How does Charles Dickens create suspense and fear in 'The Signalman?'

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The Signalman

How does Charles Dickens create suspense and fear in ‘The Signalman?’

      Charles Dickens uses many methods to create suspense and fear in ‘The Signalman’ story.  He introduces fear to make the short, ghost story more interesting.

      Dickens set his ghost story on a railway line, which at the same time has a very modern setting and not a traditional dark, crooked old house. The tale begins with a gripping and dramatic opening line, which instantly grabs the reader’s attention.

        The first line introduces the narrator who was left anonymous throughout the story. This instantly builds up tension, as the reader does not know what sort of a person the narrator really is. When the narrator is a character in the story, it makes it easier to know how the person is feeling; this makes the reader more aware of the character and can begin to relate to them.  

          Charles Dickens begins to create fear and suspense in the first couple of lines. The story begins with “halloa! Below there!”  The words were shouted by a mysterious figure standing above the cutting on top of the bridge. It leaves us guessing who had shouted the words; all we know at this point is that it was a figure in the distance.  ‘Halloa’ was an informal welcome in the late 19th century. This greeting automatically tells us that it was written in an earlier period. Today, if we were to greet a person we would simply say ‘hello’ or ‘hi’.  In the 19th century, people became more wary and suspicious of trains. There were many accidents during this time because people were only just getting used to the new type of transport. This connects the reader with the story because accidents are a main element to support the fear and suspense.

          The setting is also a main ingredient to create suspense and fear.  ‘The signalman’ is set in a remote area right from the start, which is quite mysterious. There is a sense of an uncertain atmosphere when ‘considering the nature of the ground………over his head’; this tells us that they are on different levels, so anything could happen. ' His post was in a solitary and dismal place as ever I saw'; around the signal box was described as if the area was isolated. When the author wrote ‘in a glow of an angry sunset’, it provides a negative feeling to the reader that something quite awful has happened or is going to happen.

           Suspense also occurred after the stranger shouts below to the signalman ‘he turned himself about and looked down the line’. We get the feeling that he was expecting something to happen; at this point, we are not quite sure why he behaved in such a manner. When he shouts out again we begin to think that whatever he expected was an illusion and he eventually looked up to the man with no hesitation.  After the narrator shouted the second time the signalman raised his head. We are aware that the signalman acts very peculiar as if he is not human, his actions seem as though he hasn’t seen a fellow human in years.  It makes us think that the signalman is not fully focused the first time he hears the voice and/or that the signalman is mentally ill. The narrator describes him as a “dark sallow man”, and “ he had a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows”, this describes him in a negative way, which makes us wonder if he is a man. This can create an uncertain atmosphere between the two characters and the reader. In addition, after the stranger asked the signalman ‘is there a path by which I can come down and speak to you?’ he does not reply for a while. It seemed as though the signalman was questioning the existence of the stranger; ‘ he looked up at me without replying’ he also doesn’t seem to move or speak, gives us a reminder that his behaviour is not similar to a human. Instead of the signalman answering in a polite manner, verbally, he points his flag the direction of the path leading to him. We get the feeling that the signalman is confused, he doesn’t answer verbally when it would have been easier, and he simply points his flag.  Further on in the sentence ‘and I looked down at him without pressing him too soon with a repetition of my idle question’; indicates that maybe the signalman and the stranger had locked their eyes on each other, with the stranger waiting for a response to his question, and the signalman is just standing there, not co-operating at all.  

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       Charles Dickens used a short metaphoric phrase to produce fear in the next paragraph by describing the railway line as a  ‘deep trench’. The reader would be reminded that the signalman did not have any visitors because of the isolated depressing location.  

        Tension is increased when ‘there came a vague vibration in the earth and air, quickly changing into a violent pulsation.’ This is important because the author describes something unnatural and dangerous. It immediately disrupts the signalman when he is about to answer the man. From the reader’s point of ...

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