At the end of this page the signalman declares that he had thought he had seen the visitor before which the reader will later find out that was where the signalman had seen the ghost.
The writer uses a lot of indirect conversation at this point in the story as it adds to the mysteriousness of the visitor as he is not actually replying to the signalman and it keeps the feeling of suspense. Also the telling of the signalman’s life and his room seems to add to the gloominess of the story.
Later on when we find out what is going on normal conversation is introduced and this changes the mood from being tense and there being a feeling of suspense. Dickens mentions the visitor’s own uncomfortable feelings about a train, and his nervousness adds to the tension.
The visitor describing the gesture by the signalman and saying he never saw the ghosts face adds to the ghostliness of the story. Also just after this “ ‘Halloa! Below there!’ ” Is mentioned again. This time by the signalman describing what had happened. This relates back to the very first line of the story and the reader can now see that this is what the ghost said and can understand why this grabbed the signalman’s attention so much at the start. Also at this point of the story, Dickens changes the person telling the story from the signalman to the visitor, this keeps the interest of the reader.
A bit later on in the story atmosphere is added by, “and he slowly added these words, touching my arm”. This helps the effect of what the person is about to say.
When the signalman tells of the second ghost sighting he uses short, sharp sentences and rapid exchanges of speech as this adds to the suspense. After the ghost sighting a young lady dies and the description of his mouth being dry, the way the wind wails and the use of alliteration adds a sense of gloominess. The ghost soon after rings the bell. The ghost seems to be trying to harass the signalman which adds to the suspense here. The visitor tries to ease the mind of the signalman by saying that no-one is ringing the bell and that its all in his head. This does not work as the signalman explains that only he can hear and see the ghost.
The signalman gets worried as he knows that there is a danger but does not know what it is. This seems to increase tension and adds to the suspense as you are worried and excited about what the danger is. The reader is now anticipating another accident or incident. The signalman also realises that he cannot telegraph danger as he has no proof of it and this makes it even more tense. The author explains how the man is in “feverish distress” which emphasis the problem and helps to add to the tension and the suspense.
Later on in the story, Dickens builds up the drama by showing a man at the mouth of the tunnel waving passionately. You suddenly remember the ghost that waved passionately and this causes a very tense feeling. There is now a lot of suspense as the visitor watches the man waving. This atmosphere does not stay for long as you find out that this is only a man imitating the incident. Though there is a twist that the danger all along that the ghost was trying to warn the signalman was that of his own death.
In “The Club Footed Grocer”, the writer straight away gets our interest in the first paragraph by describing how the uncle was beaten up which seems to show that the line of business that the uncle is in may be a bit ‘dodgy’. Just after this description, a letter comes through from the boy’s uncle, which asks him that he needs him for very strong reasons. As you have seen that his uncle’s line of business is a bit dodgy that suspicions already arise what the strong reasons are. This promptly starts to bring in suspense to the story.
Suspense is also built up in the way the boy receives a threat through a telegraph. Then in the second telegraph the uncle tells the boy to bring a gun, which gives you the idea of there being violence, “Good shooting. Let John bring gun.” This shows that there is possibly going to be some action at the uncle’s place. This adds more to the suspense as you are wondering what is going to happen with the uncle and what is the boy going to be asked to do.
When the boy gets to the place suspense is built up in the gloom and spooky description of the place and of the secret nature of the arrival and transport, “rolled away in gradually ascending curves to the misty skyline.” And “Bleak and sad and stern were all my surroundings,” Also the boy starts to think to himself about the situation, “This sudden for help from an uncle who I had never seen, …... vague but sinister meaning.” This emphasizes the suspense as the boy is now thinking what has been going through your mind.
The description of the uncle seems to fit with what you have already heard of him in the way that he sounds dodgy. This keeps your mind thinking that something bad is going to come out of this visit. It also keeps the suspense atmosphere.
The uncle describes his situation to the boy and explains that he is afraid of Elias finding him and killing him, “ ‘For fear of bein’ shot, me lad.” The uncle that Elias will not stop till he kills him because he thinks the uncle has wronged him. The boy then asks who his friends are and then there is a reply from the uncle which in the way it is done suddenly adds to the suspense, “My uncle’s boom sank suddenly to a frightened whisper. ‘Sailors!’”
When the sailors and Elias arrive, the Uncle makes a hoarse scream and starts to pray to God, “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” This shows that he must be afraid and results in adding to the suspense. The boy has an idea to ring for the police but the uncle puts this idea down straight away saying that it wont work. This shows you that there is going to be no easy way out of this, which builds on the suspense atmosphere as readers worry about what is going to happen.
The enemies communicate with the uncle by slipping a piece of paper under the door which builds to the atmosphere by making it more tense. The uncle asks his servant to go outside while the enemy’s are there and get to the Purcells. The way the servant is loyal to the uncle shows that he must of not been a bad master. This starts to give you an idea of another side of the uncle. Soon after this a cry is heard from outside, “A distant cry rang from out of the darkness, and then another one, short and sharp like the wail of the curlew.” This suddenly adds to suspense. The uncle rushes outside to help the servant showing that he does not only think about himself. The sailors use this as a trick to get inside. Suddenly there is a tenser atmosphere as the sailors rush in.
The writer emphasises the fear, “shivered with cold and with terror.” Also when the uncle is killed the gruesome death adds a lot to the drama of the scene, “like the wrung neck of a chicken. The killing is a quick and merciful killing. It needed but a glance to see that his spine was broken and that he was dead.”
The writers for both these stories use certain techniques that gave the stories an atmosphere. They used a variety of adjectives, phrases and expressions to apply the certain mood the writer desires,
