The narrator's hearing affects the story by either amplifying sensory experiences or causing paranoia, leading to actions driven by the need to silence unwelcome sounds or the tension wrought by silence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The narrator's hearing plays a significant role in the stories, often leading to different reactions and outcomes. In some instances, such as with Edgar Allan Poe's work, the acute hearing causes the narrator to become obsessed with certain sounds, like a heartbeat or a death cry, to the point where it drives him to madness or desperate action to silence them. Meanwhile, in other stories, the sound or the lack thereof serves as a powerful sensory detail that amplifies the sense of fear or tension within the narrative.
For example, when the narrator hears the faint sound of a watch ticking or believes to hear the old man's heart beating, it exacerbates his paranoia, leading him to commit heinous acts to quell the noise. Another narrator's heightened senses during a war scenario provide a harrowing and immersive experience of the surrounding chaos. In contrast, silence in another story builds a sense of dread and anticipation for the characters involved.