A Sense of Atmosphere in Several Short Stories

A Sense of Atmosphere in Several Short Stories

One of the main ways that the authors create the atmosphere in all the

stories is by the setting of the scene. In some of the stories the

scene is set using vivid descriptions and building it up bit by bit.

In 'The Signalman' the scene is set and built up as the narrator

travels further down into the cutting.

"The cutting was extremely deep, and unusually precipitate. It was

made through a clammy stone, that became oozier and wetter as I went

down."

This is effective as it helps create an eerie, scary atmosphere which

emphasizes it is a scary ghost story.

In 'An Arrest' the scene is set by having a bit of background

information being thrown in at the beginning of the story which just

gives us an idea of what is happening as we are thrown straight into

the story. We are also thrown straight into the story in two of the

other shorter stories 'The Superstitious Man's Story' and 'Napoleon

and the Spectre.' At the beginning of those stories the reader is

being spoken to by the author which brings you straight in. "William,

as you know, was a curios, silent man," is a clever way of introducing

the character William from 'The Superstitious Man's Story' rather

quickly.

"Well, as I was saying, the Emperor got into bed." 'Napoleon and the

Spectre'

"Having murdered his brother-in-law, Orrin Brower of Kentuckywas a

fugitive from justice." 'An Arrest'

The setting is also particular to the genre. The stories 'An Arrest',

'Napoleon and the Spectre', and 'The Signalman' are all ghost stories

and are set at night or in the dark, but this does not always have to

be the case. In ...

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...Charles Dickens describes the signalman's post in this way.

"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 perspective one way only a crooked

prolongation of this great dungeon."

In that extract the dripping-wet wall of jagged stone excluding the

view of the sky appeals to three of our senses, touch, because it is

wet, sound, because it's dripping and sight because of the strip of

sky. The metaphor of the dungeon helps add to this as we think of

dungeons as dark, dank, horrible places. Another effective extract

from 'The Signalman' is "it had an earthy, deadly smell." In 'An

Arrest' there is a description "when he was deep in shadow and he knew

the other was in moonlight" that plays on our sense of sight.