Hitchcock And Poe

Hitchcock and Poe, masters of thrill and fear, do not possess occult powers that would explain their success in engaging audiences with their potent displays of horror. Instead, they focus on one simple technique that, while seemingly insignificant and trivial, produces results more satisfactory than those of flamboyant special effects or abstruse language. In Hitchcock's Rear Window and in Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," both storytellers use a first person point of view to build apprehension and suspense. This restraint establishes a connection in which the audience is accordant with the main character; they become harmonious in both their knowledge and perception of events, and are therefore left suspended in breathless anticipation. In Hitchcock's Rear Window, the audience sees everything through the eyes of L. B. Jeffries, an immobile photographer who is confined to a wheelchair in his apartment, and spends his days gazing out of his window at the daily lives of his neighbors. While observing the apartment opposite to his, Jeffries gradually suspects that a murder has taken place, and as his suspicion rises, so does the audience's uncertainty. The audience is experiencing the event with him, learning the same information at the same time he learns it, therefore increasing feelings of foreboding. By denying the audience the luxury of advanced knowledge, and forcing them into the same position as Jeffries, Hitchcock creates an ambiguous atmosphere of frightful anticipation. Jeffries's belief that the husband, Mr. Thorwald, killed his wife is inferred from "clues" seen from his window. The audience is lured into perceiving the situation in the exact manner Jeffries perceives it, even though the assumption is not supported by fact. The viewers accept his thought process despite the possibility of making the same mistake if the accusation is a misconception of the distorted mind. Hitchcock effectively limits the audience's view of events and connects their thoughts and emotions with those of the character to establish doubt and hesitation. Similarly, in Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," the reader visualizes the situation through the descriptive language of the narrator, a man visiting his childhood friend, Roderick Usher, who is plagued by an oppressing mental illness. When the narrator approaches the "melancholy House of Usher," he is overcome with feelings of "insufferable gloom," apprehension, and nervousness. As images and events are specifically observed and detailed in the writing, the reader experiences the same tension and unease towards the House of Usher. The narration defines the story's settings in the exact way the narrator sees them, allowing the reader to follow along, digesting the given descriptions. Later, when the narrator fears that the "madness" of the Usher family is gradually controlling his mind, the reader is filled with "creeping" dread that is parallel to that fear. The house, and the events that occur within it, are frightening because the narrator illustrates them in such a gloomy fashion. The reader is left to stand with the narrator, both blind and fearsome in expectation of subsequent events. Poe's specific prose and first person point of view bond the feelings of the reader and the narrator, to build shared suspense and anticipation. However, despite apparent similarities in their use of first person point of view to invoke the audience's emotions, Hitchcock and Poe differ in the stringency of their limitations. In Rear Window, while the viewer is lacking in knowledge and information, events are presented in scenes, with occasional interjections by surrounding characters. A notable character who interferes is the police officer who questions Jeffries's assumption that Mr. Thorwald is a murderer. This provides the viewer with a chance to deviate from Jeffries's perception, and to form an independent opinion on the situation. In "The Fall of the House of Usher," there is no room for interpretation. The reader must accept the narrator's view, not only because there are no outside characters besides the remaining Usher family, but also because all comments and descriptions are written down in a narrative style. Poe's tale is strictly one sided, with no holes to stretch and distort, while Hitchcock's provides an opportunity for digression. To understand why Hitchcock and Poe are considered masters in their genre, one only has to consider their simple uses of point of view to elicit appropriate reactions from their audiences. They don't need fantastic productions or grandiose words to get their point across. They have succeeded in creating classic works of horror and suspense just by limiting point of view and by creating a relationship between the audience and the main character.