Summary:
The Signalman by Charles Dickens (written in 1865 and published in 1866) and The Red Room by H.G. Wells (written and published in 18940 provoke fear and tension in the heart of the reader.
Due to the lack of modern technology that we have today such as televisions and the internet, the Victorian era (the era in which Queen Victoria reigned, this was between 1837 and 1901) was renowned for famous for the short stories that the authors of the time wrote.
The birth of the railway also took place during the Victorian era and as one would expect, many people used it for transportation over long distances. As I mentioned earlier, there were no televisions so at times of boredom and during these long train journeys the people of the time depended solely on books short stories for entertainment. The Ghost story genre proved to be most popular amongst the Victorian people; in my coursework I will investigate how the two short stories I have read, The Signalman by Charles Dickens (written in 1865 and published in 1866) and The Red Room by H.G. Wells (written and published in 18940 provoke fear and tension in the heart of the reader. To do this I will be looking at how the settings of the stories, characterisation, between the characters, the plot of the story and the language used in the story contribute to provoking fear and tension in the heart of the reader.
The setting of the story has a significant impact on the reader's mind. In the Signalman, the setting of the Signalman's house is situated in such a place and described in a very effective manner. The Signalman's house is outside of the railway tunnel but just a few steps apart from it. The place seems to be aloof and isolated. It's not a very comfortable place for the Signalman to be. The author uses many adjectives to make the setting imaginable for the reader. He uses words like 'angry sunset', 'unusually precipitate', 'solitary' and 'dismal'. These adjectives are very mighty because of the effect they give when read. All these words describe the setting of the area around the Signalman. They give an effect of gloominess of horror and the reader can imagine the eerie of silence and creates shiver to the reader. Also Dickens uses the words 'earthly' and 'deadly'. Words like these provoke fear in the reader's mind as the word 'deadly' gives the impression to the reader that the place seems to be quite lifeless and it's the human nature to be scared of any lifeless figure which might have had life before. Another reason why The Signalman provokes fear and tension because Charles Dickens describes the tunnel to be 'extremely deep and unusually precipitate'. This is where the story of the supernatural takes place.
The Red Room, by H.G. Wells is set in a castle (the typical setting for the horror genre, the story of Count Dracula is an example of this). I believe that the setting couldn't be better suited for the story due to the fact that this is a Gothic story (Gothic stories endeavour to terrify the reader) and Gothic stories are usually set in castles and haunted rooms, this is done to endow the story with an unearthly feeling.
The room itself is situated in a 'shadowy corner' and is veiled by darkness, 'shadowed'. The author often uses the word 'shadowed' when describing the room; this is to make the reader feel like there is actually a presence in the Red Room and by doing so, gradually provoking fear and tension in the heart of the reader. The unusual factor about the setting of the Red Room is that instead of decorating the castle in fine furniture and satin curtains etc., which I believe to be cheaper in those days that they are today the custodians of the house, who were scared of the room (and it would make sense for them to make the mood of the house cheerier in order for the house to be an easier place to inhabit) littered the house with 'deep-toned, old fashion furniture'.
Although both of the stories are set in similar environments, they are depicted in very different ways, in order to provoke a specific type of fear and tension in the reader. The Signalman's post is set in an isolated area - a railway tunnel - in order to emphasize the Signalman's plight.
Both of the settings of the stories resemble one another. In the Signalman, the place is quite isolated and the reader can sense that there is a presence of the supernatural. On the contrary, The Red Room is filled with dim lights from the candles that are lighted in the room and which also gives a presence of the supernatural.
The two books that I have read, I have noticed that the characters make an important role to story. We need to know the character's personality, the environment, and the beliefs of the character as it gives a better image of the story.
In the story, The Signalman, the reader can tell that the signalman is someone who should be aware of his consequences of the actions he takes. The reason for my saying this is because, referring back to the text the Signalman says how he had the opportunity to live a better life but he instead never bothered about it. ' but he had run wild, misused his opportunities'. In a way this tells me that he had a good opportunity but lost it.
The signalman doesn't say too much about himself however he does speak about his past experiences. You can tell this because when he says: ' they would think I was mad, they would displace me', this tells us that he was always unorganised at risk to do anything which would lead to his employers thinking that he is unfit for his job. On the contrary, the man from The Red Room states that he does not at any cost believe of the supernatural (the ghost). He says: 'I can assure you...it will take a tangible ghost to scare me'. This statement tells us that he doesn't believe in ghosts of any kind. Also the man also states: "I have lived, and never seen a ghost have I seen yet."
In my opinion I believe that the characters in The Signalman reflect the horror genre. The Signalman doesn't exactly reflect the horror genre however the ghost and how The Signalman reacts and the situation he is in makes it reflect on the horror genre.
The signalman lives in a place which is surrounded with isolation and he lives alone as he has no family. He has a very 'solitary' life and I would also describe him as 'solitary'. He is lonely and has no social life of any sort. We don't really know much about the background of the characters in the Red Room. However when the author shows how scared and frightened the young man is, this does show the feeling of a horror genre. The author says: 'my hands trembled twice I missed the rough paper of the matchbox...'
The signalman's behaviour is quite natural to when he talks about the ghost or when he sees it. The author tries to show that the signalman is full of fear that his body does the answering for him. I think this because he says: ' once more I followed his action with my eyes'. Reading this sentence, this also shows that the signalman does this more than once as he says 'once again'.
In The Signalman, Dickens tries to keep the story gripped to the reader's mind by saying the story in a very confusing sense of style. He says how he tries to calm down the nerves of the Signalman's that he has just seen a figure which is just the deception of the eyes. ' I showed him that this figure must be a deception of his sense of sight'. In this way the signalman would feel a bit relieved. Later on the story goes on saying how the signalman tries to justify his reason for panicking because there was an accident on the railway 'within six hours of the appearance'. This provokes fear to the reader as well. This also shows a sign that there is a serious danger. The question in end after reading the book is that Is there really a ghost or was the signalman mad?
In my opinion, if a story fails to keep the reader's interest it isn't worth reading. The Signalman by Charles Dickens tries to keep the reader's attention with the confusion of the Signalman. This is shown especially when the narrator tries to calm the Signalman's nerves by suggesting that the spectre that he's been seeing is just a deception of his senses, 'I showed him that this figure must be a deception of his sense of sight'. By saying that it is likely that the Signalman's mind would be put to rest however, the Signalman explained that after the appearance there was an accident on the railway, 'within six hours after the Appearance; the memorable accident on this line happened'. This would mean that the spectre revealing itself to the Signalman must be a sign of imminent danger. Once again, the narrator tries to console the Signalman, along with himself ('a disagreeable shudder crept over me, but I did my best against it. It was not to be denied') by attempting to make the Signalman appear insane' 'though to be sure I must admit, I added (for I thought I saw that he was going to bring the objection to bear upon me), men of common sense did not allow much for coincidences in making the ordinary calculations of life'. Putting the verbal swordfight to an end, the Signalman said that he saw the spectre again, '"six or seven months passed, and I had recovered from the surprise and shock, when one morning, as the day was breaking, I, standing at the door, looked towards the red light, and saw the spectre again"'. The fact that he said that he had recovered from the previous sighting suggests that he wasn't restless when he saw the spirit the second time, however he is alone most of the time and naturally, his mind would want to entertain itself. So is he crazy or not? This entire situation seizes the reader's attention because it forces him/her to as himself/herself the questions "is the Signalman a madman?" "Is there really a ghost?" "When do we find out?" and it is this last question that compels the reader to read on further and find out.
In the same way, in The Red Room by H.G. Wells, the reader's interest is held the most at the climax of the story, when the young ghost hunter is struggling to find his way around -and eventually out of -the Red Room. The reader's attention is held by the way the anxiety of the young man gradually increases until the unfortunate event (which I will address shortly) occurred. The tension commences exactly at midnight when one of the candles went out in a way that would indicate that someone pinched the flame, 'as if the wicks had been suddenly nipped between a finger and thumb' and a shadow moved which made it look as if someone put it out, 'It was after midnight that the candle in the alcove suddenly went out, and the black shadow sprang back to its place there. I did not see the candle go out; I simply turned and saw that the darkness was there, as one might start and see the unexpected presence of a stranger'. The plight of the young narrator then intensifies when the candles begin to go out one after the other, 'as I stood undecided, an invisible hand seemed to sweep out the two candles on the table. With a cry of terror, I dashed at the alcove, then into the corner, and then into the window, relighting three, as two more vanished by the fireplace,' the fact that the candles keep going out, one right after the other gives the impression that the shadow is moving around the room, pinching out the flames and tormenting the young man. The story climaxes as the narrator gives up trying to illuminate the room and tries escaping the room that has tormented him so much but fails to do so on his own, 'I flung out my hands in a vain effort to thrust that ponderous blackness away from me... with my head bowed and my arms over my face, made a run for the door... struck myself heavily against the corner of the bed... struck myself against some other bulky furniture... a cramped struggle... a horrible sensation of falling that lasted an age, of my last frantic effort to keep my footing, and then I remember no more.' The young man's struggle whilst inside the red room grasps the audience's concentration because it leaves them anxious for the spirit to reveal itself, and that's exactly how I felt.
The Language that is used in stories also has a major part to play in the effectiveness of the story, and in this case, it has a critical part to play in provoking fear and tension in the heart of the reader.
The language used in both stories is used in a way that will effectively portray a paranormal atmosphere. For example, in The Signalman, the language used to describe the tunnel situated at the Signalman's post creates the image of a dark cavern, 'gloomier, entrance to a black tunnel'. The words that I would like to draw attention to are 'gloomier' and 'black'. The word 'gloomier' suggests that there was some sort of mist lurking around the tunnel to grab anyone or anything that was to wander in. The use of the simple word 'black' is very powerful because it suggests that the tunnel in not just dark, but deep impenetrable blackness. It is a combination of these two words that creates the image that the tunnel is like the mouth of a beast whose breath is hanging around the air, watching and waiting.
In contrast the Red room's grips the attention of the reader in another way, personally the starting grabs the attention of the reader but not too much jus to keep them clingin on, when it comes to the part where he is on his way to the red room is where the tension and fear start to kick in tremendously. Talking about omens and ghosts would attract anyones attention as they are well known forms of the 'dark side
The Red Room, the language used to describe the appearance of the room proved to be quite effectual in the creation of an eerie atmosphere. 'The sombre reds and blacks of the room troubled me; even with seven candles the place was merely dim.' The word 'sombre' can also be substituted for funereal, melancholy or mournful, all of which are words used to express sorrow so to describe the colours of the room as sorrowful shows that the word was a depressing place to inhabit. Needless to say the words 'merely dim' suggests that the room was slightly dark and darkness is always an aspect of the eeriest of the eeriest in the horror genre.
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