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Both the stories we were asked to read contain elements of mystery. They both are designed to make the reader think and make their own conclusions about what is going to happen at the end. The stories make you want to read on to find out what is going to happen. The stories are designed to trick you in to believing what you think is going happen but in fact it doesnt. They do this by placing Red Herrings in to the story to confuse the reader. There is also often a twist at the end of mystery stories.
Maupassant's story mainly surrounds the issues concerning the conditions and psychology surrounding vengeance, this makes the story seem gruesome from the beginning because as she has a murder to gain revenge on you think that she will do something like that back. Hardy is focused on writing a story in which the mystery involves issues surrounding a community. The community ideas in this story make you think about the safety of everybody all together in the small cottage but it fact the mystery makes you wonder how safe it is. When Hardy first starts to introduce the story he is very descriptive when talking about the rural setting. He describes the cottage as lonely and the land surrounding it irregular the language which he uses to describe the area, the night and the cottage bring on a sense of mystery because it is a very quiet area, which usually has quite bad weather.
Which means that there is not many people around to see any crimes take place. The wind up here blew unmistakably when it did blow and the rain hit hard whenever it fell. As it was in the middle of nowhere except for the two paths nobody would see anything happen and a lot of strangers would pass along the two paths to the towns. Again this brings on a sense of mystery because you would see strangers passing to and from town but you would not know why they are leaving or entering the town.
Hardy makes the environment seem very realistic through the detail; this would make the reader feel as if they were at the scene if they could picture it. Hardy describes the community at the christening in quite a lot of detail so to set the scene then the reader would be able to picture what is going on and make assumptions to what is going to happen in the story. The way which Hardy describes each person makes you think about each persons mannerisms, personality and power over others. When they are all told about the man escaping from the jail you would think about each person and how they could be the escapee. When the first stranger arrives at the cottage he is dressed as a country worker when he is really a town worker.
A sense of mystery is bought on because of the full moon in the sky, this is because in horror stories it is normally on a full moon when wear-wolves and other ghouls come out. The story says it was nearly time of full moon As the first stranger approaches the cottage he behaves quite suspiciously, stopping to think and to look around. His first act was to kneel down on a large stone beside the row of vessels, and to drink a copious draught from one of them He did this to quench his thirst, this would be necessary if he had to run because somebody in the room knew who he actually was, quenching his thirst would make it easier to run because he would not wear out as fast as if he was thirsty before running. You do not find this out from the story as you read it but if you read the whole book and look back at that section it makes you realize why he acted and did what he did. When the first stranger enters the house he made people happy because a song had been suggested and nobody wanted to sing. The knock afforded a not unwelcome diversion When he is inside the conversation stops being desultory and all turns to listen to the questions which the farmer is asking the stranger.
The stranger does not want to be questioned to much so stops the shepherds wife from asking questions about where he is from by saying My time would be long before yours Maam you see Saying this makes you question about where he is from and what he is hiding that he cannot tell. The fact that you do not find out his name also makes you ask questions about him and makes want to know who he is. When the shepherds wife starts looking at what the stranger is wearing he tries to explain himself. He says I have had some rough times lately and have been forced to pick up what I can get in the way of wearing. He then gives a clue to what he does as a job when he says I must find a suit better fit for working days when I reach home. This shows that he cannot look scruffy for work but if he were a country worker this would not be as necessary than if he was a town worker.
The people in the cottage do not question him about his profession when he says the comment about his suit, so they cannot have suspected that he was lying. When the stranger asks for a little baccy but has no pipe, the farmer is very surprised. The stranger excuses himself by saying I have dropped it somewhere on the road Then when the stranger also reveals that he has lost his baccy-box the farmer is even more surprised. The stranger is lucky because the farmer has not thought about why he actually has no pipe or box. The real reason is that they were taken off of his at the prison. This is the sort of thing that mystery stories make you think about but they do not actually tell you.
The second stranger is very different to the first stranger. He was described as having More of the common place in his manner Which means he was more down to earth and normal than the first stranger was. Therefore he fitted in easily with the crowd making himself at home. Hardy teases the reader about the second strangers mission when at first when you hear about his clothes it makes you think that he is something quite posh and holds down quite an important job in the city. He wore a suit of cinder-grey shade throughout. When the second stranger makes himself at home and drinks the whole mug of mead he is thought of as rude and impolite.
This would make you wonder if he was as sophisticated as you thought in the first place. Hardy then teases the reader about the second strangers mission when the second stranger says I am going to Casterbridge and to Casterbridge I must go. This makes you want to know why the stranger has to go to Casterbridge. He...
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Research essay sample on Make The Reader Full Moon
