The Red Room by H G Wells and The signalman by Charles Dickens Essay Example
The Red Room by H G Wells and The signalman by Charles Dickens Essay Example

The Red Room by H G Wells and The signalman by Charles Dickens Essay Example

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  • Pages: 10 (2484 words)
  • Published: October 15, 2017
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Examining H. G. Wells' "The Red Room" and Charles Dickens' "The Signalman," my essay will compare and contrast these two pre-1900 prose short stories.

In the story "The Red Room," the narrator describes his encounter with Lorraine Castle and his decision to investigate the notorious room of the same name. Initially, the origin of its title remains a mystery until the narrator chronicles his firsthand experience.

I speculated that the room was called "Red Room" either because it was painted red or because of a negative event that occurred inside. The color red often evokes images of blood. At the beginning of the story, the protagonist meets with the castle's owners, who he describes as being "inhuman in senility, something crouching and atavistic." He notes that elderly people seem to lose their human qualities gradually

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over time. The owners were three peculiar individuals, each with their own unique strangeness.

There were three elderly individuals - two men, one with a withered arm and the other with a bad throat, and one woman. The narrator felt uneasy in their presence due to their gaunt silences, poor posture, and obvious unfriendliness towards each other and the narrator. Despite their objections, the narrator asked permission to visit the room and spend the night out of curiosity to understand why everyone was afraid of it. Though warned, the narrator insisted that it would take a tangible ghost to frighten him.

The narrator admits to never encountering a ghost at the age of twenty-eight, but the old woman suggests that this may be due to their current location being unlike any other. She warns of much to see and lament. The author

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sets a gothic tone by describing the sound of an elderly gentleman's cane tapping against corridor flags while he enters the front room.

The elderly woman insinuates that something terrible happened previously on the night when she says "This night of all nights." Furthermore, the statement "It's your own choosing" implies that they will not be accountable for any mishaps he might encounter in the room. Although he exhibited no fear and only confidence and courage in the presence of the seniors, he began to feel anxious and demonstrate signs of terror on his way to the red room.

The main character suggests the purpose of his visit to the red room by remembering how his predecessor died in the same place, leading him to feel unsettled. He decides not to provide more details, adding a sense of intrigue. After entering the room, he promptly locks it as a precaution against any disruptions. The Lorraine Castle owned this room where the young duke had fatal mishaps after falling down some stairs. The protagonist is careful and ensures that no one can enter or disturb the room.

Displaying signs of fear, he lit all the candles in the room and barricaded himself with a table, while carrying a revolver. These actions indicate that he was not feeling secure at all. The room's somber reds and blacks troubled him, even though he had seven candles lit, causing considerable nervous tension. As the night progressed, the candles began to go out one by one, which led to him talking aloud to himself in shock.

'What's up?' I exclaimed, my voice taking on a strange pitch. As he hurried around the room attempting

to light the candles, his panic increased and overwhelmed the courage he had displayed earlier in the narrative. 'Twice I failed to light the match due to my trembling hand,' he explained, attributing this fear as his primary adversary. 'It was like a disheveled storm cloud that obscured all of the stars,' he continued, expressing his desperation as the darkness that loomed over him caused him to lose all composure.

In a state of frenzy, he dashes towards the door in the dark, collides with the bedpost, stumbles against other heavy pieces of furniture and ultimately loses consciousness. He recollects nothing thereafter. The following morning, he regains consciousness with a clouded mind. The elderly folks are present and inquire about his nocturnal episode.

After slowly recovering his memory of the experience, the narrator confirms the room is haunted, as the old man had claimed. The elderly debate among themselves about who haunts the room, but the narrator disregards their theories and concludes the haunting to be real.

I stated that the most terrifying thing for a morally deficient individual is fear. It is a fear that persists in its purest form, refusing to allow any light or sound to penetrate it, overwhelming reason and causing deafening darkness. This fear trailed me in the corridor and challenged me in the room. After a pause, I declared that there is an all-encompassing black fear in her chamber, which will remain as long as this den of vice exists. The author concluded this tale with this statement, which was a skillful way to end it.

Throughout the story, the author creates tension and adds an element of mystery to

the haunted room. The narrator guides us through the experience by sharing feelings of fear, bravery, anxiety, and trepidation. As readers, we can relate to these emotions. However, when the narrator is knocked out, the events leading up to this moment remain unclear.

The story recounts the narrator's encounter with a signalman, who shared strange happenings occurring underground. Whether caused by his own actions or those of a spirit or person, the narrator learns that the haunted presence in the room was rooted in the fear and negative energy lingering from its past. As a doctor, the narrator seeks to understand and help the signalman uncover the source of these events.

The story starts with the narrator hailing the signalman by shouting "Halloa! Below there" while looking down the railway track. The signalman instructs the narrator to follow a path that leads underground. Upon arriving, the Signalman is portrayed as a somber-looking man with a dark beard and heavy brows. The ambiance is unsettling, with the entrance to a dark tunnel giving off a barbarous, gloomy, and daunting vibe. Natural light barely reaches this place, causing it to emit an earthy, lethal odor. Furthermore, the persistent rush of cold wind made it feel as though the narrator had departed from reality.

While observing the man's unchanging eyes and gloomy countenance, the narrator begins to question whether he is dealing with a spirit or a mere mortal. Nevertheless, this uncertainty vanishes as soon as the man takes a step back and reveals his hidden fear. This interaction between the two characters gives an initial clue about the story's direction, as the narrator wonders why the man seems frightened of

him. In response, the man confesses that he is unsure if they have crossed paths before.

The narrator indicates the location of the signalman's post by pointing towards the red light. They descended towards the box where the signalman works. It is revealed that the narrator had some knowledge of the signalman's background. The signalman had studied philosophy and attended lectures, but had failed to make the most of his opportunities and ended up with a lowly job as a signalman for the underground trains.

According to him, the signalman carried out his duties even while conversing, stating that he had made his bed and had to lay on it and that it was too late to make another. The signalman experienced two instances where he fell with color, turned towards the bell when it did not ring, opened the door of the hut and gazed towards the red light close to the entrance of the tunnel. To conclude their initial meeting, they arranged another time and location to meet again. However, the signalman provided numerous warnings and directives.

Instructed not to shout, the signalman is asked why the narrator called out "Halloa! Bellow there!" The narrator admits he doesn't know why he did it. The signalman clarifies that those were exactly the words spoken.

Familiar with them, the signalman reveals prior knowledge of the words and their significance to the story's plot. After exchanging pleasantries, the conversation remains shrouded in intrigue with minimal information about the signalman's dilemma disclosed.

During their first meeting, no information was provided about the signalman's issue. However, during their second encounter, he openly shared his troubles with the narrator. Without delay, he revealed that

the person he had initially mistaken the narrator for was causing him distress. The narrator was eager to discover the identity of this individual.

In describing his initial sighting of a mysterious figure, the signalman admits his ignorance when asked about the face: "I don't know. I never saw the face. The left arm is across the face, and the right arm is waved, violently waved." He expresses great urgency and intensity, shouting, "For God's sake, clear the way!" as he recounts hearing these words from someone else who observed the figure as well.

Standing next to the red light near the tunnel, someone repeatedly hollers "Halloa! Bellow there!" These phrases are significant in solving his perplexity. Despite never seeing the person's face, the signalman recognizes their voice. Upon running towards the figure with outstretched arms to address the issue, the person vanishes before his left arm touches his face. The signalman returns to his post and sends telegraphs in both directions assuring that no issues occurred.

The narrator realizes his role as a doctor and tries to ignore the eerie feeling creeping up his spine, caused by what he perceives to be a deception of his sense of sight due to nerve disease. The signalman later reveals that six hours after the sighting, a major accident occurred on the railway line and ten hours later, the dead and wounded were brought through the same tunnel where the figure had appeared.

As a physician, the narrator attempted to resist his disagreement despite feeling an unpleasant shudder. He attempted to rationalize the situation as a coincidence, but this same coincidence persisted. Several months later, the signalman informed the

narrator that the same event had occurred again, however, this time the figure was silent. At that moment, a woman who had been suffering great pain and lay on the floor between the two men talking there, suddenly passed away.

The figure repeatedly rang his bell and uttered "For God's sake, clear the way!" to reassure the signalman. When asked about their initial encounter, the signalman stated that the bell rang twice. However, the narrator heard nothing at all, leading him to question whether it was a trick of his mind or a supernatural occurrence. The signalman is troubled by this figure and seeks answers from a doctor regarding its warning, meaning, and potential danger on the Line. He fears that a disastrous calamity may soon occur.

The third time is undeniable, even after previous occurrences. However, the haunting of the signalman is cruel and concerning. The quote implies that he may be predicting his own death as he is the only one who sees and hears the figure. This causes him to panic. The narrator shows sympathy towards the signalman, observing his distressed state.

The narrator reflects on the mental anguish of a conscientious man burdened with an incomprehensible responsibility regarding human life. The signalman becomes increasingly agitated as he discusses why the spectre chose him and laments being an unimportant signalman instead of someone higher up who would be believed. As a doctor, the narrator determines that the signalman poses a threat to public safety in his current mental state and advises him to report his sightings to his superiors and seek discharge. Eventually, the signalman calms down.

On the following night, they departed once again

as the narrator attempted to conclude the case as a doctor for his patient, the signalman. The narrator contemplated how he should act now that he had received this disclosure. The signalman had proven himself to be an intelligent, vigilant, painstaking, and exact individual, but the narrator wondered how long he could remain so in his current state of mind. The final meeting between the signalman and narrator was filled with mystery, strange thoughts, and weirdness. The doctor accompanied the signalman to inform his superiors of the bizarre happenings, knowing that this act would lead to his discharge from his job.

As the narrator approached the edge again on the following evening, he saw what he initially thought was the figure with its left arm covering its eyes. However, his nameless horror dissipated when he quickly realized that the figure was actually a man. This moment marked a rare instance where the narrator glimpsed the signalman's perspective. The mistaken identity erased any doubts or suspicions from his mind. Additionally, a small group of men were present.

The narrator had a sense that something was amiss and feared he may be to blame if the signalman had suffered harm. He felt responsible as the one who was there to support and listen to the signalman. The group of men shocked him by delivering the news of the signalman's death that morning from an engine. Describing what had happened, the narrator realized with horror that the signalman had been correct all along.

The signalman had a feeling of impending death and sensed danger nearby while he was positioned at the entrance of a tunnel. A train passenger shouted "Below there!

Look out! Look out! For God's sake clear the way!" but unfortunately, the signalman couldn't move quickly enough and was hit by the engine. In conclusion, a doctor who is narrating the story reflects on how coincidental it is that the warning from the driver included both the same eerie words that were bothering the signalman as well as additional phrases that only came from thoughts in their own mind.

Being a man who works with science, the supernatural holds no truth nor beliefs for him. Instead, he views it all through medical explanations and coincidences. The two stories share similarities in their eerie and mysterious settings, both written in Pre-1900 prose with tense interactions between characters who lack understanding of one another. The scenes in both stories take place in dim and dull surroundings and leave a sense of mystery and anxiety until the end when all is explained clearly.

Both stories conclude with a non-supernatural thought from the narrator, but differ in their settings and outcomes. "The Signalman" takes place indoors and results in the character's death, while "The Red Room" follows the narrator's emotions, thoughts, and experiences throughout the story.

The narrator in "The Signalman" openly displayed bravery and fear. Being a doctor in the world of medicine, he did not believe in the natural world. However, he treated the signalman as a patient and exhibited very little fear, only experiencing occasional moments of doubt.

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