Comparing The Monkey's Paw and The Signalman

Comparing The Monkey's Paw and The Signalman

In these two short stories both authors write gothic tale stories.

Both authors use gothic tale features e.g they use darkness, isolation

and use of senses. Both authors’ u similar methods to create tension

e.g. they both use repetition and short sentences. They both use their

senses e.g. in the monkeys paw they use their sense of hearing and

feeling, for example they hear the door knocking and use a lot of

sight through Mr.White cant see where the monkeys paw is and he use

his sense of feeling to try and find it on the floor. In the signalman

they use a lot of feeling, for example

“It was made of a clammy stone, that became oozier and wetter as I

went down.”

In “The monkeys paw” W.W.Jacobs creates tension several times e.g.

when the sergeant-major says

“Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud” then says

“But I warn you of the consequences,” and then Mr.White wishes

straight after. He makes a lot of tension when the man is walking back

and forth outside of Mr.White’ gate, and then when he finally comes to

the door he starts to use short sentences and a lot of question asking

e.g.

“Is anything the matter? She asked breathlessly. Has anything happened

to Herbert? What is it? What is it?” He creates a lot of tension at

the end of the story when they wish Herbert to live again, there was

several knock and as his wife goes to open the door he just gets to

wish before his wife opens the door. There is a lot of tension after

they first wished ten Herbert was down stairs on his own and simian

faces started to appear in the fire, this creates tension because you

wonder what is Herbert going to react to it.

The story opens with a hook. It tells you that it’s going to be some

kind of horror ghost story because it tells you what type of setting

e.