In the novels Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote both authors demonstrate their use of characters and their change throughout the novel. In Kidnapped, the characters David and Ebenezer Balfour and the characters Herb Clutter, Perry, and Alvin Dewey in In Cold Blood are dynamic characters because they all undergo a change within the novels. Furthermore, Capote and Stevenson use suspense to promote the character dynamics within the novels. Capote and Stevenson cohesively use suspense with irony, the theme of chase and the overall structure of their novels to illustrate the character dynamics. Suspenseful irony is used to show the change in character throughout the novels. Suspense adds to the theme of chase because the characters try to converge on something they are after. The structure of the novels plays to the authors’ use of suspense in their own styles.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Kidnapped, depicts the adventures of David Balfour in search of his inheritance in the perilous Scottish Highlands in 1751. David comes close to retrieving his inheritance, but his uncle, Ebenezer Balfour, has other plans for David. He tries to kill David by coercing him to climb a rickety, old stair-tower. David barely manages to make it out alive because his uncle has lied to him about the condition of the stairs thus the devious side of Ebenezer Balfour emerges. Ebenezer’s failed attempt to get rid of David calls for the use of his secondary plan involving the ship Covenant and Captain Hoseason. While David walked around the ship of the seemingly trustworthy captain, David noticed that the ship had set sail with him still on board. All David could do was to yell “Help! Help! Murder!” (Stevenson 39).
While sailing towards the ship’s next destination, the Covenant’s crew comes across Alan Breck Stewart and tries to steal his gold. However,