I will be looking at "The Signal-Man" by Charles Dickens and "Farthing House" by Susan Hill.

John Mason 10PY

English Coursework:

Wider reading

In this piece of coursework I will be looking at and comparing two ghost stories- one pre 20th century (before 1914) and the other after the 20th century (after 1914)

I will be looking at “The Signal-Man” by Charles Dickens and “Farthing House” by Susan Hill.

“The Signal-Man” is about a man who finds a signal-man down in the train tunnel, he yells to him and goes to meet him. He begins to talk to the signal-man and finds out that he sees ‘spectres’. He goes away. And comes back again and learns more about the spectre and that the spectre is trying to warn him when a crash is near or some accident. The next time the man comes the signal-man is dead, killed by jumping in front of a train.

“Farthing House” is about a woman who goes to visit her Aunt Addy at ‘Farthing House’. She visits her Aunt and decides to stay at the house over night and she stays in a room named ‘cedar’. She starts to hear a newborn baby crying. She keeps on hearing this baby crying, but does not say anything. She then sees a young woman in her room; she tries to follow her but loses her in the hallway. One time when she is walking in the gardens she sees a graveyard- one in particular, the young girl and her baby. She then finds out that back then more babies died at birth and so did some mothers, she is very upset. The entire story was written in a letter to somebody.

When we think of the ghost story genre we think of big houses, ghosts, bad weather, storms, vulnerable people, sceptics.

We also expect there to be a good story line, I think the more believable the story the more effective it is, I also expect to be frightened by the story, not horrified. Also from a ghost story I expect it to keep in the boundaries of the ghost story not to stray into horror. So I expect the story to keep to a psychological fear rather than it turn into a blood bath were the ghost goes on rampages of blood and guts. Also I think that a more believable story line would scare the audience more as it could be real.

There are some elements for a ghost story that makes it a typical story. They are:

Stormy Weather
Isolation
Tension
Ghosts
Unexpected twist
Darkness
Grave

There are also some typical characteristics of ghosts in the stories:

Shape of person
Transparent
Frightened or upset
History of ghost

There are also typical settings for the ghost stories. They are often set at Christmas time when the whole family sits down around the fire and the elderly person tells of a ghost. There are also certain types of language used in the stories most of the time they use old English language like ‘Thus’, ‘One’, ‘Thou’, ‘Thy’, ‘‘Tis’.

Also there is certain ways to build up the tension and atmosphere. This is done by using the weather. To show evil there may be Thunder and lightening, rain, lots of wind. To show a happy mood there would be a sunny, blue sky.

The writer could also use darkness to create moods, if it were a passageway to a haunted room the passageway would be pitch black and so would the room it may also be unusually cold or have a draft. If it were to a normal room the passageway or hallway would be lighted.

Also writers can create tension through the words used, also through short sentences and the use of exclamation marks. This is very noticeable in “The Signal-Man”. Charles Dickens built up the tension by showing us the signal-man is afraid.

So there are many ways a writer can create an atmosphere according to the scene.

We can tell when a story is pre 1914 (pre 20th century) by looking at a few elements: language, relationships also through artefacts around them.

We can also tell pre 1914 ghost stories by the class division. Throughout the 1800’s class division was a part of life and was taken very seriously, everything was divided. This is seen in the pre 20th century stories. They are usually based around a rich person who has servants, were as past 1914 or pre 20th century class ...

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So there are many ways a writer can create an atmosphere according to the scene.

We can tell when a story is pre 1914 (pre 20th century) by looking at a few elements: language, relationships also through artefacts around them.

We can tell through the language as well for instance, this is from “The Signal-Man” which is a pre 20th century story, “Halloa!” “Thus” “Saturite” “Barbaros” these are words that we no longer use in modern language and can date back to pre 20th century life and culture.

There are also some phrases used, which are pre 20th century. Such as “with a flag in his hand” back then they had men standing with flags next to train tracks to tell trains to slow down etc. Where as now they do not, we rely on lights operated by people in offices. Also “Halloa! Below there!” this is pre 20th century because now we would say “Hello! Down there!” Also “when I looked down from up yonder,” we would say, “when I looked down from up there”.

Also the sentence construction can tell us if it is pre 20th century. Such as “If ever you make me another visit” we can see here that we would say “If you ever make me another visit” or even “if you ever visit me again” pre 20th century sentences sometimes have words mixed around but back then the sentence made sense. But to us it makes better sense if it is put into our own concept.

Although through the signal-man we do not see the relationships between masters and servants and the treatment of women and children or even men. Although through historical facts we know that servants were treated not so well, women were not to be educated more than men were, they were treated a lot differently than they are today.

By looking at the artefacts around the characters we can determine if it were before the 20th century or after the 20th century.

From “The Signal-Man” the following items show us that the story is pre 20th century; the signal mans flag, telegraphic instrument, Telegraph. These are just a few of the artefacts in “The Signal-Man”

So these are the few elements that give us the information we need to class a ghost story as being pre 20th century from reading and analysing the story.

We can tell if a ghost story is post 20th century by looking at the same elements that I did for pre 20th century. Language, relationships, and through the artefacts that surround the characters.

We can tell a post 20th century ghost story through the language that is used; “Farthing House” is an example of a post 20th century story so I will be using this. Well actually the language used in the story is very similar to the language that is used at this present day. In fact none of the language is different. The word usage is the same and so is the punctuation.

There are some phrases in the text that shows post 20th century material. Phrases such as; “It had been a beautiful day for the drive too.” “Seven miles to the main road” these phrases tell us that the women is in a car which, unless you were very rich, you did not have pre 20th century telling us that it must be post 20th century.

Because the time this was written the sentence structure is the same as we are used to, so I can see no difference. So because of this we know that it must be post 20th century.

Once again there is no reference to the relationship in this period in the story. But from historical fact we know those post of the 20th century the treatment of women, men and children got a lot better and also servants were in less need.

Also by looking at the artefacts around the characters we can determine if it were pre or post 20th century.

From “Farthing House” the artefacts clearly tell us that it is post 20th century. For instance: “the long drive”-car, Residential home (they did not have them in the 1800’s), old fashioned –must mean it is post 20th century or it would be modern, Television, telephone.

These are some elements that we can use to find out whether a ghost story is pre or post 20th century.

First of all I will analyse “The Signal-Man”

I will look at key points how tension is built up, atmosphere, characters, and setting.

In “The Signal-Man” Charles Dickens built up the tension by writing about how afraid the signal-man was. We can see this when the signal-man says to him “And when you come down tomorrow don’t call out” and also “I detected in his eyes some latent fear”

As the conversation continues it is broken into a series of short questions and leaves us, the audience, without explanations or answers. Also the usage of exclamation marks and the short sentences shows us that he is afraid. The fact that we are not told why builds up a strong tension. ‘“I believe I used to be so,” he rejoined, in a low voice in which he had first spoken, “but I am troubled sir, I am troubled”’ this is an example of the questions unanswered.

The Signalman’ is set in a strange cutting and we are not really told where it is which adds to the tension. “Down in the deep trench”. Even the sunset hints at tragedy. “Glow of an angry sunset”. Dickens use of vocabulary creates a sense of menace or violence. Dickens describes the place with many menacing phrases. “Great dungeon”. “Barbarous, depressing and forbidding air”. “Earthy deadly smell”. “Solitary and dismal place”. Dickens makes the setting come alive and turns it into a place where something terrible could happen. This creates tension for the reader as they can sense something malicious could happen. You get the feeling that he is getting drawn into the cutting but he has reluctance as he feels there is something strange about the place and the Signalman. Due to the narrator being in first person the readership will also experience reluctance about the cutting.

Dickens describes the Signalman as a mysterious man, which adds to the tension. We sense that the narrator is scared of the signalman. “Something in the man that daunted me”. “Infection in his mind”. “Fixed eyes and the saturnine face”. Dickens really emphasises the strangeness of the signalman so that the reader senses fear. We are also told that he was once a normal and clever man. “Educated above that station”. “Run wild, misused his opportunities, and gone down”. The Signalman is very melodramatic. “Wiped the drops from his heated forehead”. “Drawing his hands outward across and across his temples in an extremity of feverish distress”. Dickens does this simply as it builds tension. Dickens was fond of melodrama, as were many Victorian theatre audiences.

The plot of “The Signal-Man” is about a man who sees a figure down on the railway stand, he yells down to him and goes down to meet him they talk until the man has to leave, he finds out that the signal-man sees spectres. The next time he goes down he finds out that the spectres appears to warn the signal-man before an accident or a crash. The next time the man goes down the signal-man is dead.

In the story we do not know very much about the signal-man or the man or even the spectre. Everything is shrouded in mystery. However we do know that the signal-man is well educated and loves his job He is described as “a dark sallow man, with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows,” the references like “dark” and “heavy” add to the mystery and suspense, as darkness is associated with evil, which holds many secrets. Dickens wants the story to appear foreboding to keep us ion suspense until the end. For a long time The Signalman doesn’t speak, he is apprehensive and “lonesome” as a “visitor was a rarity”. The first time the Signalman speaks it is as if he has just read the man’s narrators mind as he replies to the man’s direct unspoken question by saying, “Don’t you know it is?” He answered the question by saying the light is part of his charge. This suspicious metaphysical power adds to the mystification and contributes to the thought “that this was a spirit not a man”. The man and the setting cannot “rise into sunshine” from the “damp air” as “he had made his bed, and he lay upon it. It was far too late to make another one”. The sunshine is the bright new lifestyle and the damp air is what he’s caught in because he cannot escape his “troubled lifestyle” The Signalman is very good at his job and probably “one of the safest of men in Britain to be employed in that capacity” as he is “remarkably exact and vigilant”. However not much is known of the man or spectre.

I think the setting makes a good location for a ghost story it is isolated, dark, slimy and dangerous. Just what makes a good typical ghost story.

These are all the things that I have picked up from the story.

In “Farthing House” the author Susan Hill builds up the tension by writing about everyone making a big deal over her room- Cedar room. “So they’ve put you in Cedar,” and “Im surprised its vacant” “well, of course it wasn’t” this tells us someone has died in that room, and because this is a ghost story we automatically think it will be haunted. So this builds up tension about the room. Also “…. A lot of old women isolated out there together” this makes us wary of the location; it meets our requirement of a typical ghost story in that sense as it is isolated. So because it is isolated this builds up the tension. Also about the woman’s mood after her first night she thinks she hears things and the next day blurts out “what do you know about Farthing House?” this tells us that she is anxious and fears the house a little.

However with the weather there is no thunder or lighting, in fact it gives the impression that the weather is fine, even when the ghost is around.

I think that the atmosphere is built up by the room that she stays in it is described as “was one of the biggest rooms in the house, with big bay windows over looking the garden.” And the fact that someone died in the room builds up the atmosphere. Most ghost stories are set in the Victorian age, and the room sounds like it is very old-fashioned. So even though the story is post 20th century it still has connections to pre 20th century style. And because it is Victorian it builds up the ghostly atmosphere.

I also believe that the atmosphere is built up by the lack of communication between the characters and that the women talks and thinks to herself a lot and also when she keeps the ghost to her self. She doesn’t want to tell anyone about it.

The characters in the story, again we know little about them except that we know the woman’s Aunt is named Addy and they are related.

These are some of the things that I picked up from “Farthing House” about tension and atmosphere.

When we look at both the stories we can see some similarities and some differences.

Some similarities in the two stories are:

that they both have a ghost/spectre in them,
they are set in isolated locations
they both have characters who can see or have seen the ghost/spectre
we know little about the characters
the ghost represents the shape of a person

There are also some similarities between pre 20th century and post 20th century:

The signal-man is afraid of the spectre, were as the woman in “Farthing House” is not afraid of the ghost.
In “The Signal-Man” there is a stranger who visits him, in “Farthing House” there is not

So as you see there are more similarities in the two stories than in differences. So even though one is post 20th century and the other is pre 20th century there are not that many differences from the stories.

Then authors have followed the typical ghost story rules, the similarities are things like isolation, ghosts and so on, and these are in typical ghost stories.

So after looking at and reading the two stories I would have to say that I enjoyed “The Signal-Man” much more. I say “The Signal-Man” because it has a very intense build up for the ghost and also it was well written. And “Farthing House” spoilt the story and the ghost did not frighten the woman.

I think that “The Signal-Man” would have been more popular or successful for two reasons. One being it is a much better story line and is more psychological and the second being the fact it was written by Charles Dickens who is noted as a brilliant writer.

So overall I think that “The Signal-Man” is the better of the two stories, because of its believable story line and psychological fear than “Farthing House”.