Dickens uses pathetic fallacy very little during this feature. Once is after the “Trench” description he uses, “angry sunset.” This expels the thought of darkness with the use of the word angry which implies hot and intense. The sunset, however, means there will soon be darkness which is the perfect (and usually only) setting for supernatural incidents.
There is a very detailed description of the path descending onto the track, “A clammy stone, that became oozier and wetter as I went down.” The sensation of damp involves cold and with the ambience of the natural world, which the traveller mentions later on. The conditions worsened on the trail down which again portrays the imagery of the further into the earth and graves etc. The fact the path is to be described as “notched” out insinuates jagged edges and danger.
The presence of the tunnel is very symbolic. It represents the unknown; it has a forbidding sense about it. Also, crashes in tunnels are the worst of its kind; this prepares us for what is to happen in the future. The appearances happen just outside of the tunnel, which is very imperative because instead of the “appearing” it gives us the chance to wonder where it had been coming from.
Also the company of the red light is very emblematic. Red being the colour of danger and the spectre appearing by the red light gives it the impression of significance to the story later on. When we are reading the story for the first time it has no effect on us because for trains the light is usually red, but the appearance of the spectre beside it adds the significance.
Dickens makes yet another reference to the railway cutting, this time, the use of “high stone walls” is more evident to be interpreted as small and enclosed, apart from the natural world. Also like a prison in the sense that of being caged. He also emphasises the poor conditions of the cutting possibly to show that there is another world feel to it and is more likely for supernatural things to happen.
When we encounter his box, it seems very different from the rest of the outside. The fire and desk makes it seem homely and quite different. The simplicity makes it seem almost impossible for appearances to occur, this maybe what encourages the traveller into thinking that the signalman is mentally unfit. This contrast, however, is quite important, if the signalman had stayed inside his homely box and not gone out into the dungeon, the incident might never have happened.
For the second meeting between the traveller and the signalman, they meet at eleven, which is a perfect time because there is an hour build up until the “witching hour” of midnight. The signalman did not reveal his secret in the first meeting; this is because it is still daylight. The night gives an eerie feel to the story. The first time Dickens uses a description of the tunnel is quite late on considering the significance of it, “The wet stains trickling through the arch.” Again he uses the cold, damp description, which reminds us of gutters and sewers, places where humans don’t usually dwell, it’s very subterranean, and it has a feeling of being underground.
The last description of setting is very different from the rest of the story, “Next evening was a lovely evening … the sun was not yet down.” This throws us off the thought of anything bad happening. When we read it, we aren’t at all prepared for the tragic death of the signalman. We wouldn’t expect any supernatural activity in the light. After reading this paragraph you expect a happy ending.
The words chosen in reference to the surroundings of the railway track are all very damp and cold which give us the feel of un-natural habitat. The many different words used to describe it makes it more revolting each time because the words get more severe and make you think that the cutting is sinking spiritually into a deeper state of the supernatural.
