In ‘The Signalman’ the narrator is telling the story, it was written in first person, with an unnamed narrator. This has the effect that the story is being told from his point of view. In ‘The Withered Arm’ the author is telling the story, this is called third person. It was written in third person so that it can focus on different characters. This gives the effect that the story is being told from the author’s point of view but gives you different opinions.
‘The Withered Arm’ took place over a number of years whereas ‘The Signalman’ took place over only a few days. Both Dickens’s and Hardy’s stories begin with a ‘spectre’ or a ‘vision’. Both Rhoda and the signalman are severely affected by the visions. In ‘The Signalman’ the signalman tells the narrator that he has been haunted by a ‘spectre’ for the third time and he wondered about whether it was warning him of something. He asks himself allsorts of questions. The questions ‘What is the danger? Where is the danger?’ shows that he is scared of what the ghost is haunting him for and whether or not is he going to harm him.
In ‘The Withered Arm’ Rhoda’s ‘vision’ which happened while she was asleep has an effect so significant that it makes Rhoda ‘ Maddened mentally’ and leaves her ‘Gasping for breath’. Rhoda ‘seized’ the spectre by its ‘obstructive left arm’. After this happened she is run down that she wondered whether her past name calling of a ‘witch’ could be true or not. As she thought now that she might have ‘malignant powers’. All this causes her to feel guilty and the one to blame. The end of Hardy’s story is Gertrude trying to find a cure for her ‘ailment’. The cure most successful is for her to ‘touch with the limb the neck of a man who’s been hanged’, ‘Before he’s cold – just after he has been cut down’. Gertrude did not like the idea of doing this but she went along with it and went to a hanging to touch the criminal’s limb. In the end the criminal turned out to be the son of Rhoda and Mr Lodge. Gertrude and Mr Lodge both die and Mr Lodge leaves his money to Rhoda.
In ‘The Withered Arm’ there are a lot of different settings however in ‘The Signalman’ there is only one main setting. In both Hardy and Dickens’s story there is a setting, which is ‘isolated’, quiet and away from everyone and everything. Rhoda’s cottage was on a ‘lonely spot’ and ‘lay apart from that of the others’. In ‘The Signalman’ the setting was ‘solitary and dismal’ and ‘this great dungeon’.
Information is withheld so that it makes the reader want to read on and gets them thinking about what is going to happen next and why. The settings, characters, and situations help to build up the suspense by giving the reader hints about what is going to happen next. In ‘The Withered Arm’ we are not told how Gertrude got the ailment on her arm or who Gertrude seen in the cup as her enemy. Both of them remain a mystery and keep the readers guessing. Also both of these questions we are left with and keep the readers wondering.
In ‘The Withered Arm’ there is a lot of characters but in ‘The Signalman’ there are very few. Hardy describes his characters as a ‘thin fading woman’, ‘a lady complete’, ‘like an actor’, ‘poor lad’ and a ‘conjuror’. Dickens describes his characters as ‘well educated’ and ‘conscientious man’. Both Rhoda and the signalman are ‘lonely’ and ‘isolated’ which show a similarity in characters. Both Gertrude and the signalman become desperate after their visions. Gertrude becomes so desperate, that she does not stop until she finds a cure that actually works. The signalman becomes desperate to find out why the spectre keeps appearing and what it wants. In ‘The Withered Arm’ Rhoda’s sons name is not told, this gives the effect that he is not wanted or that he is not as important as the other characters are. In ‘The Signalman’ both the signalman and the narrator are unnamed, this gives the effect that it does not matter what their names are and that the plot of the story is more important. It also makes it seem strange and eerie having a story with unnamed characters.
In ‘The Withered Arm’ and ‘The Signalman’ the theme is supernatural.
In ‘The Withered Arm’ there is a good balance of narrative, description and dialogue. Hardy uses dialect because it was set in Dorset and this dialogue would have been used there in that time. Words like ‘a’ ready’, ‘tis’ and ‘ha’n’t’ where used in that period of time. ‘The Withered Arm’ uses different syntax as this is how it would have been used in the time it was set. For example ‘he do bring home his bride tomorrow’ would be written in this time as, he brings back his bride tomorrow. Hardy uses antiquated language typical of the period written in, Dickens also. Both writers make use of brackets much Dickens more than Hardy. In ‘The Signalman’ the signalman uses many rhetorical questions, showing that he could be nervous or scared of the spectre.
I prefer ‘The Withered Arm’ as this is more interesting and is an easy story to read and understand. The storyline is better although there are more characters, settings, and relationships between people, which make it more interesting. ‘The Signalman’, I think is harder to understand although there are fewer characters, settings and relationships. Overall I think ‘The Withered Arm’ is the better of the two and I prefer it, as it is easy to understand.
