Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque

Ambrose Bierce wrote the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Ambrose Bierce’s story takes place during the Civil War. Ambrose Bierce designed this story to be very interesting and to keep the reader’s attention throughout the whole story. Ambrose Bierce writes a suspenseful story about a man named Peyton Farquhar being hanged. Ambrose Bierce uses many different literary techniques to create and maintain suspense in the story. Ambrose Bierce uses foreshadowing to help create…

Writing to Compare, page 48 Both Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” have similar settings because they both take place in spooky large houses. However, in Poe’s story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the setting is different because nobody likes that house. By contrast, Cortazar’s “House Taken Over,” everyone likes the house. Gothic Literature is when a story has a bleak setting, tortured characters, strange or violent plot, or a gloomy…

Edgar Allan Poe is a master of creating tension in his stories to convince the reader that they are a part of the story. Poe’s stories contain darkness, physical torment, tension, and keeps the readers intrigue. An example of that is in Poe’s story “The Pit and the Pendulum” and the tension throughout the story is based on whether the narrator will survive the horrors of his imprisonment. Poe depiction of tension in the story is from strong diction and the emotion of horror evoke. The use of…

In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe creates an allegory for mental illness using setting. This effect is created mainly through tone and word choice. Keeping the setting in one place allows Poe to create a powerful image for the reader, not only literally, but figuratively and metaphorically as well. It is difficult to see mental illness in a person, but the imagery Poe employs of the house as an allegory for this state allows the reader to understand what is happening inside of Usher’s…

In this story, the protagonist, Roderick Usher, attempts to rise above his mortality, but death still appears to him time and time again. As a whole, this short story is the depiction of “the kings of terror” spoken of in the book of Job (Robey 4-5). Poe uses symbolism in the details of this story to strengthen the apocalyptic theme in the short story. For example, the last name Usher, reminds the reader of the Irish Bishop of Armagh, James Ussher, who wrote the Annales Veteris et Novi…

Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl is a short story that creates a wave of emotion to the reader. Mary, the protagonist, is a complex character and seems to be a different person as the story progresses. The story’s involvement with a murder scene, a gruesome story would be expected, but instead Dahl puts a twist to the story which makes it not horrifying. The story begins with Mary shown as a devoted and loving wife. This and the constant reminder that Mary is pregnant makes me feel as…

Edgar Allan Poe used the Literary Device of setting to create a dark, threatening tone in his short story, “Tell-Tale Heart”. He used the elements of Mood & Atmosphere, Time of Day, and Local which fall under the literary device of setting. First, he used the element of mood and atmosphere. Poe spelled words like “dreadfully” to make clear that he was very nervous {537:1}. On {539:1} the old man jumped out of the bed which creates tension. It creates the feeling of the old man being scared,…

Explanatory Essay Transformation obviously create fear. This can be seen in the following three stories as well. Jovce Oate’s “Where is Here,” Arthur Tress’ “Dream Collector” and Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” uses transformation of an ordinary person and an ordinary setting to show us how easily circumstances can change. The transformation in the three stories strikes anxiety, fear, suspicion, or uneasiness. In the following it will explain and show of ways transformation creates fear.…

In “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most important components of the story is the setting. Because of how it affects the story, the setting is essential. It creates the atmosphere of eeriness which many frequent Poe readers come to expect from his writings. The actual House of Usher is imperative to this writing because the whole storyline is centered around it. Also, without it the story would have no title. At the beginning of “The Fall of the House of Usher”,…

Often in short stories, symbols are present. Symbols represent meanings beyond what they literally are in the story. In the short story, The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, the gigantic ebony clock is symbolic. The ebony clock is symbolic because it symbolizes death and that time never stops. Symbols represent something other than themselves, which is significant to the story. The ebony clock in the seventh room symbolizes death. According to the short story, it…