I also think that the silence of the signal man brings some darkness to the story. His silence made him seem like a sinister character. Charles Dickens describes him to use hand actions as well. In a strange way I enjoy how the signal man is so creepy. I think I find this, as it gives more depth to him as a character. “He pointed to the red light he had looked at”.
“His manner seemed to make the place strike colder to me”.
Throughout the story Dickens presents the narrator and the signal man differently.
I feel the signal man is portrayed as lonely, quiet sinister character. “He had taught himself a language down here,--if only to know it by sight, and to have formed his own crude ideas of its pronunciation”. This shows that he has hardly any contact with external influences.
I could imagine seeing the signal man on a frosty winter’s morning, feeling his stare, burning through my skin like a concentrated sun on paper.
He works alone in the middle of nowhere, rarely coming in contact with civilization. He acts in a way that makes me feel like he is in a trance, with his stone stare and his plain pale face.
I get the vibe that he’s sinister, as he is so silent. He doesn’t speak throughout the entire endurance of the film almost. Also he doesn’t say much about him self at all, very secretive, like he has something to hide maybe.
The narrator on the other hand is presented in an opposite way, almost cocky. He’s a lively young man should we say. Who has this irritating affect on me. Although I was reading the book, I still found his voice dragging on etcetera. He is constantly trying to find out more about the signal man. In this context I feel sorry for the signal man. He must be just getting on with his life, and some young talkative man appears from nowhere and is investigating his life. He’s Inquisitive and annoying. He never stops asking questions.
Nearly every time he speaks to the signal man within the story, he asks questions.
"That mistake?"
"Who is it?"
"Into the tunnel?"
He speaks and asks question like a new reporter of a kind.
Even when not in company with the signal man, the narrator continues to strike opinions on him. “A disagreeable shudder crept over me”. I find this very rude as, he acts in a fair manner to the signal man, in person.
Out of the two characters, I sympathize with the signal man. I think he is very lonely, slipping over the line of madness, and I don’t think the narrator helps with his annoying and constant questions. He could anyone crazy, even though he’s just trying to help.
I think that the short story by Dickens is believable as he has kept the supernatural powers at a fine line.
When I watched the video if the signal man, it helped me realise what Dickens meant by the certain hand gestures made by the signalman himself. Also it gave another level to the tension and the ending was more forceful as well.
The ending of the story does its job well. It brings the little pieces that the story has accumulated together, explaining the truth about explaining things that I questions earlier on. Like why the signal man puzzled about why the narrator yelled "Halloa! Below there!” As well as the strange stories that the lonely signal man had spoke of.
Even though the story was short and realistic, I would not recommend it to other readers.
I think it has a good impact, but is not my type of book overall. It takes a while to engulf the reader, and when it does, the story is almost over. The ending is not powerful enough to change my thoughts on the story though…
