"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens and "The Darkness Out There" by Penelope Lively Comparing 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens and 'The Darkness Out There' by Penelope Lively is an ideal way of looking at two authors from different times and backgrounds. Dickens, writing in the nineteenth century, would have had a very different audience to write for from Lively, writing in the twentieth century. Therefore, each author uses different techniques to create tension in the two pieces. During the nineteenth century there was a strong belief in ghosts and the spiritual world; telling ghost stories around the fireplace is often seen as a typical form of Victorian entertainment. Dickens draws on this tradition to create a short story that would have strongly appealed to readers of that time. Lively, however, is not writing for an audience that would enjoy a ghost story as much, therefore 'The Darkness Out There,' is not blatently a ghost story. To capture her readers' interests she instead uses the war and the attitudes to the Germans as a focus of concern. As Dickens lived in a time when the Queen was married to a man of German origin, war with Germany was very unlikely. This meant he had to use an alternate approach to draw the audience into the story. For this he used the recent invention of the steam train to gain a foothold into the reader's minds. This was already causing a lot of anxiety so it would have been easy to take advantage of the reader. He uses this approach to create tension. Another way the writers create tension is by exploring elements of the unknown. They both do this but in contrasting ways. In 'The Signalman,' the unknown is explicitly explored and it is obviously a ghost story from ... ... middle of paper ... ...s and Lively create tension through their use of plot, characters, style and setting. The eerie "Packers End" matches the claustrophobia enhancing setting of 'The Signalman'. Dickens' anonymous characters of the narrator and the signalman keep the readers on edge in 'The Signalman,' whereas Sandra's naivety, Kerry's suspicious nature and Mrs Rutter's seeming innocence then the abrupt exposure of true character build up tension and surprise in 'The Darkness Out There.' Dickens' compacted plot works well to hold the reader's attention and the build up to Lively's final climax keeps her audience hooked to the end. On the whole both authors use events of their time well to create suspense. I feel that although Dickens appears to do this more effectively, the seeming normality yet the sense of unease about 'The Darkness Out There' creates just as much tension.
In Dahl’s short story and in Jacob’s short story, both depict suspense through tone and description. For example, in the “The Landlady”, the narrator stated, “I stuff all my little pets.” This example reveals suspense by providing the landlady killed and stuffed her pets. Furthermore,
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.
Firstly it overly digresses and secondly its digressions are sporadic and rather erratic. With these digressions McEwan is able to manipulate the reader. This is the key to tension. 'The beginning is simple to mark. We were in sunlight...' To explicate my meaning we read the first paragraph of the novel and are quite beautifully caught in the flow of language.
Men and Women in The Withered Arm and Other Stories by Thomas Hardy and Men and Women in Turned by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
2011 Two Different Mice and Two Different Men To the average reader, “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck may initially look very similar, but after carefully critiquing and comparing their abundance of differences, their opinion will change. Steinbeck found his inspiration for writing the novel after reading that poem. His novel is set in Salinas, CA during the 1900s and is about migrant farm workers while the poem is about the guilt felt by one man after he inadvertently ruins the “home” of a field mouse with his plow. Even though they are two different genres of literature, they share a similar intent. The poem is written in first person, while the novel is written in third person.
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek to find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
The time and way people are brought up in society makes a huge difference on how they will climb up the social scale in life. In the classic novel House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton and Call it Sleep, by Henry Roth the main characters experience totally different upbringings into society. While Lily Bart is brought up into a high class society, David is born into an immigrant family in a part of the city, which has similar people as his own country. The two characters in the novels both have different and some similar views on how to climb up on the social scale. Although they would give different advice to each other on how to climb the social scale, and have different views on life, one thing that would be common would be to have money.
Suspense and Tension in The Red Room by H.G.Wells and The Signalman by Charles Dickens
Dickens used his great talent by describing the city London were he mostly spent his time. By doing this Dickens permits readers to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the aged city, London. This ability to show the readers how it was then, how ...
elements and devices, perhaps one of the most important is through the representation of characters. By developing characters, novelists can express ideas as well as commentaries, and this can be further enriched by providing a foil. Conventionally defined as another character who contrasts with the main character, a foil helps emphasize the attributes of the latter while strengthening the message of the story. The two novels that feature foils discussed in the past 4 years are Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice and Kate Chopin’s 1899 novel The Awakening. In the novels The Awakening and Pride and Prejudice the characteristic foils that are encountered with Edna Pontellier and Adele Ratignolle flow with Charlotte Lucas and Elizabeth Bennet, as they ignite their individual qualities that not only contrast with each other but by comparison aid in illustrating important themes regarding the life of submission and dependence that women led during the 19th century.
Both story openings, although composed differently, draw the reader in. Both author?s, Albert Camus and Charles Dickens, use a variety of techniques, which are all very effective when the author uses them to his will. Either way we get a clear and pointed view of the spot-lit aspects that the author wants us to focus on, and maybe sometime miss the subtle, important information between the lines that are not the centre of attention at that moment in the story.
What comes to mind first when dealing with the lively imagination of Dickens is the creative and detailed picture he gives. In describing Dr. Manette, for instance, Dickens exaggerates his characterization by saying Manette’s voice was like “the last feeble echo of a sound made long, long ago.” From this alone you can hear the faintness of his voice and feel the suppressed dreadfulness of his past. In this way, the sentimentality of it all gets the reader involved emotionally and makes the character come alive.
Throughout A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens repeats a number of symbols and motifs. By employing these two literary devices throughout the duration of the story, Dickens is working to emphasize the importance of these specific components of the story. Motifs and symbols represent repeating ideas that help the reader to understand, as well as highlight the author’s central idea. Dickens employs the usage of symbols and motifs, such that by using both he adds a layer of significance and deeper meaning to actions, people, as well as objects. Additionally, by using symbols and motifs, Dickens is able to create a story in which both the characters, and the plot are interwoven.
Wagenknecht, Edward. “Charles Dickens.” Short Story Criticism. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Rpt. of “’Dickens at Work: The Chimes’ in Dickens and the Scandalmongers: Essays in Criticism .” Univeristy of Oklahoma Press Feb. 1965: 50-70. Literature Criticism Online. Web. 30 Jan. 2010.
you told me all?' A modern way to express this is 'But have you told