Wide Reading Assignment: Comparing Two Short Stories
Introduction
In this coursework assignment, I am going to compare two short stories. They are Night Fears, by L.P. Hartley, and Into The Unknown - A Superstitious Mans Story by Thomas Hardy. These Stories are written in different centuries, but are still in the horror genre. In this essay I am going to be comparing the two of the short stories. 'The Superstitious Man's Story' and 'Night Fears' could be both classed within the horror genre, but if you acknowledge certain factors of the stories, you will see that they are very different. One of these factors is the different time-scales in which the stories were written.
The Superstitious Man's Story was written in 1884 during the rein of Queen Victoria. The working class of that era were more susceptible to horror stories than in modern times because, in the past, religion was more established than science.
Sleepy Lion in MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las V...
Pocahontas, age 21, 1616
PocahontasReligious beliefs dismissed scientific views on the views of the supernatural. The audience of this short story, would of have believed in ghosts and spirits. Also the popularity of horror books in that time was because no televisions or entertainment was available. Since the audience believes in ghosts, the story would of have affected people more, if it were read in the past, then if it was read in the present. They would have been received as those scary at the time as religious views and superstitions were a way of life in the past, they would have been written for readers who get scared easily. Things have changed in modern times as scientific factors have altered the reader's perception. Scientists prove that there are no ghosts, spirits or any type of superstitious creature. This means that, as the horrors in the story are not...