Why Does Edgar Allan Poe's Use Of Suspense

Many authors use many different mystery elements to create suspense in a variety of short stories. Edgar Allen Poe and Sir Conan Doyle keep readers on the edge of their seats through the use of foreshadowing and the use of red herrings. In the short story, “Tell-Tale Heart” Edgar Allen Poe creates suspense through the foreshadowing of the old man’s death. Likewise in, “Adventure of a Speckled Band,” a short story, Sir Conan Doyle creates suspense through the use of a red herring which is the gypsies in the lawn. Firstly, Edgar Allen Poe, the author of, “Tell-Tale Heart,” uses foreshadowing to discuss the old man’s death. In Poe’s short story, he talks about the old man’s eye that was very unique and he was eventually killed. In the text,

During the text, “Adventure of a Speckled Band,” the author states that the doctor has exotic animals and the doctor allows people to live on their estate. In, “Adventure of a Speckled Band,” Helen and her sister noticed that Dr. Roylott went into his room early. Julia was troubled by a cigar smell so she went into Helen’s room. When Julia went back into her room, Helen heard a scream so she rushed into Julia’s room and found her on the ground in terrible pain. The text states, “‘ He has a passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a correspondent, and he has at this moment a cheetah and a baboon, which wander freely over his grounds and are feared by the villagers almost as much as is their master’”(Doyle 111-112). In the text, “ Adventure of a Speckled Band,” red herrings are put in throughout the text to create suspense because the audience is trying to solve the mystery before it happens. The audience is struggling to come to a conclusion because there are so many possible suspects to this mystery they are anxious to know who it is. This is creating suspense because the audience really wants to know what happened to Julia but they can’t figure it