Who or what do you think is to blame for the tragic events at the end of three or four of the short stories that you have read?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Who or what do you think is to blame for the tragic events at the end of three or four of the short stories that you have read?

In considering the question, I found that it applied very well to "The Black Veil", and "The Signalman", both by Charles Dickens, "The Monkey's Paw", by W.W.Jacobs and "The Yellow Wallpaper", by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The stories all have their own tragic endings. These short stories reflected the times, a time where religious and supernatural beliefs were a lot stronger than they are today. Therefore, stories involving supernatural activity were especially popular. I think the Victorian writers took advantage of short stories to leave the reader asking many questions, adding a degree of mystery and freedom for the reader to believe different endings.

"The Signalman" by Charles Dickens is a story of isolation and loneliness, with the visitor acting as the narrator. The signalman was "educated above his station", but he had to spend "many long and lonely hours", trapped "in between high stone walls". I think there is a particular importance of the setting of story. He is "trapped", in his own "world", beneath ground level. He