How Does Cormier Create Suspense In The Middle Of The Night
Creating Suspense
As he dropped the smoking gun out of his hand, he scanned the sea of people lying on the ground in front of him; an ocean of red flooded the crowd. “What have you done?!” a voice called. In movies, directors exploit sounds, acting, and lighting to illustrate suspense to their viewers, whereas in novels, authors must confide mostly on their use of detail and emotion in the text to convey suspense. In the novel, In the Middle of the Night, Robert Cormier creates suspense through his lack of explanation about events, use of emotion, visual detail, and key words; the best examples of Cormier’s techniques include: when Lulu dies and when Lulu meets Denny, but the identity of the caller was predictable.
One example of Cormier …show more content…
In chapter three, Lulu and her brother converse in the hospital once again. Lulu says, “Now it’s the son,...the sin of the father will be visited upon by the son” (17). The reader can easily infer the meaning of Cormier's words in this quote: the father is John Paul, and Lulu is seeking revenge on him by going through his son, Denny. Also in chapter three, Lulu’s brother thinks, “What I want to say is: Please don't call. Leave him alone...Especially this year.” It is obvious that the caller is Lulu because her younger brother wishes she would not call someone anymore, and the Colbert family is getting an overwhelming amount of calls. He also doesn’t approve of Lulu calling so much in this particular year, which is the anniversary of the tragedy. Later in the novel, when Denny becomes close with Lulu, he asks her, “Why do you call him?” She replies with, “I don't know about the others. I only know that I can't sleep at night and that's why I call” (128). By adding this conversation Cormier solidifies any doubts the reader may have had about about Lulu being the caller. The reader can infer by the word “others” that the caller was one of the people affected by the balcony collapsing. Through Cormier’s numerous clues, the reader can easily predict Lulu was the
As he dropped the smoking gun out of his hand, he scanned the sea of people lying on the ground in front of him; an ocean of red flooded the crowd. “What have you done?!” a voice called. In movies, directors exploit sounds, acting, and lighting to illustrate suspense to their viewers, whereas in novels, authors must confide mostly on their use of detail and emotion in the text to convey suspense. In the novel, In the Middle of the Night, Robert Cormier creates suspense through his lack of explanation about events, use of emotion, visual detail, and key words; the best examples of Cormier’s techniques include: when Lulu dies and when Lulu meets Denny, but the identity of the caller was predictable.
One example of Cormier …show more content…
In chapter three, Lulu and her brother converse in the hospital once again. Lulu says, “Now it’s the son,...the sin of the father will be visited upon by the son” (17). The reader can easily infer the meaning of Cormier's words in this quote: the father is John Paul, and Lulu is seeking revenge on him by going through his son, Denny. Also in chapter three, Lulu’s brother thinks, “What I want to say is: Please don't call. Leave him alone...Especially this year.” It is obvious that the caller is Lulu because her younger brother wishes she would not call someone anymore, and the Colbert family is getting an overwhelming amount of calls. He also doesn’t approve of Lulu calling so much in this particular year, which is the anniversary of the tragedy. Later in the novel, when Denny becomes close with Lulu, he asks her, “Why do you call him?” She replies with, “I don't know about the others. I only know that I can't sleep at night and that's why I call” (128). By adding this conversation Cormier solidifies any doubts the reader may have had about about Lulu being the caller. The reader can infer by the word “others” that the caller was one of the people affected by the balcony collapsing. Through Cormier’s numerous clues, the reader can easily predict Lulu was the