“A dripping-wet wall of jagged stone, excluding all view but a strip of sky.”
Dickens’ story was told at a quicker pace than most other Victorian writers’ stories, which was strange within the time of Victorians. In addition, Dickens uses a large amount of dialogue within his story; he uses this to portray facts and clues concealed within the story and narrates it in first person narrative.
Thirdly, Wells also uses dialog to convey facts and clues to the audience in his story, “The Red Room”. In the dialog, he includes repetition, which implies danger to the narrator (Wells).
“It’s your own choosing”
Wells also uses many implications, which creates a more contained, suggestive story; therefore, this story is not as explicit as Poe’s story.
Additionally, Wells’ style is very descriptive and poetic in the way he paints pictures for the audience, this results in a slow pace, which is contradictory to Poe’s, Dickens’ and Doyle’s stories.
“My candle was a little tongue of light in its vastness, that failed to pierce the opposite end of the room, and left an ocean of mystery and suggestion beyond its island of light.”
This quote has a sense of fluidity and smoothness to it, which is beautifully rounded by the way it is written and by the techniques used, such as personification. It conveys the sense of poetry to the audience, resulting in a detailed image in their mind.
On the other hand, Doyle’s story “The Speckled Band” did not use imagery; therefore, it was not so poetic or atmospheric. This was because the story was logical and cold, which is common in detective stories. However, the story described the characters in detail, for example, Doyle uses much emotive language to highlight their feelings; “impending misfortune” and “dreadfully convulsed”.
Overall, the four stories are similar in the way they are written in first person narrative to compose a more believable story and all (except Doyle’s story) exploit imagery.
The styles between writers vary a great deal and convey a different atmosphere to the audience. However, the four short stories involve the main inspiration within the Nineteenth Century, which is of the supernatural and mental disturbance. However, Doyle’s story was more to do with the detective genre, as his style was more logical.
Furthermore, I am going to analyse the creation of atmosphere the writers portray to the audience.
Firstly, “The Red Room” written by Wells, consists of a variety of description to enhance creation of atmosphere because with this story, as with “The Signalman”, creation of atmosphere is vital.
In “The Red Room”, the narrator describes the room as haunted, although within this short story the description is focused principally on the psychological aspects of ghosts and the supernatural.
Firstly, the interesting characters within the story create a large atmosphere of enigma about the room, which is the subject of the story. The first character that bides the reader’s attention is the man with a withered arm; this is a dubious character as the narrator describes how he “glanced at me askance”. The second character is the woman, who is seemingly insane:
“The old woman sat staring into the fire, her pale eyes wide open….She swayed her head from side to side. ‘A many thing to see and sorrow for.’”
With these characters introduced, the atmosphere becomes more forbidding and intimidating to the reader, which then creates an atmosphere of enigma towards the house and the room itself.
Furthermore, description and detail is gradually exposed to the reader, which consist of imagery and personification to develop the affect and reality of the atmosphere.
“There were other and older stories which clung to the room, back to the half-credible beginning of it all.”
The gradual exposure of detail creates enigma, but is then solved at the end of the story, when all is revealed to the audience by suggestive language, and implied text.
Similarly to Wells, and likewise to Dickens, Poe uses facial features such as the eye and lips to create the violent atmosphere that is required within his story. Poe’s creation of atmosphere is very essential for his story.
Poe’s atmosphere is very much based upon violence and intimidation, which strikes at the reader by the quantity of description he uses. For example, he describes the man’s eye that “resembled that of a vulture.” This imagery can generate a clear, idealistic re-construction of the man’s eye in the audience’s mind.
Also, violence is portrayed through the ideas and thoughts of the narrator as he describes what he is intending to do, or what he has just completed.
“There was nothing to wash out – no stain of any kind – no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all – ha! ha!”
Additionally, this conveys a sense of sharpness, excitement and cunningness to the reader.
Moreover, within the story line a theatrical twist occurs, which conveys a sense of definite insanity of the narrator, as he perceives a “low, dull, quick sound”, which was discovered to be the sound of the dead man’s heart beating, which was evidently fictional.
“It grew louder – louder – louder! And still the men chatted away pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not?”
Secondly, I will explore the techniques used by Dickens to create an atmosphere of a forceful and spiritual environment in “The Signalman”.
Dickens uses varied techniques to create a fine atmosphere in his story, which is linked to his development of setting. He uses metaphors and personification to enhance imagery, therefore creating a more compelling atmosphere and setting.
“The wind and the wires took up the story with a long lamenting wail.”
Additionally, Dickens uses detailed descriptions by explaining them by sensual bodily parts. For example, he describes the “great dungeon” having an “earthly, deadly smell”, which is the sense of smell. He also describes the dungeon as having “a dripping-wet wall of jagged stone, excluding all view but a strip of sky,” which is sense of touch and sight. This range of description offers a more believable and logical story to the audience. The descriptions also create an atmosphere, which is easily illusory.
Following on, Dickens describes faces, likewise to Poe, or the around the facial area, which could be considered as the ‘symbol’ for the story. He describes this symbol as:
“The left arm is across the face, and the right arm is waved – violently
waved.”
Yet again, the description of the symbol, which in this case is the conscience of the Signalman, provides a good atmosphere of enigma and curiosity. This symbol is supernatural; therefore, the atmosphere can also be of solitude, as the symbol does not respond to the Signalman’s requests.
Moreover, an atmosphere of tension and enigma is established as the story arrives at a twist or false ending.
“I saw an appearance of a man, with his left sleeve across his eyes, passionately waving his right arm…I saw that this appearance of a man was a man indeed.”
An atmosphere of uneasiness is clearly portrayed by the narrator as he expresses his feelings of “the slow touch of a frozen finger tracing out my spine.”
Unlike the false ending in Dickens’ story, Doyle’s story has a neat conclusion, and throughout the story, it binds the clues together to give a rounded ending, rather than the cliffhanger-ending present in the three other stories.
Within this story, the atmosphere is not as vital as it is more focused on the plot and clues; therefore, the build up of atmosphere is not so present. However, Doyle does include some description to describe clues during the story. For example, “About three in the morning, I heard a low clear whistle”. This does not help the atmosphere but helps with the plot, which is regularly present in detective stories, which also differentiates this story to the three supernatural stories I have analysed.
The atmosphere that is present in Doyle’s story, is that of suspense involved with the clues.
“Restless, frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal.”
This quote conveys the suspense by description, and also uses a simile to enhance this, and encourages the description to be thought of by the reader.
Overall, similarities between each short story are apparent; these are descriptions of the face and bodily areas. Also, that the creation of atmosphere is more important than development of setting in the stories written by Poe and Wells.
In addition, I am going to analyse the development of setting.
Firstly, the development of setting was established by the creation of atmosphere, as the setting is very important in the story “The Signalman”. The development of setting we gather from the creation of atmosphere is of a desolate, lonely and depressing place.
“A visitor was a rarity.”
Additionally, the audience gathers a sense of a cold, damp and gloomy place from the creation of atmosphere as Dickens says:
“Terminating a gloomy red light, and the gloomier entrance to the black tunnel, in whose massive architecture there was a barbarous, depressing and forbidding air.”
Secondly, Poe’s development of setting is one of less importance to his creation of atmosphere. This is because the story is more psychological and involvement of thoughts and feelings are more imperative to the setting of the old man’s bedroom.
Despite the story being highly involved with psychological issues, the story does include detail on the austerity and darkness of the room.
“His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers).”
Since the description of setting is not developed the audience questions the appearance of the room, but it also gives the audience freedom to envision a setting surreptitiously.
Thirdly, “The Red Room” is similar to Poe’s story in the way that Wells bases his story line on psychological terms, although Wells’ story is more psychological than Poe’s, but still has a strong development of setting.
Wells’ strong development of setting comes from minor descriptions of the candles and the alcoves, for example.
“The flame vanished, as if the wicks had been suddenly nipped between a finger and a thumb, leaving the wick neither glowing nor smoking, but black.”
Vivid imagery and more narrative makes the story more personal and realistic, therefore we also sympathise with the narrator, for example, for his naivety that has surpassed him.
“I turned my head involuntarily, and saw that the two candles on the little table by the fireplace were extinguished. I rose at once to my feet.
‘Odd!’ I said. ‘Did I do that myself in a flash of absent-mindedness?’”
In all contrast to these stories, Doyle’s story uses the setting differently, whereby the setting is linked to the clues and plot, rather than the atmosphere. The setting Doyle does mention in his story is where he incorporates the gypsies, the leopard and the baboon, building works and details of the room and outside it. For example, where he includes details about objects within the room;
“Dummy bell-ropes and ventilators which did not work.”
Overall, development of setting is a very important characteristic within each short story, except from “The Speckled Band”, I have analysed; it aids in envisioning a clear, well-read story and helps the audience empathise with the characters and actions they are performing. Whereas with “The Speckled Band”, the setting is used with conjunction to the clues and story, which helps with the logical aspect of the detective genre.
In conclusion, I can devise that the writer’s styles, their creation of atmosphere and development of setting play large roles within each short story they have written.
We can see that the three stories differentiate enormously, yet use similar techniques to capture their audience’s attention and appeal to their public.
The four stories all exploit imagery, though restricted with Doyle’s story, to enhance envisioning abilities of the reader, and all use first person narrative to make their story more believable. In addition, the four writers purposely use body images to portray their ideas and thoughts to the reader – to an extent
For Wells’ and Dickens’ stories, the setting is the most important characteristic within them, whereas Poe’s story is more based upon psychological issues, therefore concentrates more of creation of atmosphere.
Within Dickens’ story, he portrays his thoughts of industrial life and how the work methods dehumanise the workers. The signalman in his box proves this. This is also true in other novels written by Dickens. They develop the idea of negative industrial life, and the consequences that lead from it.
As time progressed within the Nineteenth Century, more developments and advances into science improved and society became more rational. Ideas of fear and evil appeared and were portrayed strongly towards the public, rather than the original ghost ideas that were first considered.
