Claire Morgan :: English Literature

The Signal domain and The Black CatMystery Stories.In my opinion the most important involvement to make a good mystery story issuspense. The author should have the reader wanting to read on andasking questions right from the start. The description of the oscilloscopeand characters are vital to the mystery. It gives the reader theemotions to really understand the atmosphere of the story. I dontthink the atmosphere needs to be really obscured solely some bizarrefeatures are needed to get an eerie and suspicious feeling. A twist inthe end throws the readers prediction saturnine course, and brings themystery together. The clues should be laid out subtlety in the storyso at the end the reader can 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 realistic making theperson wearier of what is going on. Being written in the first personmakes the story feel more personal and emotional so the reader feelslike they are actually in the story. Dialogue also 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 gettinginvolved 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, but notices the strange, unfrequented man. He decidesto go down and speak with the signalman when he realises he will behere again. He soon becomes very involved with the problems of thesignalman. After the man told the narrator about his sightings thenarrator tries to find explanations of the delusions. However the nextevening he returns to find out that he was wrong. At first, he thinkshe is visual perception the exact same ghost that the signalman claimed to haveseen, but he soon realised that this was not. When he reached thebottom of the cutting he was confronted by the dead personate of thesignalman. As he watched while the evidence of the accident wasgathered the words of the driver echoed through his head. He had heardthese words before. The signalman had told him them the previous