There are many times in which you can see the characteristic language of the time in Oliver Twist, where Fagin is referred to as, - “The Jew.” It is obvious to us that this book was written in the eighteen hundreds as now, it is politically incorrect, to call someone, “ a Jew.” In the ‘Signalman,’ Dickens uses another factor in which is known as “his” style – “That light was part of his change? Was it not?” He uses rhetorical questions like this to make the reader think Charles Dickens also uses alliteration a lot in most of his books, a great example of this is in ‘Oliver Twist’ – “Face to face, he looked fixedly”.
In his books he uses great descriptions of the weather to create mystery and suspense. A good example of this is in the ‘Signalman,’ - “a gloomy red light.” Usually the red light (used to tell the driver to STOP) is a very bright, glaring light, but in Dickens’ description, it is gloomy. This shows the vast amount of fog that wreathed the railway cutting; this description creates mystery of suspense. Another example of when Dickens uses the weather is in, A Christmas Carol, “It was a cold, bleak, biting weather; foggy withal.” Here Dickens uses three adjectives, often called ‘tripling.’ In this single quote we can see many of his techniques, he uses tripling, descriptive words, and alliteration. He also refers to the fog, as if everything is lined with it and it is hard to see anything, added together these factors certainly create mystery and suspense. In Oliver Twist, he again uses the weather to create mystery and suspense, “the dead of the night.” This is the period of time in the middle of the night when everything is quiet and the cold, foggy weather seeps through to every crack and crevice. I think this quote creates mystery and suspense as it again refers to death.
Dickens characters have certainly played a big part in his success as a writer. In all three books Dickens uses great descriptions of his characters to add mystery and suspense. An example of this is in the Signalman, with his description of the Signalman, “a dark sallow man with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows.” This description of the Signalman is quite vague, but creates mystery very well, mainly because there is a repetition of the word ‘dark.’ In A Christmas Carol, Dickens’ descriptions of Scrooge are not just of his physical appearance, but by the things he says and does. An example of Scrooges evilness is shown when a charity supporting orphans visits his office. Scrooge says, “are there no prisons?!” This is just one of the examples when Scrooge is brought across as evil. Fagin, in Oliver Twist, is also one of Dickens’ main characters. He uses vivid descriptions of Fagin to create mystery and suspense, “face so pale and distorted and pale and eyes so red and bloodshot….. like a hideous phantom moist from the grave.” This description makes you picture Fagin, and his eyes, his appearance. Dickens also refers to death, by saying, “moist from the grave.” This part alone creates mystery and suspense.
In most of his books, Dickens uses his past experiences, in work and poverty, to enhance the mystery and suspense. He also uses hidden moralistic themes like good versus evil, wealth divide, and the position of women. He uses these to get his message across and to have a positive effect on the reader.
A great example of when he uses devices to show direct focus on the reader is the murder of Nancy, in Oliver Twist, “the murderer staggering backward to the wall seized a heavy club and struck her down.” This has a great effect on the reader as they will be shocked at the brutal murder of Nancy. Another example of this is in A Christmas Carol when Scrooge views his own gravestone, “he read upon the stone of the neglected grave, his own name, EBENEZER SCROOGE.” Here Dickens has a great effect on the reader as now, they are feeling sorry for Scrooge as he is realising how bad he has been to other people. The death of the Signalman, in The Signalman, is also a great shock tactic, “I waved this arm to the last, but it was no use.” (This is a quote from the driver of the train.) This part of the storyline creates mystery and suspense by surprising the audience with the death of the main character.
Through studying Dickens’ books it is clear that he uses many techniques to create mystery and suspense. Some of these techniques include the language he uses, the weather, great descriptions of characters, moralistic themes and his use of past experiences. I think that Dickens’ most effective use of creating mystery and suspense, is his elaborate descriptions, of everything. I think these descriptions really make the reader think and imagine the vivid descriptions that Dickens’ uses. I believe that this would not be possible if Dickens’ did not use such great descriptive writing and many other of his techniques.