled”(pg.94). This reveals that the clangor of the heartbeat was inaudible, according to the reactions the policemen gave. This is important in creating a horror story because though supernatural has a logical explanation, it increases the horror nonetheless. In addition, “For it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye”(pg.90). This reveals what has caused the homicide was the eye and not the person itself, in reality, the eye could have possessed normal characteristics but the psychotic intents the main character incorporates, perhaps, altered its appearance. This emphasizes the horror because

Horror Stories are a very popular genre of books. Some can be exceptionally malicious and gruesome in nature while others are tamer and rely on suspense. People tend to read these stories for the adrenaline rush, to explore the unknown, and to conquer their own adversities. Studies show that us as humans like to experience fear. We read and view scary stories so we can experience artificial situations of “fight or flight.” These scenarios, whether real or imagined, get your body ready for action by giving you an extra dose of adrenaline. The thrill and suspense that hangs over us while reading, is a welcomed feeling. Scary stories also allow us to explore the unknown. In books there are boundless supernatural realms, where wonder and horror walk side by side- realms were people rise from the dead, and fight their own

The setting presented in this story has a very dark and gloomy atmosphere which has been used as a technique to help outline the scene. It is set in the one location; a bedroom. Poe describes the room as being “black as pitch with the thick darkness,” which deepens the effect of terror. The night setting gives the text an eerie feel as it focuses on the horrors of night time. This horror creates a noticeable impact which is recognisable when the victim cried out “who’s there?” against the backdrop of frighteningly still silence. Ultimately, the way in which Poe’s story is set builds anxiety and fear in the reader.

Although there are many subgenres of horror fiction, including bizarro, fantasy, surrealism, and magic realism, there are certain aspects that a story must encompass to be considered, “weird.” Magic realism is a branch of fiction that is often mistaken to be a work of the, “weird.” What differentiates the two genres explicitly include the authors concentration on setting and overall atmosphere, and the embodiment of themes that disrupt the readers perception of time, space, and their natural world. “The Werewolf,” by Angela Carter exhibits strong characteristics of magic realism, while H.F. Arnold’s, “The Night Wire,” is a genuine work of, “weird,” fiction.

Lovecraft works with the nature of fear in literature. He possesses “an understanding of the psychological basis of horror appeal.” (Burleson.) Although it is said he was influenced by Poe, Lovecraft revised what Poe does in his writings. “Poe questions the existence of the characters themselves while Lovecraft deprives the mental wellness of the characters by questioning what their eyes and ears see or hear.”

To begin, with intent of initiating mystery in gothic stories, the locale is often portrayed as being physically isolated, triggering insanity in the characters. This idea can be demonstrated by the seclusion of the institution for the criminally