Horror Devices in "The Birds" Elizabeth Y. Zhang 8th Grade

What about a horror story is chilling to the bone, makes hair stand up on the arms, and leaves the reader gaping and shuddering? In “The Birds” by Daphne du Maurier, the author uses traditional horror-writing techniques to achieve a stirring, disturbing experience for the reader. She takes the reader on a journey alongside Nat, the main character, and allows the reader to see what Nat is feeling and thinking. Du Maurier transforms a sweet, innocent symbol of freedom to a grim, haunting image of death and war. At the end, she leaves the reader hanging; nobody knows if Nat’s family survives and who the dark face behind the killing birds is.

The author uses the “parallel journey” technique to engage the reader into the protagonist’s position. With this tactic, the reader can feel Nat’s emotions, see what he is seeing, and hear what he is hearing. Du Maurier takes the reader on a journey right alongside Nat: “The window was wide open. Through it came the birds, hitting first the ceiling and the walls, then swerving in mid-flight and turning to the children in their beds. ‘It’s all right, I’m here,’ shouted Nat, and the children flung themselves, screaming, upon him, while in the darkness the birds rose and dived, and came for him...