Then on the other hand the narrator is unrestricted, liberated, and independent…free! He can do as he pleases, be irresponsible and selfish if he wishes. He doesn’t have to worry about anyone but himself, and his actions only affect him. The Signal Mans actions affect everyone on the train that passes him.
Throughout the exposition Dickens repeatedly mentions the fact that the Narrator is high above the Signal Man, and the Signal Man is far below.
The setting employed an enormous part in producing a feeling of obscurity. Within the first paragraph of the story Dickens has originated an enigmatic set, for example ‘…nature of the ground…,’ and ‘… steep cutting…,’ and‘…his figure was foreshortened and shadowed, down in the deep trench, and mine was high above him, so steeped in the glow of an angry sunset….’ Another long description of the set gives the basis and then Dickens gives some extra, small descriptions, which add to the ever-increasing bazaar set. These descriptions like ‘…solitary and dismal place as ever I saw…’ '…jagged stone excluding all view, but a strip of sky…,’ ‘…great dungeon…,’ 'gloomier entrance…,’ ‘barbarous, depressing and forbidding air…’ ,'…lonesome post,’ as you can see these small descriptions poured out of Dickens like a never ending river. In my opinion the small descriptions contributed to the enigmatic situation more so than the large descriptions, as the large description consisted of large amounts of facts rather than the more interesting, revealing descriptions, they give the whole piece a tight structure.
Dialogue has a fair role in the story it controlled a vast amount of the exposition, it introduces the two main characters and adds to the setting of the scene, though the narrator’s thoughts largely build the scene up. There are only a few large gaps without dialogue between the characters.
Dickens benefits from his use of the human senses to perplex the reader and create the impression of mystery. The beginning of the short story applies the sense of hearing. At the start of the story it informs the reader that the narrator is calling to the Signal Man. ‘halloa! Below!’ this is the initiating feeling of enigma as the narrator. ‘…would have thought, considering the nature of the ground, that he could not have doubted from what quarter the voice came….’ The narrator carries on in explaining that, ‘…instead of looking up to where I stood on the steep cutting nearly over his head he turned himself about and looked down the line…’ .the narrator is astounded at this ‘There was something remarkable’, he thinks.
This introduction then merges into the sense sight. Dickens describes the Signal Man’s bodily movements to reinforce his actions providing more to the bazaar circumstances, Dickens uses pathetic fallacy as he describes an ‘…angry sunset…’ to adjoin to increase dramatic tension.
As the story progresses the sense of touch is introduced. He speaks of ‘…clammy stone…,’ this quote gives me the feeling of an eerie surrounding, and as he clambers down the deep cutting, it evolves into a, ‘…oozier and wetter…’ wall.
Later Dickens comments on the, ‘…earthly deadly smell…’ which is the third sense used that has given an eerie atmosphere. He talks of touch again. The cold wind rushes, that go through the deep cutting that, ‘…struck chill to me…’ this alone bestows an odd impression. However he continues in revealing that he suspects it had, ‘…left the natural world…’
From all the senses, sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing, each one except taste is used to present conundrum in the plot.
The complication of the story is the part where the lives of the characters are complicated in some way. The complication comes in the ‘Signal man’ when the Signal Man confides in the narrator that he is troubled.
Again Dickens uses hearing to confer the words more of an uncanny affect and says, ‘…in the low voice in which he first spoken….’ The Signal Man says, ‘…I am troubled, sir, I am troubled….’ The Signal Man refuses to tell the narrator until tomorrow adding suspense. S the narrator talks of ‘…his manner seemed to make the place strike colder to me….’ He requests that he shouldn’t call out, without stating the reason, in my opinion this is very strange. He says he will show a white light in ‘…his peculiar low voice…’ this I find is very freaky and therefore continues to increase the suspense.
The Signal Man later questions why the narrator called out. Finally the reader is told he is questioning as, ‘…you had no feeling that they were conveyed to you in any supernatural way….’
The Signal Man tells the narrator about ‘…an imaginary cry….’ He mentions seeing an appearance, ‘after the appearance.’ The Signal Man explains to the narrator that he saw an appearance then an ‘accident on the line happened,’ and about ‘the dead and the wounded,’ this all adds tension to the situation as the plot thickens, and the recognition of esoteric grows.
In a traditional short story the plot often begins, moves up a slope of increasing excitement or suspense, reaches a point of climax and then quickly descends and ends.
In the short story ‘The Signal Man’ I would say the moment of climax occurs when the narrator takes a ‘stroll’ and sees ‘the appearance of a man,’ he describes, ‘the thrill that seized upon me’ and the, ‘nameless horror that oppressed me.’ He then inquires ‘what is the matter,’ and the man replies informing the narrator that the Signal Man was, ‘killed this morning, sir.’
After the climax there is usually some kind of resolution, however in my opinion there is no satisfactory resolution as the narrator asks, ‘how did this happen?’ The train driver explains and it is left with that after the narrator finally says that he doesn’t want to ‘dwell on any one of these curios circumstances.
Through this ending Dickens involves the reader encouraging them to come to their own conclusion and invent their own resolution. Ultimately it leaves us with a sense of mystery.
