"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.
How W.W. Jacobs, H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens Create Suspense in their Gothic Horror Stories
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'.
towards the reader to what is the man like but later in the story this
“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.”
During the adolescence of modern American literature, two authors, Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne, fabricated the definition of American literature with new writing styles. These pieces of literature include “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Masque of Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe. Throughout these stories, Hawthorne and Poe develop the common theme that denial of imperfections, by personal choice, leads to physical and psychological separation from society. Those who remain isolated will endure more psychological suffering than those who are part of society. In “Young Goodman Brown”, the protagonist, Goodman Brown, mentally isolates himself from his peers because he cannot accept that sin is an integral part of society. However, as a result of his dissociation from society and the isolation thereof, Goodman Brown endures even more emotional suffering. In “The Masque of Red Death”, the protagonist, Prince Prospero, isolates himself from society in order to escape death. Because of his isolation, he endures more mental suffering than if he remained incorporated within society.
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 ...
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.
Comparing a traditional murder story with an unconventional one The Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Doyle Lamb To The Slaughter by Roald Dahl The speckled band is written in a very genre, this genre is murder mystery. The speckled band was one of the first in a long line of fantastic short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In my essay I will be looking closely at the events and their layout in the story very closely. I will also be explaining why certain events are expected to happen, and on top of all of this I will explain the characteristics of the characters.
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.
If there is one common thread between his fictional and non-fictional writing, it is a deep obsession for crime and law. As Collins suggests, Dickens's "concern for crime was . . . more persistent and more serious than most men's" (1). He then adds that crime during the Victorian age, like today, "was an inescapable social problem" and that "Dickens is conspicuous among great novelists for his passion for dramatizing and commenting ...
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…”
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
Charles Dickens is well known for his distinctive writing style. Few authors before or since are as adept at bringing a character to life for the reader as he was. His novels are populated with characters who seem real to his readers, perhaps even reminding them of someone they know. What readers may not know, however, is that Dickens often based some of his most famous characters, those both beloved or reviled, on people in his own life. It is possible to see the important people, places, and events of Dickens' life thinly disguised in his fiction. Stylistically, evidence of this can be seen in Great Expectations. For instance, semblances of his mother, father, past loves, and even Dickens himself are visible in the novel. However, Dickens' past influenced not only character and plot devices in Great Expectations, but also the very syntax he used to create his fiction. Parallels can be seen between his musings on his personal life and his portrayal of people and places in Great Expectations.
In the tale, the historical technique has been used quite perfectly. Dickens uses the element of history not only to advance the plot, but also to show connections between life in the eighteenth century and the novel. Another way Dickens’ uses history is to show the partnership between evil and history itself (Allingham). Dickens showed how the population felt about the government, how they acted, and what the end result was. He did all of this while advancing the storyline. He also continued to develop the many characters of the book. He also showed many connections between the novel and history including characters, events, places, and overall feelings.