August Heat Theme

There have many occurrences in the world we live in today, which not even science can explain how it happened. One of the most common events is Deja Vu, where someone dreams of seeing something and later that day, sees what he had dreamt. However for some reason there is another sort of rare and frightening event. In the story, The August Heat, written by W.F Harvey, two characters, James Clarence Withencroft and Charles Atkinson which have never met, take part of the most scariest and unimaginable event of their life. The story begins with James Clarence Withencroft who is a healthy forty year old artist who draws for a living. On one oppressively hot day, Withencroft decides to draw what would be a large, round man at the dock who has been convicted and sentenced to death. After finishing his masterpiece Withencroft then proceeds to place the drawing in his pocket and heads outside as he takes a long stroll down the pavement sidewalk. Along his journey he ends up entering a cemetery where he finds a stonemason
As Withencroft goes for his walk and soon discovers the man and that he is the man in the drawing you begin to wonder how that is even possible? “It was the man I had been drawing, whose portrait lay in my pocket” (Harvey). How could a man draw a complete stranger only to meet the same guy in a matter of a few hours. What makes this story so chilling is the part when you discover that Atkinson is a stonemason and that headstone he had been working on for so long happens to be the headstone of no one other than James Clarence Withencroft. “For some time I sat in silence. Then a cold shudder ran down my spine. I asked him where he had seen the name” (Harvey). This quote exemplifies just how confused Withencroft is. The headstone is what makes this story a true phenomenon as the two men begin to discuss what all of this means and how it is