Mystery Of Suspense

Suspense is defined as the author withholding information or when the unexpected happens, leaving you guessing and wanting more. In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, he has inserted much suspense in this short (long) story, for the reason that it makes the reader want to know more and having to mindset of excitement or surprise. Another reason he added many suspense is so that it wouldn’t be so blunt, it wouldn’t just tell us what happened it would give us details and how he got or how he did that and more.

Have you ever read a book that continued to keep you interested in what's going to happen next? You get lost in the book trying to figure out what's going to happen before reading on. This happens often in novels that have a lot of suspense like Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” or Tobias Wolff’s “Hunters In The Snow.” The fact that they both have suspense is often the only similarity people can think of. There are many similarities and differences in them both that get ignored such as similarities and differences in the plot, theme, and characters.

Suspense is when the author makes the reader, or audience excited or scared for what might happen in the story, or even what will happen to the character next in the story. Suspense might even be something you see or hear that will make you have questions about what will happen next. If there is a cliffhanger at the end of a story, it will leave you with questions wondering what will happen to the characters next. The mood, tone, setting, emotions of character, sound and sight might affect how the story is suspenseful. We all enjoy watching suspenseful movies and reading stories, because they are exciting. It leaves us with questions that the author won't have the answers to in the end, so the author gives us as the audience, the chance to make up their own ending to the story or movie. The author will give you clues throughout the story, to help you fill in questions you might have in the end. This makes it more exciting for the reader and the audience because we get to engage with the characters in the book or movie. The tv series, Stranger Things, is about 4 kids who have to fight off monsters in a little town in Indiana. This TV show is a great example of suspense, and it shows it effectively because, of Foreshadowing, Dilemma, and Dramatic Irony presented throughout the show. With just using those four examples, Stranger Things is a great example of suspense.

Dictionary.com defines suspense as “a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in awaiting a decision or outcome, usually accompanied by a degree of apprehension or anxiety.” The author Richard Preston uses Foreshadowing, imagery, and flashbacks to create suspense in his nonfiction book, The Hot Zone. The Hot Zone is about Ebola Zaire, Marburg, and many other deadly viruses and how they were found. The book also contains stories of research done with the viruses in hope of finding a cure for this terrible killer.

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.

“For some time I sat in silence. Then a cold shudder ran down my spine.” That would be one example of how suspense is created throughout a horror story. There have been multiple authors which have made frightening stories and put a lot of work into them.Furthermore, as in the story, “August Heat” by W.F. Harvey, it is composed of suspense around the piece. A prime example would be the use of foreshadow, reversal, and being unpredictable. Therefore, combining the three makes the completion of a story with frightening scenes, along with the suspense.

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.

For example, when Angela Wexler a perfect child who would not do anything harmful bombed her own face only to get caught by her mother, who cares so much about her. In the story it states that “ Angela glanced at her watch and reached for the tall, thin carton wrapped in gold foil.”this quote shows us that Angela knows when and where (it was in the parcel) the bomb in the Wexlers apartment will explode (Raskin 112). The reason why this part of the story shows suspense is because we don’t know the intentions of Angela, until the clues we find later in the story shows us Angela’s actual intention was to get caught by her mother and be an actual normal being. Another example of suspense is the cliffhangers. The reason why cliffhangers are suspenseful because they leave the reader dangling with questions, and want to read on to know more. A good example of a cliffhanger is after Turtle finds the answer to the game, we think Angela and Dr Deere are getting married, but it is actually Crow and Otis Amber’s wedding, which is very awkward moreover, we never knew what happened between them, like you don’t know what is happening when you are absent (Raskin 207). All of these are good examples of suspense which a good mystery novel

“‘Watch out!” screamed Maggie. Suddenly the road took a sharp turn, and a huge oak tree loomed in my headlights”(Shusterman 39). When Neal Shusterman uses suspense it’s usually in a way that would probably end badly. He loves to try and hook the reader with suspense, so then the readers would want to keep reading that same book. As evidence in Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman and “The Abandoned Farmhouse” by Ted Kooser, suspense can be effectively created through the use of imagery.

There are many devices that lead to suspense, one being the device of foreshadowing. It appears many times through the story, “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. It is used to create an atmosphere that keeps the reader entertained. One example of this is, “The world is made up of two classes - the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters.” (Connell 8). This quote is an example of foreshadowing because it gives you clues to what is going to happen. It gives you a clue to the fact he is not really the hunter, but in fact, the hunted.

“Suspense arises naturally from good writing - it's not a spice to be added separately,” (Leigh Michaels). Suspense is an important aspect of writing, used to keep readers wondering and guessing what could happen next and how the story may end. Writers universally use this trait of suspense in their work to keep people interested in the writing, though there are many techniques they use to do this. In the example of “The Most Dangerous Game” author Richard Connell generates suspense using various methods of foreshadowing as well as skillfully crafting the plot in a suspenseful manner.

Suspense is the deepened feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events. Suspense leaves the reader wondering what or when something is going to happen next. The authors of both “ The Scarlet Ibis” and “ The Most Dangerous Game” build suspense through a sundry of literary devices. The use of literary devices are important. Without suspense, the reader will quickly lose interest in the book and become bored.

With the increase in danger, the audience senses an increase in tension and is thus drawn deeper into the story.

Galloway’s constant way of organizing his book illuminates suspense, because he continuously has the characters experience flashbacks of their previous life before the war. As they are reminiscing they then consider what their futures hold, hence creating a sense of suspense. Characters like Arrow would think about her previous life before becoming the army’s notorious sniper, the good old days of school and being with her dad. Just as the constant use of organization is used throughout the book, insightful details also help to create suspense.

Authors that write in the horror genre use many strategies to lure the reader in and terrify them into thinking something is there when in reality there is nothing, they do this by having a creepy setting, plot resolution and increasing of suspense. The easiest, and possibly the most common is the factor of setting and the creepiness it adds to the story and suspense given to the reader. Secondly authors use the technique of insufficient plot resolution, or an cliffhanger in an story. A final technique that authors use to captivate an reader into an horror story is the act of suspense that an author creates. These strategies have been used in many horror stories to captivate readers and bring out their worst fears and keep the reader reading