Fear and Suspense in A Single Shot :: Single Shot Essays

Fear and Suspense in A Single Shot Matthew F. Jones novel A Single Shot is a disturbing tale of one mans unfortunate mistake and the hellish consequences it brings him. legerdemain Moon, in need of money to support his estranged wife Moira and their baby son Nolan, sets out early one morning to hunt an sensational buck he has recently spotted grazing near his can home. Having weighed the value of the deer meat against the thousand dollars in fines and two months in jail he can expect to serve if caught shooting the wildcat out of season on state land, he decides it is worth the risk. This risk, however, proves to be far greater than basin anticipates. After he wounds the deer, chases it several miles by means of dense underbrush, has his shoulder gored, and accidentally shoots sixteen-year-old Ingrid Banes dead in the beginning finally cleansing the buck, John is forced to reevaluate his decision. Having made the leap from small-time poacher to second degree murderer with a single misguided gunshot, John, his tone transformed into a delusory state of confusion and guilt, reacts reprehensibly, but likewise to how most decent individuals would likely respond if placed in his severe situation. Choosing to hide her body in a small cavern in the quarry, because burial has a ring of finality to it he cant yet bear (24), John runs to an abandoned lean-to where the girl and her boyfriend Waylon claim been camping, in await of material to build a torch. There, stumbling upon a large metal container affluent of money that he is unable to resist keeping, he realizes his troubles may have only begun. Indeed, this is true, as in the few short days that follow, he is tor handsted incessantly by both his own conscience and the men whose money he now possesses. Jones is able to convey this torment, as come up as evoke apprehension and suspense, through his expert use of much(prenominal) elements as setting, atmosphere, structure, narrative voice, and, especia lly, characterization and dramatic action. As the story opens John is embarking on a deer hunt in the early hours of morning. It is before sunrise, still three-quarters dark (3), and its so quiet in the forest that, til now on a soft bed of pine needles, Johns footsteps echo in his ears (4). There is no wind, and as the scene unfolds, birds take flight, and the crows begin to caw.