A Comparison between 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens and 'The Red Room' by H.G. Wells

A Comparison between 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens and 'The Red Room' by H.G. Wells

How do Dickens and Wells create a sinister

and supernatural atmosphere in the opening of The Signalman and the

Red Room?

Dickens and Wells both create a sinister and supernatural atmosphere

in the opening of The Signalman and The Red Room by using the Gothic

features, such as the presence of grotesque characters, haunted rooms,

superstition and previous deaths. These features are all key ideas in

the Signalman and the Red Room, as Dickens and Wells have been

influenced by the particular popularity towards horror and

supernatural genre at that time of writing. To address the title, I

will analysis the text thoroughly for the key language that will

create a sinister and supernatural atmosphere, such as pronouns and

repetition of words.

The Signalman, by Charles Dickens, is about a powerless man who is

visited by a traveller (the narrator of The Signalman). The story is

inspired by a railway accident that Dickens was involved in, where the

train was derailed and ten people were killed. The whole story

revolves around just two characters, the narrator and the Signalman.

The powerless man works as a Signalman for the passing trains and

lives near by the train track. The railways were only recently

invented; so it was cutting edge technology. But, when the Signalman

sees the traveller for the first time he becomes afraid by the three

words that the traveller utters. As the two men spoke, the Sign...

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...ough Dickens and Wells use of language devices,

the authors’ not only give a threatening and paranormal atmosphere,

but they also convey to the reader that the setting of the story is

linked to the characters themselves.

To conclude, both Dickens and Wells have used language, setting,

behaviour and description of the characters to increase the

supernatural and sinister atmosphere in both The Red Room and The

Signalman. They have involved social historical context, religion and

gothic literature in their stories to terrify the reader, dealing with

the passionate, mysterious, horrific and supernatural atmosphere, ‘The

Red Room’ and ‘The Signalman’ openings are typical examples of gothic

literature and have been written very carefully with detailed literacy

devices to increase the feel of the supernatural and sinister.