Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
literature similarity between romantic and victorian age
changes in victorian literature
changes in victorian literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Signalman and The Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth
century ghost stories
How effectively do the authors of “The Red Room” and “The Signalman”
create a sense of suspense in the story
"The Signalman" and "The Red Room" are well known examples of
nineteenth century ghost stories. The Signalman by Charles Dickens was
written in 1865, which was the time of developing literacy. This short
story was presented in three parts as it was previously in a
periodical form; this technique was also used to create suspense and
therefore leaves the reader at a cliff hanger after each episode,
which in turn motivates the reader to read on. There were many rumors
about this story as many people suggested that Dickens wrote this
story as a remembrance of the day he was involved in a railway
accident which killed ten people. Furthermore, He was writing in the
Victorian times, when there was a massive change in technology as new
inventions were created, e.g. the Train.
In comparison The Red Room was written only thirty years later in 1894
by HG Wells although it feels more timeless. At that time technology
had improved intensely, nevertheless Wells still imitated the old
fashion gothic literature style writing, which is ironic, due to the
time. Both stories have managed to engage its audience by creating
suspense and tension. Besides that both stories have been written in
first person, this in sequence makes it sinister, in a way because we
get to know the narrator’s impressions and feelings.
The authors of both stories have selected discomforting places in
which to set their story, they are made more eerie because that in the
19th century time many people believed in ghosts and the supernatural.
First of all The Signalman is located in a very isolated place, as the
narrator describes “as solitary and dismal a place as I ever saw” This
suggest that it is a remote, despondent place which is suitable for
the supernatural to exist. Before even meeting the Signalman, the
narrator says “steeped in the glow of an angry sunset” and “so little
sunlight that it had an earthy, deadly smell” the use of
pathetic-fallacy and symbolism suggests that it’s getting dark and
describes a sense of imminent death. The reader is also told it is
“this great dungeon” the oxymoron used suggests confinement; a place
where it’s hard to escape, this therefore makes it more sinister in a
way as dungeons are dark and cold and give a sense of fear.
The darkness prominently reduces visibility between the narrator and
the signalman as said “'I was near enough to have touched him” and
Every story, every book, every legend, every belief and every poem have a reason and a background that creates them. Some might be based on historical events, some might be based on every culture´s beliefs, and some others might be based on personal experiences of the authors. When a person writes a literary piece, that person is looking for a way to express her opinion or her feelings about a certain situation. A good example is the poem “Southern Mansion” by Arna Bonptems. The main intention of “Southern Mansion” could have been to complain, or to stand against the discrimination and exploitation of black people throughout history. However, as one starts to read, to avoid thinking about unnatural beings wandering around the scene that is depicted is impossible. The poem “Southern Mansion” represents a vivid image of a typical ghost story which includes the traditional element of the haunted house. This image is recreated by the two prominent and contradictory elements constantly presented through the poem: sound and silence. The elements are used in two leading ways, each one separate to represent sound or silence, and together to represent sound and silence at the same time. The poem mixes the two elements in order to create the spooky environment.
It is obvious that Dickens tale was written in the mid nineteenth century because his style of writing is very different to the more modern techniques writers employ today. In his story he tells us about objects which no longer have a place in modern society ,such as 'the telegraph' and the 'steam train'. Therefore it was necessary to look more closely at Dickens' script to identify how he creates a sense of mystery , a complete contrast to the Brabury script which was easy to follow, and therefore easy to become fully absorbed in the story. Ultimately this meant that the 'Fog horn' automatically absorbs the reader enabling the audience to detect the deeper meaning, unlike the 'The Signalman'.
...after one has suffered from fraudulent acts on one’s checking accounts. The NAACP has always been a constant fixture in the African American communities of American, aiding with legal funds, college assistance programs and a major icon in the Civil Rights movement.
The Signalman and the Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. A critical comparison of "The Signalman" and "the Red Room" which are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories The Signalman" and "the Red Room" are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens and "The Red Room" by H.G.Wells are both well known examples of pre-twentieth century ghost stories and are based on the supernatural.
Gaining woman 's rights and establishing woman suffrage were the obstacles that woman activists of the nineteenth century faced back then. Women 's rights are said to be universal and that means that it concerns all women. Most of the policies and laws in the nineteenth century highlighted the importance of men and their rights. However, women strived and struggled to fight for their rights. There was a similar group of people who fought for their rights who were African Americans. Voting rights and worker recognition was the main focus of women, as well as African Americans. Moreover, women 's rights and abolition often clashed together, but both events worked together as women were supporters of abolition. There were numerous rights that
The nineteenth century encountered some of most revolutionary movements in the history of our nation, and of the world – the movements to abolish slavery and the movement for women’s rights. Many women participated alongside men in the movement to abolish slavery, and “their experience inspired feminist social reformers to seek equality with men” (Bentley, Ziegler, and Streets-Salter 2015, pg. 654). Their involvement in the abolition movement revealed that women suffered many of the same legal disadvantages as slaves, most noticeably their inability to access the right to vote. Up until this time, women had little success in mobilizing their efforts to gain the right to vote. However, the start of the women’s rights movement in the mid-1800s, involving leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, paved the path for the expansion of women’s rights into the modern century.
To set the tone in the story the author had to describe the surroundings of the characters. For example the author states, "with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit." when giving a detailed response of how he feels about the house. This helps show that the author himself feels depressed when in sight of the building and gives the reader a thought of how the house looks. Other textual evidence in the passage also shows a feeling of suspense like the quote, "There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart - an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. " which is how the author feels when he thinks about the house. The author cannot bear to imagine the house because he has a dark and negative imagination with different fears he thinks can come to life because of how unsettling the house makes him feel. While suspense is a direct indication of a depressed and dark tone, some other Gothic elements can be used indirectly to describe negative values in the story.
Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.
In “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Poe’s use of dark, descriptive words allow him to establish an eerie mood. Poe’s unique style of writing along with his foreshadowing vocabulary is significant in creating a suspenseful gothic story. At the beginning of the short story, Poe describes the House of Usher to be “dull”, “oppressive”, and “dreary” (1265). His choice of words strongly emphasizes a mood of darkness and suspense as he builds on the horrific aspects of this daunting tale. At first glimpse, the house itself is surrounded by the feeling of “insufferable gloom”, (1265) “[t]here was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart, an unredeemed dreariness of thought [...]” (1265). The atmosphere that Poe describes in the statement above establishes a spine-chilling mood. Poe uses words such as “insufferable gloom”
The producer was aiming to create mystery and fear. The dark of the night and the description of the house as feeling dead in the protagonist’s narration sets a suspenseful scene filled with fear and tension. The young girl is followed by the camera as she explores the mansion. When entering the room suspected to be that of her aunts the camera leaves her side to pan around the room. The darkness doesn’t reveal everything but one becomes aware of a search. The revelation of little secrets leaves the viewer with many questions. The room is familiar to the protagonist as she finds items symbolic to her and familiar photographs. This familiarity however does not retract from suspicions that something sinister has been hidden. The producer has successfully captivated the viewer. The protagonist is being followed throughout the scene and has thus allowed for the viewer to bond with them. They are engaging with the audience through narration and have in return enticed the viewer to follow them along their journey. One feels nervous for the young girl however through tension in the scene one does not want them to discontinue the journey as too many questions have been left unanswered. One has been drawn into the world of which the protagonist dwells and is intrigued as to how the drama is
...out of all of the stories was “Redroom” and the one that I liked least was “Treasure in the Forest.” I liked “Redroom” because it has all of the features of a ghost story, it has a number of believable characters some of whom are exaggerated to make them seem more horrible than they really are. I particularly enjoyed the air of mystery created by the title and the words Wells uses “walked down the chilly, echoing passage.” To give a feeling of temperature and of the sounds being heard by the character. I liked “Treasure in the Forest” the least because of the way that Evans betrays Hooker even though he’s about to die.
I believe that there is another message in ‘The Signalman’ as during the story Dickens appears to criticize the railway. He makes the train sound threatening “Just then there came a vague vibration in the earth and air, quickly changing into a violent pulsation, and an oncoming rush that caused me to start back…” Also he seems to describe the signalman’s post and the whole railway cutting as dark, gloomy and uninviting. “His post was in as solitary and dismal a place as ever I saw. On either side, a dripping-wet wall of jagged stone, excluding all view but a strip of sky…”
In this essay, I am going to compare ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ by W.W Jacobs with ‘The Red Room’ by H.G Wells. I am going to examine how both the writers create suspense and mystery in the stories. ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ is basically about a paw which can be used to grant wishes for its owner. In humour, the White family make their first wish without considering what had happened to the people before them, also they are ignoring that the consequences will be disastrous. ‘The Red Room’ is about a man determined to prove that there are no ghosts in Lorraine Castle. In order to do so, he had to spend the night in the red room, ultimately a once in a life time experience. The two stories are only similar in the fact that they are both of the gothic horror genres and were both set before the 20th century.
...oreboding room where a family member died. The red-room is where Mr. Reed died and it adds to the gothic style as the room was red. Many things are associated with red. Red symbolises blood, death and the Devil. That makes the red room, daunting and terrifying. Jane sees the “ghost” of Mr. Reed, and thinks that he’s come from beyond the grave to take revenge on Mrs. Reed who broke her promise of treating Jane like one of her own. The mention of a ghost adds to the gothic away from chapter 26 in this novel.
The suspense is created by the different characters and many mysterious setting. In this story suspense is presented in a way to keep the reader engaged in the story. The main suspense begins with Helen Stoner telling her story to Sherlock Holmes. Helen told Holmes about the mysterious and strange events that occurred. The events such as, whistling in the middle of the night, as well as her sister’s mysterious death. Doyle describing the dark bedroom that Watson spend the night in, made the reader feel the suspense as if they were in the same room. He uses descriptions such as “...This is very interesting. You can see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where the little opening for the ventilator is” as well as “Holmes as we sat together in the gathering darkness” (Conan Doyle) made the reader more engaged into the story. Foreshadowing is also created in the story to give clues that suggest events that will occur later in the story. Foreshadowing is seemed to be seen when the pole rope was connected to a ventilator and the ventilator went to the next room. The poisonous snake was the weapon used to kill the daughter, by traveling through the