In contrast to this setting, The Call is set in 1984.
This is proved by doing a simple mathematical calculation. Agness Todd was first reported missing on Christmas Eve 1964 and she had been calling the Samaritans for the last 20 years. By adding twenty to 1964, the year of the setting is 1984.
The use of modern inventions in The Call shows that the story is set more recently. ‘The emergency phone rang’. During the Victorian period they were not used as a form of communication. Instead, the old fashioned telegraph system existed.
Also, the flushing toilet is a modern convenience, which would not have been in households or offices in Dickens’ time. ‘Toilet flush’ During the Victorian era they did not have indoor flushing toilets, they had toilets outside, which were directly connected to the sewage system, which did not flush.
Additional modern devices like the use of cars places The Call in the 20th century. ‘My wife tooted our car horn’. In Victorian times only rich people owned cars. Which meant people who did voluntary work could not have afforded cars, also women did not work in the Victorian era, it was the men who worked.
There are a number of similarities and differences in the stories. Both stories are ghost stories. ‘Did he know she was a …..? Geoff still couldn’t say it.’ both stories drop vital clues about ghostly happenings.
In these ghost stories death or near death happens, through ghostly goings on. ‘They caught her on the very edge. Each of them caught her by one arm.’ If Meg had not have been caught she would have walked over the edge and possibly died in the cold water. If Meg had of walked over they would have had to call for help to rescue her.
In both stories the ghosts communicate through bells ‘When the emergency phone went.’ In The Call Agness Todd called the Samaritans by telephone and in The Signalman the ghost contacted The Signalman through the telegraph system. Through these phone calls the ghosts make Meg and the signalman afraid for themselves.
Both main characters are affected by the ghostly apparition. ‘Meg looked at the black wet road and shivered again.’ The ghost managed to disturb the signalman’s thoughts as he could not focus on his job properly.
Both Meg and Geoff are isolated from help because when they ring Tom Brent for help he just says ‘it’s a hoax call’. The signalman is also isolated from help because if he tells his authorities of his ‘sightings’ they might think that he is going insane and he might get ‘displaced’. If you were insane in the Victorian period you would be put in prison or perhaps killed.
Both settings are dark and damp. The Call is set at midnight at Christmas time; the middle of winter. ‘The snow’s melting, not even laying’ creating a bleak atmosphere. The Signalman’s’ environment is dark not just because of the time of day but because of the position of the railway ‘so little sunlight ever found its way to this spot’.
Finally, both stories are written in 1st person narrative. The authors use this technique because it is more believable. If someone is saying it from their point of view, it is more realistic.
When you compare them, there are a number of differences in the stories. One difference is that The Signalman is pre 20th century and The Call is post 20th century. This is shown by the jobs each character does, the use of language and the inclusion of modern inventions.
Lastly the endings are different. The Call has a closed ending making the reader assume that the ghostly apparition will stop ringing. But The Signalman is open suggesting that the ghost might return again.
In The Call and in The Signalman there are also similarities in the language.
The language in The Call is not as formal as the language in The Signalman. ‘Signalman killed this morning sir.’ Nowadays the train driver would not address the visitor as ‘sir’. It is common to use ‘sir’ when talking to someone of high status. But in Dickens’ time it was common to address someone like this.
As well as the formality of the language in The Signalman, Dickens’ uses long descriptive sentences. ‘ I resumed my downward way, and stepping out upon the level of the railroad and drawing nearer to him, saw he was a dark sallow man with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows.’ The majority of Dickens’ sentences are over descriptive. Nowadays authors tend to use shorter sentences instead of one long one, so that it is easier to read.
Also, the vocabulary of The Call is more understandable. ‘Being young and keen, they both grabbed for it.’ The language used here shows how modern The Call is. In contrast to this, The Signalman uses difficult vocabulary. ‘Precipitate, saturine, dink’. None of these words are used regularly today.
Most of The Signalman is written in an old fashioned style. ‘When he heard a voice thus calling to him’. In the Victorian society words like ’thus’ were commonly used.
Another difference in the language of the two stories is the word order. In The Signalman the word order is very different than what is used today. ‘Said I’. Dickens’ word order is very unusual, but it does help to ensure the writing stays very formal.
One feature that was found when both texts were analysed was that both authors use suspense techniques to build mood, atmosphere and tension.
In The Call the ghost will not reveal who she is. In the story when the caller is asked for her name. ‘What can I call you? A voice broke through the crackle. A female voice… He’s going to kill me. I know he’s going to kill me.’ This creates suspense because it makes the reader want to know who she is and why ‘he’ is going to kill her.
Throughout The Call, Westall delays the narrative by making the phone go dead, so you don’t know what is going to happen. ‘Geoff heard the line go dead again. He thought Meg looked like a corpse herself, white as a sheet.’ This shows suspense because it forces the reader to speed up, as they want to find out why Meg is like this.
In The Call, Robert Westall uses short sentences to build suspense. ‘The same voice’. This makes the reader ask questions. It makes the reader increase their pace; it creates a sense of breathlessness.
Robert Westall also creates suspense by describing things exactly as they are ‘midnight exactly, according to his new watch’. This makes the reader question why ‘exactly’?
Westall also uses suspense techniques in The Call when he uses questioning phrases ‘the line went dead’. This makes the reader want to know what happens next, so the reader will want to read on.
Finally the tone of voice that the ghost uses clearly affects Meg ‘It’s not the phrase that was awful it was the tone’. This creates suspense for the reader because it makes the reader curious about the kind of person who is at the end of the telephone.
Dickens’ similarly uses many suspense techniques. He makes the visitor go back so that the reader has to wait ‘I had appointed to return, accordingly. This creates suspense as the reader has to keep reading to find out what happens to the signalman.
The author will not reveal why the signalman is depressed ‘but I am troubled sir, I am troubled’. This makes the reader question why he is troubled, forcing the reader on.
Finally, Dickens’ uses the actions of the characters. He uses the reactions of the signalman ‘Turned his face to the bell when it DID NOT ring.’ When the reader reads this they will be mysterious as to why the signalman acted like this. It is a good suspense technique which will make the reader intrigued and read faster to find out what happens.
As a result of analysing these two chilling stories, my preference is The Call as it is easier to understand. This is due to it being a more modern story. Also it is my preference because Westalls’ suspense techniques are more effective. Further more compared to The Signalman, The Call has a better storyline.
