Compare and Contrast "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens and "The Withered Arm" by Thomas Hardy assessing, the authors' use of various elements of the mystery story tradition.

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Josh F Keeler                             December 5th 2001

English Literature Essay on Pre 1914 Prose (Literacy Tradition)

Compare and Contrast “The Signalman” by Charles Dickens and “The Withered Arm” by Thomas Hardy assessing;

  1. the authors’ use of various elements of the mystery story tradition  

including narrative structure, characterisation, theme, atmosphere and setting.

  1. the authors’ success or otherwise in writing effectively within the    

      tradition.

        The tradition of the mystery story begins with Gothic writing, around 1810.  From the Gothic story sub-categories were then created through a progression of stories.  These further categories were ghost story, horror and detective.  Each different category has some common key features which help to distinguish them and some other, now well known, stereotypical characteristics.  For instance, the ghost story can often be associated with the haunted house or such like.  However, these are not set boundaries and can be manipulated by the author to whatever extent they feel is necessary.  The first Gothic (horror) story that started the tradition was “The Castle of Otranto” by Horace Walpole in 1765.  This style of writing is therefore relatively new in comparison to other literacy styles.  It paved the way for some of the timeless classics that we are so familiar with such as the Sherlock Holmes series, probably the most famous detective series.  The style became very popular and some of the most famous stories that fall under these categories were written in the mid 1800’s.  

        Some of the world’s greatest authors soon adopted this style and altered it to their needs, as it left a lot of scope and open boundaries.  Two of Britain’s most renowned authors who wrote stories that fall into the mystery story category were Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy.  They have both written some of the most famous and enjoyable stories ever read, and their mystery stories are no exception.  The two stories analysed for this essay were “The Withered Arm” by Thomas Hardy and “The Signalman” by Charles Dickens, both prime examples of the mystery story tradition written in the 1800’s.  

        The first story that was analysed was “The Signalman”.  It is apparent from the very beginning that it is encompassed by an air of tension and ambiguity, making it the mysterious and intriguing read that it is.  The scene is set in a dark and ‘unusually precipitous’ railway cutting with a solitary figure, the signalman, standing by the line monitoring the track.  A key theme, which is present throughout the story, is apparent from this very first scene – a feeling of isolation.  One of the most important features of the ghost story is an unholy or spooky setting, which evokes a feeling of tension in the reader.  This is achieved with the darkness and isolation portrayed by the railway cutting, as the signalman is cut off from the rest of civilisation.  The possible outcomes from this ideal setting are numerous and keep the reader guessing.  The railway cutting is the equivalent of that of a haunted house in the typical horror story, perfect for supernatural happenings.  It is important that such a provocative setting is achieved at the start of the story as it entices the readers.  The setting will also mirror that of the atmosphere and a vague likelihood of possible outcomes.  Dickens creates the scene very well, describing it through the observations of the narrator.

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        For some reason the narrator is calling to the signalman “Halloa!  Below there!” and these are the first words at the beginning of the story which have little or no explanation.  This immediately sets our minds wondering what he could be doing, and it is a technique also used by Dickens to capture the attention of the reader from the beginning.  After some time it becomes apparent that it is a signalman he is calling to, but the tension is increased by the way the signalman reacts to the other man’s call, ‘instead of looking up to where I stood, ...

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