whistle and i'll come to you essay
Victoria Hourigan
What techniques does Hill use to create tension in ‘whistle and I’ll come to you’?
The opening paragraph to the chapter immediately creates tension. This is done by the use of pathetic fallacy in that Hill describes the atmosphere with ‘gusts that blew’ and that during the night it ‘increased greatly in force’. This instantly creates an ominous surrounding as it conveys how isolated Arthur and the house are. Moreover, it foreshadows a sinister future for Arthur and spider. In regards to this, he also refers to the house as a ‘ship at sea, battered by the gale that came roaring across the open marsh’. This metaphor of the ship portrays Arthur and the storm as the woman in black. When Hill says that the ship is ‘battered’ this conveys that Arthur has been effected and wounded by the paranormal occurrences in the presence of the woman in black as ‘roaring’ highlights the malevolent force of the. This makes the reader feel sympathy and fear for Arthur as we know that it is unjust of the woman in black to torment him in such a way due to her own misfortune.
Furthermore, as the novel is in first person, the reader senses Arthurs conflicting emotions which builds tension as he questions the realism of his experiences. He asks himself questions such as ‘what was real?’ as be begins ‘to doubt (his) own reality’. The effect of this is that his confusion evokes fear as not being able to understand a situation could lead to distress. The impact of the use of question marks reflect the own readers dreads and worries. In addition, it also emphasises the change in Arthur, a once rational man who now longs for an explanation.
The sentence structure also has an impact on how tension and suspense is brought about in the novel. Her use of short sentences reflects the breathlessness and hesitation of Arthur at the time. ‘No light came on. The torch had broken.’ The effect of this is that creates anticipation and dread for the reader. It seems that
What techniques does Hill use to create tension in ‘whistle and I’ll come to you’?
The opening paragraph to the chapter immediately creates tension. This is done by the use of pathetic fallacy in that Hill describes the atmosphere with ‘gusts that blew’ and that during the night it ‘increased greatly in force’. This instantly creates an ominous surrounding as it conveys how isolated Arthur and the house are. Moreover, it foreshadows a sinister future for Arthur and spider. In regards to this, he also refers to the house as a ‘ship at sea, battered by the gale that came roaring across the open marsh’. This metaphor of the ship portrays Arthur and the storm as the woman in black. When Hill says that the ship is ‘battered’ this conveys that Arthur has been effected and wounded by the paranormal occurrences in the presence of the woman in black as ‘roaring’ highlights the malevolent force of the. This makes the reader feel sympathy and fear for Arthur as we know that it is unjust of the woman in black to torment him in such a way due to her own misfortune.
Furthermore, as the novel is in first person, the reader senses Arthurs conflicting emotions which builds tension as he questions the realism of his experiences. He asks himself questions such as ‘what was real?’ as be begins ‘to doubt (his) own reality’. The effect of this is that his confusion evokes fear as not being able to understand a situation could lead to distress. The impact of the use of question marks reflect the own readers dreads and worries. In addition, it also emphasises the change in Arthur, a once rational man who now longs for an explanation.
The sentence structure also has an impact on how tension and suspense is brought about in the novel. Her use of short sentences reflects the breathlessness and hesitation of Arthur at the time. ‘No light came on. The torch had broken.’ The effect of this is that creates anticipation and dread for the reader. It seems that