Suspense. Tension. These two words are often the main feature of gothic literature, both traditional and contemporary. ‘The Signalman’ written by Charles Dickens in the year of 1866 is an example of traditional gothic literature. In contrast to that is Roald Dahl’s ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, which is written in the year of 1953, is an example of contemporary gothic literature. Both stories create suspense and tension in a different but a similar way. In ‘The Signalman’, imagery, which is symbols in the story that create a significant image in the audience mind, supernaturalism, which is mystical beings or events that cannot be explained, and isolation, which is when the setting and or the character is lonely, is used to create the horror uncertainty
…show more content…
Reality itself can be quite confusing, and this is capable of letting the audience relate to some of the feelings in the story. This can be seen in the quote of “each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come”. In this quote, it shows a normal scenario where a wife patiently waits for her husband to be home. However, this ordinary scenario creates uncertainty because the audience is already expecting for something to happen. The wording of “each” exaggerates the amount of time as though the wife is counting each and every second until her husband reaches home. Furthermore, this point could also be seen in the quote of “her first instinct was not to believe in any of it”. This lets the audience relate to it when something unexpected and unwanted happens, and to reject it instead of accepting it. The wording of “instinct” moulds a sense that she was acting according to what she wants without accepting the reality, and follows her sixth sense to guide her through the path. In the quote of “if she went about her business and acted as though she hadn’t been listening… none of it had ever happened”, it shows that Mary Maloney does not want to believe in the disappointing news she has heard, and therefore would like to pretend none of it has occurred rather than accept it. The wording of “none” proves that she would rather go on an ordinary basis instead of hearing all those
Reality itself can be quite confusing, and this is capable of letting the audience relate to some of the feelings in the story. This can be seen in the quote of “each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come”. In this quote, it shows a normal scenario where a wife patiently waits for her husband to be home. However, this ordinary scenario creates uncertainty because the audience is already expecting for something to happen. The wording of “each” exaggerates the amount of time as though the wife is counting each and every second until her husband reaches home. Furthermore, this point could also be seen in the quote of “her first instinct was not to believe in any of it”. This lets the audience relate to it when something unexpected and unwanted happens, and to reject it instead of accepting it. The wording of “instinct” moulds a sense that she was acting according to what she wants without accepting the reality, and follows her sixth sense to guide her through the path. In the quote of “if she went about her business and acted as though she hadn’t been listening… none of it had ever happened”, it shows that Mary Maloney does not want to believe in the disappointing news she has heard, and therefore would like to pretend none of it has occurred rather than accept it. The wording of “none” proves that she would rather go on an ordinary basis instead of hearing all those