Suspense is created in a variety of ways to make the story come alive to the reader. This can be achieved through foreshadowing, short sentences, helplessness, or imagery, to name a few. "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell uses desperation for survival as a source for suspense and drama. Descriptive words enrich the reader's perspective on the character's perilous situations. The writer applies dramatic imagery to generate a feeling of sensation.
Connell employs imagery to set a mood or tone for the story. As Rainsford converses with Whitney about that night, the narrator vividly describes the environment around them. Rainsford tries to "peer through the dank tropical night that was palpable as it pressed its warm blackness upon the yacht" (15). The audience can sense a sinister aura about the scene. Tension rises as the readers feel the seizing, muggy darkness felt by the characters in the story.
Next, Rainsford falls victim to the sea as he reaches out too far for his pipe. His "cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea closed over his head" (15). By this point, the readers are taking a deep breath. The words "blood-warm waters" create an eerie ambience. Rainsford's cry described as being "pinched off" adds to the dismal tone of the story. Anxiety increases as the readers wait for Rainsford to break the surface of the sea. The author utilizes the preceding examples of imagery to emphasize a dark mood for the story.
Rainsford encounters many hazardous situations. It is the author's challenge to make those situations meaningful and real to his audience. The readers must be able to feel what the character is going through to be engaged in the story. Connell successfully absorbs the reader's attention through the use of expressive words. The readers feel the moist, thick air as well as a sense of danger. Imagery ignites readers' interests and emphasizes suspense with embellishing words and captivating sensory descriptions.
I liked all the adjectives you used in your essay. Adjectives are key in imagery and you chose very good ones. Descriptive words like "seizing muggy darkness" and "sinister aura" set the dark mood for the scene. I wasn't sure what you meant when you wrote, "Connell employs imagery to set a mood or tone for the story." What kind of mood did you mean? Other than that your essay was very enjoyable to read.
ReplyDeleteI really really liked this. It was so fun to read! I was thinking that clincher paragraphs had to be long and drawn out. This just flows. Love it.
ReplyDeleteI loved all the adjecives too! I liked "sinister aura" and "desperation for survival"
ReplyDeleteI didn't understand what you meant by "...generate a feeling of sensation"
That was probably the only thing that I didn't understand. great job!!