Ghost stories are a special and enjoyable type of literature in which a reader creates a feeling of suspense. The reason for this being is that the writer chooses to end the story without a resolution. By doing this, it makes a reader look into their imagination and make their own resolution. Two ghost stories that do this are "The Demon Lover," written by Elizabeth Bowen, and "The Signalmen," written by Charles Dickens. In these two ghost stories there are many distinct similarities and differences to compare and contrast. Through examining the plot structure and the method of suspense, readers can clearly see these similarities and differences.

The similarity that both of these stories share is that they have the same plot structure. Plots deal with the events that make up a story. Plots in a sentence build up a conflict until it reaches a climax. In the "Demon Lover," the plot is a woman that makes a promise to her demon lover that she cannot keep, and marries another man. The climax of this story is that this lover returns years later to take her away from her loved ones. In "The Signalmen," the plot is about a railroad employee that is being haunted by a ghost. The result of this ha

In this essay the similarities and differences are clearly seen between these two ghost stories. Ghost stories are one of the most suspenseful stories you can read, because they are so unique. The fact that there is no resolution makes the reader come up of with their own endings. In my opinion the story "The Demon Lover," is the better of the two stories because of the fact that the demon lover takes the woman away from her family at the very end. What I believe the resolution is, is that the demon lover takes the woman to a place where she can finally fulfill her vow and may someday be able to return to her family. The "Demon Lover" also sends an important message to its readers. Even though many people make promises that cannot be kept, they still do it anyway, knowing what the consequences will be. This message makes this story even more creative than it seemed to be. Although "The Signalmen" was also a well-written story and had similarities to "The Demon Lover," it didn't have the touch that I liked in "The Demon Lover."

Although these stories seem alike in their plot structures, they also have some major differences, this being their methods of suspense. The techniques that Elizabeth Bowen uses in " The Demon Lover" are irony and paradox. Irony is the literary term which involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions. A paradox is a statement or a situation that seems contr

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