Charles Dickens (document en anglais)
Commentaire de texte : Charles Dickens (document en anglais). Recherche parmi 298 000+ dissertationsPar 159852 • 5 Mai 2013 • Commentaire de texte • 1 388 Mots (6 Pages) • 860 Vues
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Charles Dickens has created this short story by building tension and
climax from the start to the end. One of his many ways of building
tension is through his descriptive passages and dark-toned speech of
the Signal man - and occasionally the narrator.
There is a very powerful opening as the Narrator shouts "Halloa! Below
there!", which are key words throughout this chilling short story. The
exclamation marks at once produces an alarming suspense and raises
tension as the reader cannot acknowledge which character speaks. This
introduction leaves the reader with suspicious thoughts concerning
both characters as they have released minimal information about each
other. This introductory speech triggers off the complicated plot, as
later on it is unexpectedly revealed that there is a lot more
significance and meaning to that sentence. It is only half way through
the first paragraph when Dickens indicates this short story is written
from a first person point of view, which means that the reader is most
likely to share opinions with the Narrator. Shortly into the short
story the Narrator begins to omit more information to the reader, the
majority being on the strange Signal man, who's figure is
"foreshortened and shadowed". The Signal man has proven that he is a
partially well educated man, who has attempted to teach himself as
much as he possibly could. "Algebra" books were also learned whilst he
was in his "lonely" post. Dickens could be implying that he is trying
to teach himself as much as he can, for he has only little time to
live. The description in his formal speech is impressive as he
describes his shadowing memories in the nature that surrounds him,
"..in the glow of an angry sunset", the Narrator personifies the sun
(which is expected to be very beautiful) twisting it into anger and
hatred- suggesting that there is something wrong with the scene
itself, it is very abnormal. This 'angry sunset' also represents hell,
as angry flames are often associated with the devil and the
underworld. The Narrator does not approve of the "gloomier entrance"
of the "black tunnel", this adds towards the negative attitude of the
surrounding nature. "Vague vibrations in the earth and the air", are
felt by the Signal man, which is one of the many ways that Dickens
hints something is wrong. The Narrator is afraid and senses an error
in the operation of nature through the crack of the valley, leaving
him and the reader in suspense. The Signal man strikes him as "a
spirit, not a man", although he shortly believes there may have been
"infection in his mind". Dickens gives minimum information on the
anonymous Narrator and focuses primarily on the Signal man. It is not
mentioned why the Narrator has come to this "dungeon", and Dickens
builds up the climax gradually as the Signal man does not answer the
narrators questions', but instead remains silent and empty. Here is
where the reader begins to come to the judgement that there is
something peculiar about the mysterious man.
Charles Dickens describes the Signalman as a "dark sallow man" with
"heavy eyebrows" and "a dark beard". This presents the Signalman as a
very grim and dark man, one that wears a face which can only be forged
by the torments of many years in hell. He works in his "solitary" and
"dismal" post away from people, he is seen .The Narrator states that
the Signalman is a, once educated, person that "never rose" from the
valleys' walls, as if to say that he could never rise from the depths
of this hell-like image of this valley. This builds up tension as the
Signalman seems to appear stranger and stranger by the second, causing
the narrator, to fear of what may happen. Dickens may be implying that
the Signal man is a murderer or a villain in this short story as the
title is based on him, which is very misleading.
The Narrator sees that there is only a "strip of sky" that shines on
the Signalman, this could represent the target that he wants to reach
- the narrow gap of hope that he has of making something useful of his
life. "Could he never rise from the sunlight between the high stone
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