Comparing The Writing Styles Of Mark Twain And Edgar Allen Poe

What are the writing styles of Mark Twain or Edgar Allen Poe? All authors have a different writing style, which makes their works unique. Some authors’ writing is hard to understand, while others are detailed. Because of this, not all writing styles are effective in conveying what the author wants to convey. Frank Stockton was an American writer who has been compared to other authors such as Edmund Gosse and Robert Louis Stevenson. His most famous story is “The Lady or the Tiger?” about a semi barbaric princess who must decide whether she should kill her lover or marry him off. Through the use of plot structure, suspense, and point of view, Stockton effectively tells the story of a princess who must decide the lady or the tiger.
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Stockton starts building suspense at the beginning by describing the barbaric king and what happens to criminals in his kingdom. In the exposition it is said, “If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt ... But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and stated that his majesty could select among his fair subjects, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. (4)” This tells the reader that the characters will eventually have to choose between the two doors and causes the reader to start to worry about the characters and wonder what they did to get there, creating tension in the reader. More tension is added to the story when the author eventually introduces the characters. Because the audience already knows what will happen to them, the already tense atmosphere escalates when Stockton does introduce the characters. He introduces the characters simply, in only one paragraph saying just, “This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own ... Among his courtiers was a young man ... This love affair moved on happily for many months, until one day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's arena. (5)” This explains what the character did to end up in the arena and adds tension to the story by allowing the reader to further see the unjustness of the king's actions, even toward his own daughter. The most tension is caused just after the ending of the story when Stockton asks the question,