blog




  • Essay / How Charles Dickens and Ray Bradley used major literary devices to create tension and atmosphere in The Signalman and There Will Come Soft Rains respectively

    Explore how two short stories vividly create tension and AtmosphereAuthors Charles Dickens and Ray Bradbury vividly create tension and atmosphere using several key literary devices. In the short story “The Signalman,” Charles Dickens creates a sense of foreboding by slowly describing the events and setting in vivid detail. Ray Bradbury's story "There Will Come Soft Rains" creates a feeling of emptiness by using detailed description, then builds tension later by describing the fire in the house in detail. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Firstly, in the story “The Signalman”, Charles Dickens creates a sense of foreboding in the story. First, Dickens says "suffused with the glow of an angry sunset", which suggests that there is danger ahead and that trouble may be near. Then Dickens says "The cut was extremely deep and unusually hasty." This tells us that the break is not a good place to be and could be dangerous. After this, Dickens says "It became weepier and wetter as I went down" and then "So little sunlight reached that place, that it gave off an earthy and deadly odor." This suggests that the signalman's station is haunted and gives the impression that the narrator will find something terrifying in the station. It also sets the mood for the rest of the story. Finally, Dickens says "it sent shivers down my spine", which suggests that there is a supernatural element to the story and this creates tension. Additionally, the author also creates a supernatural element in the story which creates tension. After the narrator speaks to the signalman and explains that the "ghost" might be a hallucination, he says, "An unpleasant chill came over me." This suggests that the narrator is also beginning to believe that there is a "ghost" and this convinces the reader that the "ghost" is real. In addition to this, the writer also creates tension by describing the strange behavior of the signalman. An example of this would be when the author said, “while he was speaking to me, he interrupted himself twice with a faded color.” This tells us that there is something haunting the signalman and creating tension. Additionally, the author wrote "but I am troubled, sir, I am troubled", which further reinforces the idea that the signalman has a problem and could be haunted. This is also a narrative hook, so the reader can only find out what is troubling the signalman in the morning, which creates tension. In another way, Charles Dickens also creates a sense of foreboding which creates tension. The narrator describes his way to the signalman's station in the story and he sets the mood by saying that something is wrong. He says “With an overwhelming feeling that something was wrong.” This gives the reader the feeling that something undesirable is going to happen and creates nervousness in the reader because they don't know what to expect next. In the short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” Ray Bradbury creates an isolated and empty atmosphere in several ways. Ray Bradbury creates tension by describing the isolation in the house. Bradbury describes the isolation of the house by saying “The house in the morning was empty", which tells us that there is no one in the house. He also says "The rain was beating on the empty house, echoing". This quote sets the mood by telling us that it is raining. The rain makes.