Claire Morgan :: English Literature

The Signalman and The scandalous patMystery Stories.In my opinion the most important thing to discharge a good mystery story issuspense. The writer should have the lector wanting to read on andasking questions right from the start. The description of the saddle horseand characters are vital to the mystery. It gives the reader theemotions to rightfully understand the atmosphere of the story. I dontthink the atmosphere needs to be really obscured but some bizarrefeatures are needed to get an supernatural and suspicious feeling. A twist inthe end throws the readers prediction off course, and brings themystery together. The clues should be laid out shadiness in the storyso at the end the reader burn down see what they missed as they werereading. If questions are left unanswered at the end of the story itkeeps the readers thinking so they can imagine what happens. A deathmakes the story more tragic and far fetched yet real making theperson wearier of what is going on. Being writ ten in the scratch line personmakes the story feel more personal and emotional so the reader feelslike they are actually in the story. Dialogue alike adds to thisaffect. Having the words of a person gives you a better idea of theirpersonality.I have recently studied The Signalman written by Charles Dickens andThe Black Cat by William Wintel. They were both written in the 19thcentury. The Signalman is a mystery story about a man getting complicated with a signalman. As he first calls down to the signalman, hebecomes part of the nightmare. The writer plays the part of thedetective as the story is written in the first person. He starts offas just a passer-by by, but notices the strange, lonely man. He decidesto go down and speak with the signalman when he realises he will behere again. He soon becomes genuinely involved with the problems of thesignalman. After the man told the narrator about his sightings thenarrator tries to recall explanations of the delusions. However the nexte vening he returns to find out that he was wrong. At first, he thinkshe is seeing the exact same touch sensation that the signalman claimed to haveseen, but he soon realised that this was not. When he reached the goat of the cutting he was confronted by the dead body of thesignalman. As he watched while the evidence of the accident wasgathered the words of the driver echoed finished his head. He had heardthese words before. The signalman had told him them the previous