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Watson's Use Of Suspense In Sign Of The Four

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What’s a thriller without some suspense? That’s right, not very interesting. A classic example of a thriller with incredible amounts of suspense is Sign of The Four. This book was highly acclaimed and still is for it keeps thrill seeking readers on the edge of their seats. Here’s a few ways how he builds suspense. In the first chapter it is revealed that Watson is the narrator. This takes an interesting first hand account of the book. The author makes it a point to show many instances in which Watson takes his own point of view and sometimes strays from the actual plot of the case and describes his own feelings. An example of this is when Watson show his affection towards Miss Morstan after meeting her when he described, “Miss Morstan entered the room with a firm step and an outward composure of manner. She was a blonde young lady, small, dainty, well gloved, and dressed in the most perfect taste.” Most obviously he was already predisposed to her. This is done to add an extra …show more content…

Moonlight was streaming into the room, and it was bright with a vague and shifty radiance. Looking straight at me, and suspended, as it were, in the air, for all beneath was in shadow, there hung a face,—the very face of our companion Thaddeus. There was the same high, shining head, the same circular bristle of red hair, the same bloodless countenance. The features were set, however, in a horrible smile, a fixed and unnatural grin, which in that still and moonlit room was more jarring to the nerves than any scowl or contortion.” thought Watson. Quotes like these spread all over the book and the point of these are to give the reader goosebumps and to build extreme suspense. Although this is a quite a big quote it is surprisingly not to the point, because all Watson is really saying is that Bartholomew died, all of the description though makes it more thrilling and intrigues the reader, dialogues used in such events are als of utmost

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