Charles Dickens The Signalman and A Birthday by Karen Mansfield Essays

Charles Dickens' The Signalman and A Birthday by Karen Mansfield A signalman is a short story written by Charles Dickens. This is a story about a signalman who is driven â€Å"mad† by the environment of his work, away from sunlight and people. But he was not alone; a supernatural ghost decides to accompany him too. He has a lot of responsibilities to shoulder. There are only two characters that really are prominent in the short story. In fact in the story, there are only about three to five characters. The important characters are the signalman and the narrator. Charles Dickens uses dialogue to make the characters more appealing and easier to understand. He has written exactly what was need to understand the story, nothing less or nothing more. The characters are described physically briefly but Charles Dickens has described their attitude, nature, thoughts and character to a great deal. Through out ‘The Signalman’ the signalman’s name is not mentioned which seems quite awkward. The signalman tells the narrator about his worries and still they do not ask each other their names. It seemed a little strange! The signalman was troubled but it did not seem so if a person who would have seen him for the first time and judged him by his appearance. The signalman’s appearance described in the story as, â€Å"†¦he was a dark sallow man, with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows.† He seemed to look perfectly reasonable and normal but you should never judge a book by its cover. You cannot tell his problems merely by his appearance! (Proved by the short story) The signalman is a very peculiar man. When the narrator called him from the top of the steep cutting he did not seem to reply and walked down the railway li... ...is short story is written by a woman it seems to be more descriptive. If ‘A Birthday,’ and ‘A Signalman,’ were compared Andreas Binzer’s character would be unquestionably more descriptive than that of the signalman. Karen Mansfield described everything from his teeth, attitude and nature in greater detail. Meanwhile, Charles Dickens just wrote what was needed exactly. The way people see each other seems to differ so drastically. In one short story you try to understand a person’s problems and situation whereas, the other shows how inconsiderate a person can be and still be blessed with great people around them. I spent a long time writing this essay and I believe that if I take the time I would really show what people are like. It amazed me how realistic the characters in these short stories are and that many people like those can be found in the world.