I find that in some novels that there are extended periods of time where nothing important or interesting happens. I feel that this ruins the suspense of the book for the reader. Thankfully Treasure Island was not one of those novels. Stevenson uses suspense very well, enough to keep the reader going but not so much as to thin the plot line. For example, when Jim isn’t doing anything interesting, the story is taken up by the ships doctor, who introduces a fresh perspective and who keeps the plot moving forward. Even before the story begins there is a piece of poetry titled. “To the Hesitating Purchaser” The first verse is:
“If sailor tales to sailor tunes,
Storm and adventure, heat and cold,
If schooners islands, and maroons,
And buccaneers, and buried gold,
And all the old romance retold,
Exactly in the ancient way,
Can please, as me they pleased of old,
The wiser youngsters of today...” (Stevenson 4)
This little poem entices the reader right from the beginning and it gives the reader a sense of suspense without giving away too much information.
Another example is, when Jim Hawkins goes off to steal the ship, “The Hispaniola,” away from the pirates. He says “This was my second folly, far worse than the first, as I left but two sound men to guard the house; but like the first it was a help towards saving all of us.”(Stevenson 129) This creates suspense about if he will survive his task and at the same time, what will happen to friends.
Another way the author keeps the reader in suspense, is when the crew of the ship has just started for Treasure Island. Instead of highlighting insignificant details, Hawkins says “I am not going to relate that voyage in detail. It was fairly prosperous. The ship proved to be a good ship, the crew were capable seamen, and the captain thoroughly understood his business. But before we came the length of Treasure Island two or three things had happened which require to be known.” (Stevenson 59) This spares the reader from having to read a boring play by play of events and skip right to the part which is important to the storyline. It also sets up some suspense for the chapters to come. This book kept me hooked throughout the entire read, and I never felt like there was a moment that I thought didn’t need to be included.
How might suspense 'thin' a plot line? I am not sure what you mean here.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the significance of the suspense? Why use it? Again you have cycled through the text to select some really good quotations to help you identify that there is suspense in the novel. Now extend your thinking to explain and justify its use in the sections you selected. How is it important that the reader is not allowed or required to "skip right to the part which is important to the storyline"?
APOLOGIA COMMENTS:
ReplyDeletePARA 1 - check it's - spelling; necessary ingredients needs to be more specific - name them.
PARA 2 - no comma needed in sentence 1; make sure both sources make it to your W.C page
PARA 3 - source?; 'more modern works' - list them
PARA 4 - are you talking about the creation of a prototype?
PARA 5 - "the essay says", take out - awk; check spelling of opportunity; do not end your development with a paragraph; in your citations remove the comma between the source and the page
PARA 6 - use a direct quotation from the essay to help you explain the role of character; add support from the novel.
A bit of fine editing still to be done for sentence structure and spelling. Well done so far.