The Signal Man

Charles Dickens has created this short story by building tension and

climax from the start to the end. One of his many ways of building

tension is through his descriptive passages and dark-toned speech of

the Signal man - and occasionally the narrator.

There is a very powerful opening as the Narrator shouts "Halloa! Below

there!", which are key words throughout this chilling short story. The

exclamation marks at once produces an alarming suspense and raises

tension as the reader cannot acknowledge which character speaks. This

introduction leaves the reader with suspicious thoughts concerning

both characters as they have released minimal information about each

other. This introductory speech triggers off the complicated plot, as

later on it is unexpectedly revealed that there is a lot more

significance and meaning to that sentence. It is only half way through

the first paragraph when Dickens indicates this short story is written

from a first person point of view, which means that the reader is most

likely to share opinions with the Narrator. Shortly into the short

story the Narrator begins to omit more information to the reader, the

majority being on the strange Signal man, who's figure is

"foreshortened and shadowed". The Signal man has proven that he is a

partially well educated man, who has attempted to teach himself as

much as he possibly could. "Algebra" books were also learned whilst he

was in his "lonely" post. Dickens could be implying that he is trying

to teach himself as much as he can, for he has only little time to

live. The description in his formal speech is impressive as he

describes his shadowing memories in the nature that surrounds him,

"..in the glow of an angry sunset", the Narrator personifies the sun

(which is expected to be very beautiful) twisting it into anger and

hatred- suggesting that there is something wrong with the scene

itself, it is very abnormal. This 'angry sunset' also represents hell,

as angry flames are often associated with the devil and the

underworld. The Narrator does not approve of the "gloomier entrance"

of the "black tunnel", this adds towards the negative attitude of the

surrounding nature. "Vague vibrations in the earth and the air", are

felt by the Signal man, which is one of the many ways that Dickens

hints something is wrong. The Narrator is afraid and senses an error

in the operation of nature through the crack of the valley, leaving

him and the reader in suspense. The Signal man strikes him as "a

spirit, not a man", although he shortly believes there may have been

"infection in his mind". Dickens gives minimum information on the