Atmosphere Of Fear In The Haunting Of Hill House

In The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, the atmosphere of fear is created throughout her novel. Shirley Jackson creates this feeling for the reader by including many literary techniques. Literary techniques are used to influence the reader’s experience and keep them on the edge of their seat. The three most impactful literary techniques that created an atmosphere of fear in the novel are foreshadowing, symbolism, and repetition.
The first and most used literary technique in the novel is foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is when the author hints at future events. One example from the text is when Eleanor accidentally bumps into the old lady. The old lady said to Eleanor, “I’ll be praying for you, dearie” (Jackson 9). This moment is foreshadowing

Symbolism is the idea that something is being represented as an abstract idea beyond its literal meaning. An example of symbolism from the novel is the color red. The color red appears frequently throughout the novel, such as, “All of them stood in silence for a moment and looked at HELP ELEANOR COME HOME ELEANOR written in shaky red letters on the wallpaper over Theodora’s bed” (Jackson 114). There was also the red sweater, red sandals, and red nail polish painted onto Eleanor’s toes. The symbolic significance of the color red is that it represents blood and violence. Knowing this true meaning helps the reader to develop a deeper thought of the novel, creating a feeling of fear. Another important piece of symbolism from the text is all of the doors in Hill House. For example, ““Every door in this house swings shut when you let go of it”” (Jackson 46). The doors symbolize freedom and self-awareness. When the doors are shut, which is almost always the case in Hill House, the guests inside cannot understand themselves or the house itself. This leads to a sense of fear overcoming the reader. One last piece of symbolism is the cup of stars, “...insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again…” (Jackson 15). The cup of stars represents Eleanor wanting to be her own person and getting everything she wants. Given these