How Is Sense Of Fear Essay Example
How Is Sense Of Fear Essay Example

How Is Sense Of Fear Essay Example

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  • Pages: 6 (1540 words)
  • Published: December 26, 2017
  • Type: Case Study
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The literary work titled 'The Red Room' by H. G.

Both Wells' "The Red Room" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" are horror stories that center on the unsettling and fear-inducing ideas that plague the human mind. In "The Red Room," a young man is skeptical when warned about a haunted room in a castle, but after spending a few hours there, the fear of the unknown takes hold. Similarly, "The Yellow Wallpaper" follows the perspective of a young woman and her doctor husband as they stay in a grand home. When she becomes apprehensive about the wallpaper, her husband dismisses her concerns as illness. As she spends more time in the room, her disorientation and fear of the wallpaper lead to a disastrous outcome.

In my exploration of the setting, I will analyze the rooms' locations

...

, furniture, objects, history, and use of light and colors. Additionally, I will examine how the story plays on other senses. In The Red Room, the young man is directed to the room by going down a passage, taking a spiral staircase, and finding the room on the left after walking down a corridor at the end.

The complexity and lengthiness of the directions to the distant room imply its considerable distance, allowing the young man time to doubt his decision and experience fear on the long journey. Navigation obstacles in an unfamiliar territory add to the uncertainty whether he will reach the destination without getting lost. The isolation of the room, located on the left, also contributes to a sense of unease as left has sinister connotations, unlike being at ease with one's right-hand man.

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left is commonly linked with apprehension due to its association with threatening situations, which are often unknown. In contrast, the location of the Yellow Wallpaper reveals a sharp contrast with the Red Room, which is typically creepy and detached. Remarkably, the Yellow Wallpaper's setting is idyllic, and is regarded as 'the most beautiful place'.

The tense atmosphere is due to the uncertainty of whether the perfect location will remain the same. The unpleasant Yellow Wallpaper room emphasizes why the woman desires to leave urgently. However, her inability to escape causes tension. She can see both mysterious deep-shaded arbors and a lovely view of the bay from the windows, which are contrasting and conflicting. She yearns to get out but cannot, which illustrates her inner confusion. This uncertainty reinforces the atmosphere of vagueness. The Red Room and the Yellow Wallpaper both utilize location to invoke fear, albeit in contrasting ways.

The furniture and objects in the room contribute to a distressing and uneasy atmosphere. Wells employs phrases such as "whatever dust had gathered on the carpets" to convey the aging quality or antique nature of the objects. This symbolism of dust amplifies the uncertainty surrounding how long the furniture has been present and why it is there, particularly given the castle's description as "deep-tone and old fashioned." Thus, the objects instill a sense of unease and insecurity.

Wells utilizes personification to create a sense of discomfort with the porcelain Chinaman, whose head rocks noiselessly with a lifelike quality. The nodding of the inanimate object seems to recognize the presence of the youth within the room, leaving him unsure if it is aware of his presence or not. This uncertainty

generates a strong feeling of insecurity.

The people within the castle contribute to the eerie ambience, particularly the man with the withered arm. The young man is unaware of the man's affliction and curiosity about his relationship to the Red Room lingers in his mind. This adds to the mysterious and unsettling atmosphere. Moreover, if any danger arises while the young man is in the Red Room, the amputee will be unable to assist him.

The Yellow Wallpaper depicts a room filled with furniture and objects that evoke feelings of anxiety and panic. The presence of bars on the windows and rings and things on the walls suggest themes of imprisonment and restraint. The unsettling atmosphere is enhanced by the uncertainty of whether one can leave the room. Personification, similar to Wells' technique, is also used by Gilman to describe the wallpaper, highlighting the sense of doubt.

The statement "I get positively angry with the impertinence of it" emphasizes that the wallpaper, typically inanimate, is animated and has its own life. The protagonist's anger towards the wallpaper suggests a detachment from reality, a worrisome revelation that implies her descent into madness brought about by the eerie moving wallpaper. This contributes to a sinister atmosphere in the room. Another unsettling aspect of the setting is the room's history, which creates tension illustrated through the description of foreign objects within it.

Transported back to a time when belief in the paranormal was widespread, the young man feels a sense of nostalgia evoked by the decorations and furnishings of the room that are not of this world. This makes it easier for his imagination to run wild and

believe in what he is experiencing as real. Upon opening the door to Lorraine Castle's Red Room, he recalls the story of a young duke who died there, heightening his fear and adding to an already sinister atmosphere.

The Yellow Wallpaper story stands in contrast to the Red Room story due to the fact that it doesn't have a resolution. The text implies that someone had previously stayed in the same room and gone through similar experiences, as evidenced by lines like "It is stripped off- the paper- in great patches all around the head of my bed." This suggests that areas of the wallpaper were removed by someone else in a violent manner while they were tied to the bed.

The text emphasizes the idea by stating, "Then the floor is scratched and gouged and splintered, the plaster itself is dug out here," which creates a frightening tone regarding attempts to escape from "the red room." There remains an element of uncertainty as to whether these efforts were successful. Furthermore, Light and Colour in the Red Room contribute to fear and unease. The name of the room evokes associations with blood, passion, and anger while phrases like "shadows cower and quiver" add to the ominous atmosphere through personifying shadows.

Quivering is a rapid and small movement that is often associated with anxiety, creating a tense and anxious mood. The use of vivid black shadows and silvery illumination emphasizes every detail, while the black color conveys hesitation and obscurity. Meanwhile, the silver illumination reminiscent of moonlight, adds a mysterious and supernatural overtone.

In The Yellow Wallpaper, the author employs light and color to portray the wallpaper. The

narrator describes watching the undulating wallpaper in the moonlight, which creates a supernatural atmosphere. This similarity links both texts. Additionally, the description of the wallpaper as a "smoulder unclean yellow" indicates it is unclear or hazy, much like smoke.

The concept of uncertainty is reinforced by the yellow hue of smoke taint. While yellow is typically associated with bright and cheerful things, the unnatural appearance of this color creates a feeling of discomfort and unease. The wallpaper's unnaturality is emphasized by the color, making it intimidating.

Both stories employ comparable displacements of light and color. Additionally, in "The Red Room," sound and touch are used to create a sense of fear. The narrator hears a rustling noise, but is uncertain of its origin, causing the ambiguity to fuel the narrator's fear.

'And the door creaked on its hinges,' creates a sense of tension as creaking can be unsettling when the source is unknown. The use of echoes in 'The echoes rang up and down the staircase' further emphasizes the sensory experience of sound, as they reverberate throughout the space and create an empty, hollow feeling. The sense of touch is also invoked with the description of 'The long, draughty subterranean passage [that] was chilly and dusty.'

The general belief is that ghosts are responsible for creating draughts and lowering room temperatures. This drop in temperature can lead to shivering, fear, and a sensation of coldness. Furthermore, the concept of being underground can trigger feelings of claustrophobia and enclosed spaces, leading to fear. In "The Yellow Wallpaper," the wallpaper even affects one's sense of smell.

Both "peculiar" and "yellow," the mysterious aroma emitted by the wallpaper creates an unsettling

feeling due to its unfamiliarity. The power of olfactory senses is significant, as unwanted scents cannot be avoided like shutting one's eyes or plugging one's ears. Fear-inducing scents simply exist. In contrast, echoes and temperature are products of the mind's imagination and can be disregarded. Therefore, The Yellow Wallpaper and The Red Room differ in their approach towards sensory perception.

In summary, both stories share similarities in their use of light and colour to evoke emotions of uncertainty and fear in their characters, even if the colours differ. The presence or absence of light also adds to the fear of the unknown. However, the stories differ in their focus on other senses such as smell, which is limited, while hearing and touching can lead to ambiguity and the mind playing tricks. In conclusion, these are the most significant differences between the two stories.

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