Free College Essays - A Comparison of The Red Room and The Signalman

A Comparison of The Red Room and The Signalman

I prefer ‘The Signalman’ story because I like stories with a mysterious ending to them or any mystery in the story itself. Just like in the beginning of ‘The Signalman’, the signalman thinks the narrator is a ghost and the narrator thinks that the signalman is a ghost too. It is like you don’t know who to trust anymore and what is right or wrong. Not like in ‘The Red Room’ when the three old people stayed together when the hero went out of the room, looking at him at an eerie way. At that time I know that what the hero did was wrong and something bad is going to happen to him. I mostly like it when I do not know anything or what will happen and especially keeps me in suspense.

In ‘The Signalman’, the story of the haunting of the “appearance” makes the signalman feel very responsible of the two deaths which occurs after seeing the ghost and listening to its warnings. The first death that happens is when the signalman sees the “appearance” and listens to his warning. The dead and injured were brought over the spot were it stood on. The second death happens to a young and beautiful lady. After stopping the train they find her dead in the cabin. It is a very strange and sudden death, which makes me feel eerie and afraid, more than just knowing someone died, how this person dies and who did it. The most mysterious death is when the narrator went in the morning to the signalman’s box and finds him dead, under the “danger light” peacefully. That is what I like, it is very mysterious and don’t know who did it all, not like in ‘The Red Room’ the deaths were not convincing to me. In ‘The Red Room’ there are two pervious stories about staying in ‘The Red Room’. The first story is that a young duke stayed in the room then came out running, opened the door and “fallen headlong” down the stairs. It happens because he wants to conquer the “ghostly tradition” of the palace. The second story is that a “timid” wife who her husband scared her to death, just for fun. H.G. Wells thinks that it is “half-credible”.

In ‘The Signalman’, the signalman sees a “spectre”, the way the ghost stands under the light is a strange way.