H.G Wells' story, The Red Room

A detailed Summary of H.G Wells' story, The Red Room

The conflict between the rational and the irrational, is central to the power of

H.G Wells' story, "The Red Room" Discuss.

The character of the narrator is important to the way the story works.

Wells adopts the persona of a well educated, articulate young man who has

great confidence in the powers of his own rational thought. He views the

supernatural with great scepticism. His opening words are:

"I can assure you, that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me"

This opening sentence, assures us that he feels that he is in control of his

thoughts and beliefs. He is saying that unless he can find a ghost that he

can actually touch, he is refusing to even consider any truths that the

supernatural may contain. He continues to say " eight and twenty years I

have lived and never a ghost have I seen as yet"

He obviously believes that he is old and fairly worldly wise, and that if you

have not seen a ghost at the age of twenty eight, then they can't possibly

The three custodians of the castle are all physically grotesque, the

man with the withered arm, the man with the shade and the old woman. All

three of them are referred to using these names or phrases. I feel that by

is wiping them out. He is now extremely alarmed and expels a "cry of terror".

he believes deep down, that there is nothing supernatural that could really

darkness from surrounding him. He is trying to reason with himself, to prove

embedded in his mind. We can prove this with the various statements about

creep up on him He leaps up in a "vain struggle" against their advance.

Approximate Word count = 2131
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

join now Save Paper

Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

"Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
Jack M.
"With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
Brian P.
"I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
Sara J.
"I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
Rachel W.
"I love this site!!!"
Marie N.