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 The Signal Man by Charles Dickens

The Signal Man is just another poor but honest and dedicated man who has to live and work in dreary circumstances and is a figment of Dicken’s own imagination. But, Dickens sympathy lay with these people who were constantly plagued by misery as the author himself was a social reformer. Dickens also worked for education which gives rise to new ideas. The short story has elements of horror used in such a way that the real and the imaginary planes meet. On the real plane, every element of horror is realistic and not any apparition at all. But, a mind in misery is prone to think of ways in methods that suite horror. So, on the imaginary plane, it seems that there are ghosts all along the story. This atmosphere of suspense keeps the readers glued to the work and the end the mistery is resolved.

 

The Signal Man stands near a tunnel which is so dark and cut out of a hill. He has to unfurl and flag and waive it to signal the train. His eyes are glued to the red light that emerge out of the tunnel and he does his job with a great dedication so his eyes are as fixed as a ghosts. The author-narrator almost thinks that this man looks like an apparition, his face and body are barely visible. He is not impressive but his work is very important because without his undivided attention, railway accidents would be inevitable.

Poor people populated England during Dicken’s times and they tried to earn their ways by honest and hardworking means. They did not look impressive, even the Signal Man does not look impressive but they hide behind the important work that they do.

The Signal Man has to spend his duty hours away from his home, his village, and far away from other people during cold nights. He is constantly plagued by worry which his eyes show. His entire countenance is a disturbed one. The author-narrator himself appears like a ghost to him because it is dark all around and the miserable imagination of the Signal Man is deciphering things more like a ghost than like real people.

There is a box where the Signal Man can stay during his duty hours. This box does protect him from cold but it also confines him.

The element of horror and mystery is added when the hand and the face appear. Three accidents have been witnessed by the Signal Man. In the first accident, a hand had appeared which looked like a spirit’s to the Signal Man. Right after the appearance of that hand, the train met with an accident and the Signal Man was a witness to it. The second time, a hand that had partially covered a face had appeared and though no proper train accident took place, a woman… a very beautiful woman… who had died during her train journey was carried out of the giant vehicle. The corpse of this woman was kept right beside the Signal Man. So, the Signal Man often wonders that this hand must have belonged to a ghost and is terrified of it. The hand again appears a third time. The author-narrator has decided to come and meet the Signal Man to get to know him more closely. The author-narrator learns that the Signal Man has died because the train has cut him into half. The same hand had appeared and the Signal Man feeling too scared kept staring at it, and could not remove himself out of harm’s way and died.  

Fate is a major question because why is a poor man’s fate the only governing factor in his life? The Signal Man thinks that the hand appears and catastrophy strikes, but why, why is there no warning beforehand to help avert that accident? A poor man’s life is just a series of calamities and all these events have been symbolized by the Signal Man who is a creation of Dicken’s own imagination. Dickens gives a lot of dignity to this poor and half-educated man who is capable enough to ask these questions. This question is a very profound one, the power of fate and the frequent occurrences of calamities in the life of a poor man.

Dickens has always known about the hardships that plagued almost the entire population of England back then. He has never been pessimistic about it. He has always shown how the characters have faced these challenges and overcome them by learning important lessons and growing. Dickens’ characters are realistic but dynamic as they change over time and make themselves better. However, the Death of the Signal Man at the end bespeaks of a tragedy.  

Dickens has created this character and used many techniques to convey a message about the lives of the majority of people in England.

Charles Dickens is a master story teller. He gives space to his characters to grow and live their real lives. His characters are imaginary but they personify the real people that Dickens had met. In his ‘Tale of Two Cities’, he had discussed the French Revolution, the reason behind its rising, the reason why it continued, and how it was impacted by various sections of society and what effect it had on various people, have all been discussed in a great detail. All this has been done through the medium of individuals and their lives.

Thought process by SB-

Just take a look at how the British not only ruined India but also ruined their own land. What is that all about? I think we cannot blame their culture or ethnicity for being barbarians that ruined our sacred and beautiful land, for their land too, has people but where is empathy in all this? Besides, after independence, even our Indian politicians displaced so many tribals and followed the western model of growth to ruin our nation and deprive us all. No, not the people of England but their Satanic thought which they carried all the way to India is to blame. Besides, when Indians imbibed that thought, their actions became Satanic too. And, Charles Dickens portrays it all. The majority of English were not educated or well-off enough so they fooled their own people by talking about the ‘White Man’s Burden’. But, the politicians of England were the real villians for even after Dadabhai Naoroji wrote ‘Poverty and Unbritish rule in India’, how could they still continue with their barbaric schemes in our sacred land of life and beauty? No, the world needs to get rid of these thoughts that has destroyed America’s native population and is in the process of ruining us all.