Charles Dickens has used the title to create suspense. The title creates suspense as it consists of an eponymous character. An eponymous character is a character whose name is in the title while also being the focus of the book. Charles Dickens creates suspense and terror, dread and fear even in his title. This is because, without even reading the story, the title can make the reader question the uncertainty and the unknown of the story. Moreover, the fact that it’s called “The Signalman” can create suspense and apprehension as it could be referring to all signalmen and people could doubt the trust of who is in charge of such a new apparatus to their everyday lives and also doubt the certainty.
In terms of language, Charles Dickens has used an array of description words to create suspense. Dickens has used words to describe and show that the railway is gloomy, depressing and eerie. For example “forbidding air” and “left the natural world” gives an impression that it is similar to a grave, and one can picture a forbidden place to be in which it is very dark and gloomy. Dickens also uses repetition. For example “there was…there was…there were…there were” which shows that things described in the short story are solid, touchable and not imagery. This puts the reader in a position of uncertainty as everything is described accurately and makes the reader aware of such a realistic surrounding. Moreover, Dickens has used dialogue to show that the signalman is mentally tortured by the responsibility of his job. “Why not tell me…why not tell me?” By using repetition in the signalman’s speech, it proves the mental state that the signalman is in. This can create suspense for the reader as it creates anticipation and anxiety towards the forthcoming events. They do not know what will happen due to the state the signalman’s head is in and cannot judge and expect anything and what will happen next. Dickens has also used emotive words like “tombs” which constantly reminds the reader of death, something that is most unexpected and can lead to uncertainty, which establishes suspense.
Charles Dickens has used description and imagery of the surroundings and atmosphere to create suspense. “The signalman” is set along side a dark, gloomy railway and Dickens uses words to describe the atmosphere and surroundings in the short story. He describes the opening of the tunnel as having “a barbarous, depressing and forbidding air”. In addition, he also describes the opening of the tunnel as having “a gloomy entrance to a black tunnel” This links to the eerie and peculiar atmosphere the description illustrates for us. The phrase “black tunnel” suggests a pitch-black passageway where nothing can be clarified or made clear and the describing words Dickens has used such as “depressing” and “gloomy” suggests somewhere where one would not choose to be. This insinuates the eeriness of the atmosphere and builds up suspense as the reader is left on the edge of their seat hoping the character will not go down to this cemetery like railway. This triggers fear and terror while alluring the reader with such chills the reader is compelled to read on. This creates suspense as it plants images into our imagination and makes us question the story from the beginning.
Charles Dickens has used unnamed and the unknown to create suspense. There are two main characters in “The Signalman”. One of which is the signalman and the other is the narrator. Something these two characters have in common is that throughout the book we by no means get to know their names. This is one of the many ways Dickens has successfully built up the tension by making both the narrator and the signalman mysterious and unnamed and by not knowing someone’s name, it can create suspense and tension as you feel like you don’t actually know them. It makes the character seem different and unknown and you can’t relate to them without knowing part of their identity. It makes them seem cut off, peculiar and scary (the point of a ghost story or thriller). If Dickens hadn’t used this technique and had named the characters, it wouldn’t have been as successful and wouldn’t have created suspense. This uncertainty also linked to the people who didn’t know of signalmen, the railway and trains. It made them relate to the story while also not knowing the duties of the signalmen. Just the same as not knowing someone’s name, not knowing who they are and what they do will lead to uncertainty and confusion, which establishes suspense.
Charles Dickens has used the signalman’s the use of supernatural and the unexplainable to create suspense. This ghost story is built around the supernatural elements and events beyond the normal orders of things which automatically makes the reader feel scared as it’s something even more powerful than we are. In the short story, the signalman says he sees a ghost – a “spectre”. He explains that the ghost stands under the “danger light” in a weird way. He also explains that the spectre covers his mouth and face in a mourning motion and with his other hand waves it frantically at the signalman. This makes the signalman seem eerie to why the spectre is doing this to only him and no one else and it also makes us question what we don’t know of the spectre such as why is it there to begin with? Why is it making these motions? And what does it suggest about the past of the railway and the signalman? As we read on, we realize that the spectre was doing this to warn the signalman of something, probably death. This technique used to create suspense and tension leaves the reader wanting to know more even if feeling slightly chilled and on edge. This is because things are left unknown and mysterious and to understand the story fully you must complete it. Reading of a first hand experience of a ghost can be chilling, as sightings of ghosts were rare and the well-known story of “the highwaymen” had already made people more aware of another world that was believed to surround them and this story made even more people question the uncertainty of ghosts.
Charles Dickens has used a combination of techniques to create suspense in “The Signalman”. I believe the most effective is the use of the supernatural and the unexplainable. This is because the supernatural is believed to be greater than the power of humans. Many people questioned the power and the science of the unexplainable and the queries gripped and disturbed people and made them believe there was something greater than them surrounding them daily. This connects to the Victorian fear of trains and how people assumed they were greater than the power of humans also. Due to this, I believe that the Victorian audience would be much more engrossed with suspense than the audience today. The Victorian audience could relate to the story as there were many queries circulating the trust and reliability of trains. It is known that Charles Dickens also had a fear of trains and many people believed it would cause miscarriages and disturbance of cows. The story was successful due to the era it was set in, the novelty of the train system and people’s inevitable fear of it. However, the audience today would still feel it to be compelling as it’s an interesting story and still has the potential and means to chill and scare people. The images placed in our heads and the thought of the dark, gloomy foreboding air that encircled the black tunnel of the railway can fright today’s audience and still have an effective outcome left on the reader just like it did in 1866.
