Comparing The Signalman' by Charles Dickens and The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
In this essay I will be focusing on the comparisons between the two
horrific tales, 'The Signalman' written by Charles Dickens and 'The
Pit and the Pendulum' written by Edgar Allan Poe, and by looking at
these tales, will give me an idea of how suspense is built up.
In the opening paragraph of 'The Signalman', suspense is built up
immediately as the sense of sound adds confusion and many rhetorical
questions are asked such as, who is calling? Why is he calling? What
is he calling about? "Hallo, below there!" suggests this. This adds a
lot of trepidation for the reader.
When the signalman looks down to the tunnel, once again a lot of
anticipation and puzzlement occurs. It makes the reader think why the
signalman looks down to the tunnel, like something imaginary was
supposed to be there. Then when a train comes past, the movement and
sound are described as. 'A vague vibration in the earth and air'.
There is an 'oncoming rush' from the narrator and I imagine its an
'oncoming rush' for the reader too. This adds to the sense of
feelings, helping the reader to visualize the scene and therefore be
more personally affected. Maybe something is going to occur when this
train comes past.
In the second paragraph on page 131, the narrator uses some words and
phrases, which keeps the reader grasped. The narrator describes the
feeling he has when he is making his way down to the train track to
greet the signalman as 'the cutting was extremely deep and unusually
precipitate', which means steep or uncontrolled. He associates the
feeling as 'jagged st...
... middle of paper ...
...inds out this, he notices a group of people on a
railway line, which adds a lot of confusion to the narrator himself
and the readers.
As the narrator goes up to the men, the style of writing changes
straight away. A lot more speech is used and a sense of panic is used.
The death of the signalman is so shocking for the signalman he wants
to know exactly what happens and factually demands what happened to
him. "How did this happen!" implies this.
The death is really chilling as if you think about it, the signalman
was lured to his death by the figure, but maybe it was for his own
good, maybe the figure was trying to save him from something. We don't
really know. This increase the suspense rapidly as we are left in
shock and wondering weather the signalman was a man tortured by a
figure at the mouth of the tunnel.
Edgar Allan Poe, Born Jan 19 1809, was better at writing suspenseful stories, usually with a twist at the end. In the story, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Poe describes an unnamed narrator telling the story of a man who was put in prison, drugged, and sentenced to death
Moreover, the trip in the train gives an example of the loss of the humanity. In the train, a
Like many stories written by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Pit and the Pendulum” creates an eerie atmosphere with an unknown character. This story focuses mainly on the distinct detail on the surroundings that seem to enhance the senses due to the character’s current state of blindness in the present environment. With little information presented of the character’s reason in being there, the experience seems to be the main focus of this short story. “Poe places the narrator of “The Pit and the Pendulum” in just such a crucible of painful sensations, which force him to grapple with an ultimate state of horror.” (Kent Ljungquist) As stated in an analysis by Kent Ljungquist Poe does place the narrator in this threshold of fear ,but interesting enough in this story compared to his other works seems to revolve around the sense of hope.
In Edgar Allan Poe’s works, there are many similarities between them and his life. There are plenty similarities to find when only focusing on two of his stories, The Tell Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado. When paying close attention, it is easy to notice the similarities and differences between Poe‘s life and his stories..
Authors use various styles to tell their stories in order to appeal to the masses exceptionally well and pass the message across. These messages can be communicated through short stories, novels, poems, songs and other forms of literature. Through The Masque of the Red Death and The Raven, it is incredibly easy to get an understanding of Edgar Allen Poe as an author. Both works describe events that are melodramatic, evil and strange. It is also pertinent to appreciate the fact that strange plots and eerie atmospheres are considerably evident in the author’s writings. This paper compares and contrasts The Masque of the Red Death and The Raven and proves that the fear of uncertainty and death informs Edgar Allen Poe’s writings in the two works
Edgar Allan Poe's Tell Tale Heart and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Speckled Band
witness to the murder of this man. You can't believe what he said. The train
In the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe, diction is extensively used to create an air of suspense. Poe’s use of diction along with symbolism contributes to establishing a mood of despair. By using symbolic comparison between the Ushers and their house, the story’s suspense builds and the characteristics of the Ushers are portrayed. Poe’s cunning tactics are evident in the way he achieves a story of both suspense and horror.
Starting off, “The Pit and the Pendulum” was written in a developed way that tells events in the order they occurred in. Otherwise known as the sequence of events, this technique in writing makes a story clear so the reader can understand it without confusion. Using sequence of events greatly impacts the suspense in a story by making the the reader constantly have a burning desire to find out what happens next. There was a lot of uncertainty as to what would happen next to the narrator in “The Pit and the Pendulum,” like as the pendulum was coming closer to him while he was tied down to a large piece of wood. Would he make it out unharmed?
Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809. He is considered a part of the American Romanticism period. He is best known for his works of mystery and psychological terror. Poe is recognized for his gothic tales of mystery, death, terror, puzzles, and psychological problems (poets.org). He has influenced many writers including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes series. Poe was different than other authors in that he was influenced by his own current life. He had endured many deaths and dark periods. His mother died of tuberculosis and so did his foster mother later on. His wife, Virginia Clemm, also died from this terrible disease. This especially was evident in his works. She influenced him in his works of “Annabel Lee” and “The Raven” (poets.org). Poe uses the themes of terror and the mystery of the mind to show that under the circumstances anything can happen to anyone. In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, “The Purloined Letter” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Edgar Allan Poe explores horror, the mystery of psychology and puzzles in order to show the depth of the human mind and the consequences of it.
“The Tell-Tale Heart is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest fictional short stories. It is known for its repulsive and insane homicide; a very wild and thrilling tale. Likewise, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well-known novel, The Scarlet Letter, is famous for its directness on sexual conflict. Both writings possess similarities with regards to modified characters, connected symbolism, and significant midpoints. Due to these comparisons, it is quite certain that Hawthorne found inspiration in writing The Scarlet Letter after reading “The Tell Tale-Heart”.
Every single day in life people fight. They fight against family, they fight against nature, and finally, they fight against themselves. Referring to the general psychology, the conscious mind - it is person’s well-known personality, which makes him or her aware about every action he or she does. On contrary, the unconscious mind is where person’s emotions like aggression, desires and memories are kept deep inside so he or she is not aware of. Most of the time people want to do something that is not right by the norms of society. So a lot of them restrain themselves from doing it. However, in different cases, a person who is doing whatever he want, deep inside feel guilt which he tries to hide even from himself. In the short story “William Wilson” by Edgar Allan Po, the main character was living a life of a bad person, who thinks only of himself. In his unconscious mind, he creates his alter-ego, which trying to make things right and be the best man. His alter-ego is a representation of his desires and thoughts deep inside. Considering movie Fight Club, directed by David Fincher, there goes the same idea of a man and his alter-ego, who represents his own true idea of right and wrong. Both stories have a lot of differences and similarities which are presented throughout the whole plot.
There are many differences and similarities that occur between The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and The black cat by Poe. These differences happen due to their themes, character list and the motif. The two books are similar in their literary device in the use of first person narration.
mind and it did not exist. We are told by the narrator that he thought
He starts off wanting to know all about this train he keeps hearing. He says, "I read in the papers about the Freedom Train. I heard on the radio about the Freedom Train." He wants to know everything he can about this train. Its almost as if everybody knows there is such thing as a train, but its almost as if no one knows what the train is.