Literary Devices in The Haunting of Hill House
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
In some stories, you might be able to give the setting a passing glance and be done with it. This play is set in an apartment? Great. Frame some family pictures on the wall and move on. But in The...
Narrator Point of View
When working with the narrative technique in Hill House, you can choose your own difficulty setting. There's the easy setting, the not-so-easy setting, and the give-it-all-you've-got setting. We're...
Genre
Hidden passages, foreboding lightning strikes, twisty stone stairwells, and shackle-strewn oubliettes are just a few of our favorite Gothic things.But hold on. Dr. Montague says there are no secret...
Tone
Do you know of the Crypt-Keeper? He was a character developed for EC Comics's Tales from the Crypt and would later appear in the HBO television series based on the 50s comic series. Since each...
Writing Style
Jackson's a smart person. You don't write some of the most beloved and critically respected literature of the 20th century if you're a dunce. But she's not one of those annoyingly intelligent write...
What's Up With the Title?
Finally, something easy we can talk about regarding The Haunting of Hill House. This title is straightforward and simple: there's a haunting, it takes place at Hill House, and you'll have to read t...
What's Up With the Ending?
Welcome to the end of the novel. Whew, what a trip. Now that we've arrived, we have to ask ourselves the question all readers must ponder upon turning to that final, blank page: why did the story e...
Tough-o-Meter
The Haunting of Hill House is a horror of a novel, but unlike some literary masterpieces, the horrors here are not to be found in difficult, cursed prose.Jackson's writing style can be a little fan...
Plot Analysis
In the KnowBefore we get into this story, we're going to need some questions answered. Who are these characters? Are there any conflicting interests between them? Where is this story going to take...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
Booker probably didn't have The Haunting of Hill House in mind when he drafted this plot structure, but that doesn't stop it from being a tragic, depressing, horribly unhappy, yet perfect fit.The...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
Like the Exposition Stage from our Classic Plot Analysis, Act I is all about giving us the information we need to understand the story to follow. We learn about Eleanor, her personality, and her d...
Trivia
Stephen King loves him some Haunting of Hill House. Just loves it. In his survey of the horror genre, Danse Macabre, he calls the novel "one of the finest books ever to come out of the genre" and s...
Steaminess Rating
Let's just get it out of the way: there is no overt sex in The Haunting of Hill House. Truth be told, nothing in this novel is overt, but since this is the steaminess section, we're going to stick...
Allusions
Alfred de Musset (1.7) William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1.64), (1.95), (1.128), (4.6)—specifically a song from Act II, Scene iii sung by the fool character, FesteSister...