Discuss the ways in which Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and HG Wells create tension and suspense in - page 1
Keywords: Discuss the ways in which Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and HG Wells create tension and suspense in the three short stories The Signalman, The Red Room and The Withered Arm. Comment on the ways in which the stories reflect the attitudes of the time. English literature
By Mose. on 01/09/2008
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 1 of 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Introduction
The three stories written by Thomas Hardy, HG Wells and Charles Dickens all reflect and expose their personal attributions of the Victorian era. In the early 1900’s technology almost grew faster than population. Charles Dickens wrote The Signalman in response to his involvement in a train accident in which ten people were killed, ever since Dickens was a strong critic of the new cutting edge technology of the time.HG Wells wrote the Red Room. This story was written in the times of when the theme “gothic” entered Victorian literature. Lastly, Thomas Hardy wrote the withered arm. Thomas hardy was also fearful of the rapid revolution of industrial technology; he feared that the technologies could obliterate traditional rural life.
The Signalman
The Signalman is set in 1865, the time when the invention of trains was spreading all over the nation. The signal box along the line, where the story is mainly based, is very lonesome this alone adds curiosity to the reader as it was unusual for Dickens to set the story in a place where any life where to be seen.
Dickens opens The Signalman, with words that are to be vital further on into the story “Halloa! Below there!” The Signalman reacts to this in a crude and sinister way as he ignores the narrator; this immediately makes the reader curios of the Signalman.
Dickens gives the reader early indications of something supernatural at the beginning of the story. “Just then, a vague vibration in the earth and air changing into a violent pulsation” In this quote Dickens is describing a train passing down the line. He portrays the train as though it were an evil creature or monster. The tunnel, in which the train enters is also described negatively “the dismal mouth of the tunnel”. All of these negative connotations again reflect Dickens view on the modern railways. The Narrator goes on to describe the path in which he used to descend, and talk with the unexplainable signalman. “The cutting was extremely deep” we imagine the path as dangerous; the descriptions of it are as though he was entering an eerie dimension and leaving earth.
The narrator approaches the Signalman, who is standing mysteriously in between the railway lines, on which a train had just passed, as if waiting for the Narrator to appear. “He was standing between the rails, waiting for me” this undoubtedly creates more suspense, as the reader does not know
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