Preview

The Red Room

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1512 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Red Room
00

Comparing The Red Room And The Signal Man

I am going to write my essay on two very good short stories. The Red Room by H.G Wells and the Signal man by Charles Dickens. I am going to explain how the author progressively builds tension and suspense. The authors use different techniques such as the use of light, darkness and colour. The techniques that they use create moods and feelings towards the characters and rooms.
The Signalman, is written in the first person, set in an old cutting by a train track, with only a tunnel and a signal box in amongst the trees and bushes. The signalman that uses the box seems to be the only person that ever enters the cutting, causing him to appear lonely and creates an air of mystery around the
…show more content…
This starts to make the reader feel that there may be an underlying cause of the signalman's strange manner of behavior. “But I am troubled, sir, I am troubled.” is a line that confirms the reader's earlier thoughts, as it is followed by “It is very difficult to impart sir, it is very difficult to speak of.” These lines show the reader that the signalman has had some disturbing experiences or sightings on the track during his lifetime, as is later confirmed by the signalman. The signalman shows similarities to the elderly residents of the castle in the The Red Room, as they all seem to have past experiences in their current setting that have damaged their current mental state. The first words said by one of the residents is “It is your own choosing.” showing that the man with the withered arm does not recommend what the narrator has in mind, immediately adding suspense and fear to the situation as the reader realizes that the narrator's words of “it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me” may come back to 'haunt' him. “It is your own choosing” is repeated many times by the man with the withered arm, …show more content…
In The Signalman, the setting is in a dark, lonely cut away next to an even darker tunnel. This is because ghosts are generally associated with coming out at night, darkness and the quiet surroundings, occasionally being interrupted by loud noises, in this case, the train track. Dickens describes a “dripping-wet wall of jagged stone” giving a hostile impression of the dreary cutting surrounding train track. The view from the train track itself is described: the perspective one way, “only a crooked prolongation of this great dungeon”. This could be portraying the view from the track that the signalman himself has, as he has to spend most of his life in the cutting, with just nature for company and the occasional passing train that he has to signal danger to. He could see it as a dungeon he has been trapped in his entire life and the reader may believe this is what is starting to make him go crazy. “So little sunlight ever found its way to this spot, that it had an earthy deadly smell;” raises the levels of fear and suspense, as it suggests that not many people had ever been to that place either, or that nobody had ever come back from this place, making the situation

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    In my essay I will conduct a detailed analysis, on how he displays a concept of duality that Dr.jeykll and Mr.Hyde battle in a conflict of good and evil in the vast double psychological character, also how the suspense will attract the reader with mindboggling suspense. This key element is vital in keeping the reader hocked to the novella.…

    • 3228 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Amber Room

    • 3383 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Isachenkov, Vladimir. "Mystery of the Amber Room resurfaces - Technology & science - Science | NBC News." Breaking News & Top Stories - World News, US & Local | NBC News. 9 June 2004. Web. 29 Nov. 2012. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5174876/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/mystery-amber-room-resurfaces/#.ULftmu_aJ8F>.…

    • 3383 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The combination of words, create tone/mood in all stories; through those tones, a realization of certain aspects of life or an alternation of those views are intensified. Three short stories, "A Rose for Emily," "The Destructors," and the "Interpreter of Maladies," shine brightly in exemplifying how words used in a specifics order or meaning, create tone to alter one's opinions.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To take our first example, a compressed and tightly knit plot is an important element in a good story. If the main characters inhabit a believable and interesting situation, it makes readers think. Otherwise they would not read the story, or if they did, the reader might feel an antipathy toward the work. Also, the good story must process the main characters’ conflicts through to a resolution. This gives readers courage that they could accomplish similar feats, or it can widen readers’ viewpoints through an indirect experience. For example, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” describes the emotional illness of the main character; thus it arouses readers’ minds, provides an indirect experience, or even gives courage to those who have a family member suffering from a similar emotional illness.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hg Wells The Red Room

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The way this makes the narrator to become more significant is the change of character. At the beginning of the story the man (narrator) represents himself as a calm and still person. The way that the narrator has expressed this is 'that it will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me'. This characteristic soon changes where he starts to hallucinate becoming superstitious of the ghastly happenings that occur around him before he enters the red room. '...darkness closed upon me like the shutting of an eye, wrapped about me in a stifling embrace sealed my vision'. Again the man shows another change towards his attitude in which he expresses his outer fear, talking broader, louder than he is…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tension In The Red Room

    • 2258 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The Red Room builds the suspension with the title; we as the reader are immediately attracted to the title "The Red Room" because it raises so much curiosity and leaves many unanswered questions. "What is the red room?" "Why is it red?" The colour red is associated with fear, danger and maybe even blood so is the room dangerous? Our minds can create so many thoughts about this one title that we are filled with an urge to read on to find the answers to our questions. With the speckled band we are made curious by red herrings and information which is very difficult to make sense of. So you carry on reading hoping to discover the elusive mystery Sherlock Holmes is attempting to solve.…

    • 2258 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mood — Discuss what mood was established while you read your chosen short story and what the author did to create that mood in you.…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Red Room Analysis

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page

    I'm from the United States of America and the story that I read was "The Red Room" by H. G. Wells. One of the most prevalent and popular forms of horror in the last decade has be the "psychological terror" sub-genre, as was displayed in Wells' story.…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Setting plays a massive role in a ghost story because it makes the story more frightening and "spooky". Detailed setting also creates more realism and sensibility even though it's a ghost story. In The Signal-man, the setting takes place at a train track that is different to a typical Gothic story, which is usually an old castle, a haunted room or house. The writer uses the effect of darkness to create a sense of fear and oppression, "It stood just outside the blackness of the tunnel. (Pg. 12)" Dickens uses words such as "chill", "gloomy", "dark" and "echoing passage" to further emphasize the…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Types of Essay

    • 1267 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Suspense can be conveyed through the detailed description of the surroundings in which the event takes place i.e mise-on-scene, which in turn will help to make the incident real to us. A number of scenes will lead up to the central incident, each scene sharpening our interest in what is to come. A good choice of adjectives will help sharpen our sense of suspence. The writer will not forget the personal touch in all this.…

    • 1267 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The process of social peer pressure brought about by the narrator slowly manipulates the signalman to distort his own vision and belief as he starts to believe the way mainstream do. When the signalman tells his story about his first encounter with a ghost, the narrator, considering the signalman’s story a nonsense one, tells the signalman that “the figure must be a deception of his sense of sight”. He also points out that such figures often trouble “patients”. His statement not only indicates the way he groups the kind of men like the signalman as patients but also indirectly leads the signalman to raise question whether his experience is real. As the signalman continues his story by explaining that the accident does take place only a few hours after his confrontation with a ghost, the narrator emphasizes his standpoint by suggesting the signalman that “men of common sense did not allow much of coincidences in making the ordinary calculations of life.” This suggestion distinguishes the line between “a man of common sense” like the narrator himself with “a troubled man” like the signalman very crucially. As the signalman finishes his story, the narrator departs his box by leaving his kind offer to take the signalman to “the wisest medical practitioner” which highlights the distinct line between the narrator and the signalman. The signalman eventually gets killed instantaneously by the train because he decides to ignore the reoccurrence of the warning voice of Tom, the driver in that it resembles the ghost’s voice for he starts to believe that such voices are not real.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Analysis: The Room Two

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Room might originally have been an iOS title, but a lot of effort clearly went into enhancing it for its PC debut. The wait was worth it though as the PC version retained all the best elements of the original game while also polishing everything to a fine sheen. The developers used the same approach for The Room Two, which follows directly after the events of part one. Your character is still following the cryptic letters of the scientist who got him embroiled in the mystery, but this time it is a quest that takes you beyond the creepy mansion.…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Room

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The familiar chime goes off marking another day has started. I slowly open my eyes feeling that something is going to happen today. As always, I start my day by running around the walls in my room. I like how running makes me feel, I get lost in it and can try to picture a world where there are no rooms, where I can run free. An alarm goes off jolting me back to reality, telling me it is time to eat.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Poker Room

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The poker room is a very unique and exciting place, but it can also be a frustrating place. Poker is a game for everyone. There are many different types of people in a poker room, anywhere from rich to middle class and in some cases lower than that. There are many sights and sounds all around, from the people to the décor, as well as the materials for the games. Poker consists of lots of different games and there’s usually at least one table for each game type. All of this makes a poker room a really exciting and unique place to be.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What makes a haunted house 'scary?' Is it the mystery, the unknown suspense of what is inside? Is it the feeling people have when inside that environment? These characteristics of being in this setting are known are known as the gothic elements, which are the factors contributing to the eerie scenery. Similar to a haunted house, the red room from chapter two of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is seen as a spooky setting, causing people to feel anxiety and fear while inside. The characteristics and mysteries the red room holds as well as Jane's severe distress throughout the scenery are the gothic elements that significantly contribute to the spooky atmosphere of the setting.…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays