Pre 1914 Prose

Pre 1914 Prose

Prose is the writing style of text such as a story and in this essay I will evaluate the use of the writing style in pre 1914 mystery prose and the way in which it is creates an effective atmosphere for the reader and how different to the modern, writing style of today.

The four examples of pre 1914 prose which I will use to outline the use of mystery prose are "The Red Room" by H.G. Wells, "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens, "The Adventures of the Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs.

The first example of pre 1914 prose, "The Red Room" is written in the form of a first person's view, which suggests that the story is from personal experience and it follows man who is in a house and begins in a room and the story slowly develops as he travels through the house and follows his journey towards the red room.

The setting is in a gothic manor, Lorraine castle in which a young duke has already died. This has already created a feeling of mystery and suspense and in contrast H.G. Wells is joined by an elderly couple who add suspense, "eight and twenty years you have lived, yet never seen the likes of this house", thus giving the impression that the house is old and decaying and also reflects the age of the couple.

The couple in the house are described in very derogatory, formidable terms, "said the man with the withered arm", age was a sign of death as well as disease and illness, and in those times it was feared greatly and it gives a sign of the affect of the house and what type of people live in it.

However, the writer is not scared easily and shows bravery, "I can assure you said I, that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me" hinting that the writer is young and bold and is in the state of certainty by using the word "tangible" which means a ghost would have to touch him to make it affect his state of mind.

The use of repetition is observable "It's your own choosing", this is repeated several times and validates that the writer has accepted the consequences of his decision and they are not responsible for the outcome. This adds suspense by hinting at a potential gruesome prediction of the outcome of the events which are to follow.

The writer then has to say "It's my own choosing" to stop them from repeating it, again a sign of confirmation that it is his choosing and once he begins, there will be no help nor will there be any turning back.

When the third man enters the room the atmosphere generated becomes even more frightening, "the door creaked on its hinges as a second old man entered" this entrance gives an image of how the man would be like, his age and his health.

The writer then becomes unsettled, "the three of them made me feel uncomfortable" and for him to turn from a pessimistic state of mind to an unsettled state of mind indicates that the elderly people were very convincing.

The writer becomes sceptical of the three elders, "A monstrous shadow of him crouched upon the wall and mocked his action as he poured his drink" and the use of "monstrous" indicates the narrator is feeling intimidated by the atmosphere created by the three elderly people.

When H.G. Wells says he wants to enter the red room, "the old and with the cough jerked his head back so suddenly that it startled me" creating suspense as you want to know why it made the man jump.

He quickly tries to eradicate the fear brought to him by the "But with an effort I sent such thoughts to the right-about" this shows the narrator managed to put his thoughts to one side because he thought it was ridiculous, but found it difficult to do so indicating their might have been doubts in the narrator's mind about the thoughts.

There is evidence yet again of repetition, when the writer says he wants to go to the red room, he told is has to go alone this night, "This