Course: World Literature.

Name: Muhammad Absar Ali 41665

Muhammad Ali 40376
Instructor: Roshana Kamran Ali.
 The Horror of the Heights -
Conan Doyle's
Summary by M. Absar Ali

Summary:

The novel is set shortly (presumably in the late 1920s or thereabouts), and it is
inspired by a blood-stained notebook which was found on the edge of a farm in
England. It was written by Joyce Armstrong which was known as a poet, a
dreamer, as well as a mechanic and an inventor.

This brave aviator was curious about the deaths of some pilots who attempted to
break the current height record of 30,000 feet. Hay Connor, who died after
landing while still in his jet, and Myrtle, who was recovered with his head
removed, are two of the most recent tragedies.

According to Joyce-Armstrong, the cause of these deaths could be the result of

what he refers to as "Air-jungles".

He took his monoplane to find out the reason behind the recent deaths and his
theories were proved right when he saw mysterious creatures that exist up in the
sky. Joyce explains that he saw a giant jellyfish and snakes and he was attacked by
a more solid-looking but amorphous creature with a beak and tentacles. He
manages to fly back and return to Earth. But, to prove that his story is true, he
resolves to make one more trip to catch one of the creatures.
 That Little Square Box –
Conan Doyle's
Summary by M. Ali

Summary:

While aboard the American steamboat named “The Spartan”, Mr. Hammond
witnesses a conversation between two passengers and immediately becomes
suspicious of them. Hammond saw them with a small square box, discussing its
mechanism and how soon it will become known to all. Deducing from evidence
like their distinguishably foreign names and the queer nature of the box,
Hammond was convinced that the men were intent on destroying the ship with a
bomb. He finds a friend and tries to explain it to his friend but his fear is brushed
off. Too afraid to broach this topic with the captain, Hammond decides to accept
his fate and rest near the deck hiding inside a lifeboat.

The two men arrived on the deck at 10, carrying the box with them and proceed
to install it according to plan. Just as they are going to activate the box, Hammond
finds the courage to intercede. However, during the altercation, one of the two
men manages to stop Hammond while the other pulls the box’s trigger only to
reveal two grey carrier pigeons who fly away as the contraption. To his utter
shock and embarrassment, Hammond finds that the two men had been training
and testing the pigeons to travel far off distances as a form of entertainment.
Similarities between the two books:

Firstly, the book “The horror of the heights” and “That little square box, both
were written by ‘Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle’. He was a British writer as well
as a physician.
Doyle was a prolific writer who wrote on variety of topics both fictional
and non-frictional, his work includes fantasy and science fiction stories like
Professor Challenger, humorous stories like the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier
Gerard, and his most famous crime/detective friction stories in the history is still
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, as well as many other plays,
romances, poetry, short stories and historical novels.

The Similarities:

Curious protagonist:
Although both the stories carried two different eras and conflicting characters but
what we find similar is the curious behavior to explore the truth or the revelation
of the culprits or nature…
Mystery:
The secret at the end of that little square box is that the author thought that they
were about to bomb the ship by opening the little box instead when they opened
it, two pigeons were seen flying out of it, and they further explained that they
were carrying a test to see which pigeon comes back home first.
Plot Twist:
theme of both the stories were quite distinct, but he turning events are quite
surprising for the reader.

 Although both stories are written by the same author, their genre is
different from each other.
 Both story characters appear to have a different sort of assumptions about
one thing or another.
 The writer tends to create a strong mystery around his characters to grab
the attention of the audience seamlessly.
 Both the stories have individual plots, as one of them is fictional and the
other one is nonfictional.
 Both the characters were trying to prove something that they believe is
true.
 The writer builds up a strong mysterious background for most of the
characters.
 Both the stories have the ability to have outstanding twists and turns at the
end.
 The writer introduces the charters, or the story in such astonishing way that
it makes the reader curious to find out more about it.
 The writer powerfully uses the elements of friction, mystery, fear and thrill
to make the audience more engaged.
 Since the writer is all about writing fictional plots, these two stories also
have a dramatic and unrealistic twists and situations.