How Charles Dickens creates atmosphere in 'The Signalman'.

Another significant premonition within 'The Signalman' is the representation of the extract,

'Halloa Below there'

This was used at the start of the narrative, when the man and the signalman first met. And again used at the end when the train driver was shouting towards the signalman before he was killed. Significantly this cohesive link was directed at the signalman both times, which became a haunting reference to death. These premonitions also became apparent to the reader, which is again identified as a reference to death. This could also have been used to influence the reader of the text to develop a subjective opinion to the outcome of the story.

Dickens used his unique style of writing to create the atmosphere he wanted from each specific scene.

'I saw him at the end, like as if I saw him down a perspective-glass'

This metaphor is used to emphasise the distance between the two men, and that the storyteller can easily identify the signalman but sees him in an unreal way.

'It was made through a clammy stone, that became oozier and wetter as I went down.'

This semantic field of dampness is used to illustrate the scene for the purpose of the audience to relate to the narrative. As a passive reader this extract portrays a true representation of a gloomy, dark, natural but weathered path. This also shows evidence of first person narrative structure. Dickens used this narrative structure to symbolise him as the character, and to illustrate him as the storyteller. This includes the reader, because Dickens interacts with them in telling the story to the individual.

'perhaps educated above his station'

'if he is so clever, why is he a signalman'

These extracts suggest that the signalman could do better than what he is doing, because of the incongruity of the representations of a typical signalman. These questions adds mystery to his identity and this in turn creates suspense. Dickens has been awarded and criticized for his work as all successful writers do, but I believe this is through the comparison of modern day stories. 'The Signalman' is a historic story and a true representation from its era. Whereas the appealing connotations to a modern day story differ to this, Dickens can be criticized in using the old style narrative. This includes the unique short sentences, historic context and vocabulary like 'foreshortened', otherwise know, 'to be made to look smaller'. Additionally when Dickens wrote this short story, there would have been this interpretation of a traditional signalman, but now as times have changed his work would have been mechanically done. This could result in problems of modern day readers relating to this kind of job, furthermore corrupting the suspension of disbelief and atmosphere. Although this could be questioned, as a passive reader historical context can be illustrated through metaphors, semantic fields, premonitions and the narrative structure, all in which can determine the atmosphere created by Dickens.

Chris Brown