Hannah Nicholls 4/30/2007
Bang Bang Who’s Dead seems to have been effected less by the author’s own experiences than The Signalman. It appears to be set in the present, but later in the story, time becomes distorted, and it is unclear to the reader the exact time period and in addition the costume contributes to this, confusing the reader. The author has no significant event which could have been influenced by her own life. The house in the story is described vaguely, giving the impression that it could come from a memory that may have been the authors.
When reading ghost stories many readers instantly look for a logical explanation, especially sceptics such as myself. The only explanation I can find that would explain the story of Bang Bang Who’s Dead is that Fran is asleep. In the story Fran is “going, going to sleep…” and this is where most of the distortions come into the story. Fran finds out that the ghost of a girl wearing “long black stockings, a white dress and pinafore” is supposed to haunt the garden. This signifies that the girl died during a time when these clothes would have been worn. This could have been much longer before cars were invented; yet the girl was apparently run over by a car. This twists the story, and there is then no logical explanation other than Fran dreaming. Cars were first mass-produced from 1913, resulting in more affordable prices, though due to the war from 1914 – 1918 cars were still only used by the wealthy. Cars had great social impact, being a new symbol of prosperity. The car seems to symbolise something to Fran throughout the whole story. It is her connection to normality and comfort or luxury. It is also a symbol of her status that makes her feel superior over others that don’t have such a bold representation of their position. This may be because the ghost girl lived around the time when cars were still a symbol of respectability, and the car becomes increasingly important to Fran during her transition to become the ghost. It could also begin to symbolise fear as the transition
Hannah Nicholls 4/30/2007
continues, due to the ghost girl being run over by a car apparently, although this is unlikely as she says that “the car made her feel safe”.
In Bang Bang Who’s Dead the use of colour and flowers is a prominent device. The faded colours and the vague descriptions, such as “frill and garlands of wisteria” mean that the reader is left to put in most details them self. Garlands are presented at funerals and memorial occasions, connecting the house with death and the past. The vague language also means that it is difficult to note the exact point in which Fran becomes the ghost because if there was a sudden change it would be easy to note. The faded, pale descriptions tie in with a dream like situation, which may well be the case. During the period in which Fran is swapping places with the ghost girl, she wonders “had she been up stairs yet or was she still thinking of going?” This seems to be from a distant memory that the author herself may have of the upstairs of a house. The story may therefore tie in more with the author’s life than it is first assumed.
The vocabulary is not complicated, using words such as “fuddy duddy cruddy” and “scuttle and scrattle” which is childish like Fran, and easily understood. When inside the house the syntax is slow, using long sentences to give a feeling of slowed time. Fran is also given almost supernatural powers herself at the very beginning of the story, when she is described as “she knew things before you ever said them. Almost before you thought of them”. This connects Fran to the ghost girl instantly, as in this instance it is in reference to the ghost.
Each author presents the horror to the reader in a number of different ways. Charles Dickens uses hints of a ghost the whole way through the story, but Jane Gardham uses the presence of the ghost to build up the initial suspense. Each of these devices is equally as effective to set the atmosphere.
Hannah Nicholls 4/30/2007
The language in the stories is used in very different ways to give the impression the author wants. Dickens describes his characters and scene vividly, to put an eerie picture in the reader’s head, but Gardham uses equally chilling language that gives a pale and incomplete picture of the story which the reader has to embellish on themselves. This is similar to the way that Dickens uses a definite ending to shock the reader, whereas Gardham leaves it open ended.
The authors have addressed the genre of horror in very different ways, creating very different effects, although both of the stories are equally as effective. They use devices to create a spooky impression that produces a very powerful effect over the reader, resulting in a successful example of a ‘horror story’, which relates to the society of the day.
