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During my essay I will be looking at two short stories from the 20th and 19th centuries. I will examine the similarities and differences of Lamb to the Slaughter and The Signalman in content style and language. I will also show how the writer’s background influenced them to write these stories. In some ways these […]

Both of these stories are set in the Victorian era and were written before 1914. The Dickens story explores the introduction of railways, while the other story shows how scientific theory began to replace mystery and how Victorian people started to embrace rational thinking. “The Red Room” uses a dark castle in a remote area […]

Each of these tales includes a similarity – the presence of an enigma or supernatural element. Charles Dickens is fond of tales involving the supernatural, mystery, and ghosts. He is able to infuse his stories with a sense of authenticity and plausibility, which enhances the reader’s immersion in the narrative. One of his notable works […]

During the last three months we have been studying three short stories, The Monkey’s Paw by W. W. Jacobs. Lamb to the slaughter by Rould Dohl and Lost Hearts by M. R. James. The three stories have some different themes but are similar in many ways. The themes of, The Monkey’s Paw, are greediness, guilt […]

Charles Dickens was an author famous for his full-length stories, although he wrote a few short-length ones too. One of those was the “The Signalman” written in the mid 19th century. The genre of this story is horror, and creates an atmosphere which is spooky and eerie. The Setting. “The Signalman” is a story written […]

This story is about a person, his name Captain Murderer. The story is a horror and has gory parts in it. This Captain murderer has a sick and twisted mind that loves to marry innocent women and killing them to put in a pie. So what happens, I’ll tell you. The story starts of where […]

The first line of the “SignalMan” is, ” ‘Halloa! Below there!’ “. The signalman looks away confused. As this is what the ghost had said the signalman is cautious about the source of it. This is the visitor. This already adds a tense atmosphere, as the signalman is afraid and cautious of the new visitor.You […]

‘A Speckled band’ and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ are two stories about murderers. Lamb to the Slaughter challenges the stereotypical conventions connected a crime story whereas ‘a Speckled Band sticks to the conventions. In this essay I will compare the two stories about their approach to the narration, characters, setting, crime and how each story […]

Looking further into the aspects of Gothic Horror, three short stories, `The Black Cottage’ by Wilkie Collins, `The Old Nurse’s Story’, by Elizabeth Gaskell, and `The Black Veil’ by Charles Dickens were written to suit Victorian tastes, containing morals that still make readers think about life. The writers make different choices and decisions about the […]

Short, entertaining stories were extremely popular within the Victorian era, and a number of popular writers emerged, captivating their Victorian audience with their suspenseful tales. Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens were all respected authors in this era, and they produced three of the most tense short stories ever created; ‘The Old Nurse’s Story,’ […]

The setting of the story creates a mysterious feeling from the start. Early on in the story Dickens begins building up the tension, the opening line says “Halloa! Below there!” this gets us immediately into the story showing us we must be follow the story carefully to understand it. This also gets the reader-asking questions […]

‘The Swan’ by Roald Dahl and ‘The Signalman’ by Charles Dickens are two stories which create an atmosphere of tension, fear and danger. ‘The Swan’ is a late twentieth century story about a small boy who is severely bullied by two older and bigger boys. ‘The Signalman’ is a nineteenth century ghost story of a […]

The atmospheres in the stories differ very much right from the beginning as in Lamb to the Slaughter we have a pregnant happily married woman who is waiting for her husband who she loves very much to come back from work so that she can make him something to eat etc. Words like “wonderful”, “Luxuriate,” […]

In the 1800s, belief in spirits and the supernatural was common. This increased the appeal and triumph of gothic tales because they were seen as believable. The period experienced a boost in spiritualism as many individuals lost their faith in Christianity since the Church could not rationalize the presence of ghosts. As a result, people […]

We will be examining how tension and suspense are created in two short stories. I will analyse the use of language, setting, characters and plot to see where tension has been created for he reader. We are looking at ‘The Signalman’, which is a pre-1990 Dickens’ story and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, a more modern […]

“Lamb to the Slaughter” is a short murder mystery story written by Roald Dahl a Norwegian author, in 19 54. It is a Black comedy and was very macabre and startling for its time, and still is now, but it isn’t seen as quite so shocking and politically incorrect “Did they kill them both- mother […]

A short story is a condensed fictional narrative typically concerning a relatively small number of characters. Short stories may aim to excite the reader provoking emotional responses, to the situations or characters described in the piece. The ghost / mystery genre presents unexpected events, building a sense of anticipation as the reader waits to see […]

An Inspector Calls is set in 1912, just before the beginning of World War One, however it was written in 1944-5, and was first performed in 1945 as the Second World War ended. Priestley survived the First World War, but bitterly disliked it. So when the Second World War came around, he began to question […]

Although Gerald Croft is one of those that are deemed responsible for the death of Eva Smith, my personal opinion is that he doesn’t need to contribute as much response as the other members of the Birling Family – but at the same time, I think that he feels as guilty as the others. I […]

The aim of this essay is to demonstrate, with ample evidence, the significant amount of dramatic tension that the Inspector generates and his contribution to the play ‘An Inspector Calls’ overall dramatic effectiveness. The play was written by J. B. Priestley in 1945, in the aftermath of both world wars and the disastrous maiden voyage […]

“An inspector calls” is a play written by J. B. Priestly in 1946, but its setting is in 1912. These two dates present a stark contrast for multiple reasons. In 1912, the economy differed significantly as individuals prioritized themselves over others, and there was a considerable increase in the circulation of money. This made the […]

In this Essay I will be trying to point out J. B. Priestley’s intention in writing ‘An Inspector Calls’. I will also be showing how modern interpretations of the original, support his message o the audience. J. B. Priestley wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ in 1944 but it was first performed in 1945 in Moscow. It […]