Analyze short story-THE SIGNAL MAN by Charles Dickens
The Signal-Man" is a short story by Charles Dickens, first published as part of the Mugby
Junction collection in the 1866 Christmas issue. It is based on the 1861 Clayton Tunnel train
accident incident.
PLOT
according to my analysis The plot in this story is a compound plot because at the beginning it
was told that the character met the crossing guard who was going on. The crossing guard felt
that my character was someone he knew. Then, the crossing guard tells about the incident he
witnessed a year ago (flashback), he tells the story from beginning to end.
Stage Plot :
•Exposition
The story begins when the narrator summons a railroad crossing guard The guard post was a
remote and dark place. On each side was a rough stone wall, and there was nothing more
surrounding the guard post than the outlines of the sky. All that could be seen was a long
giant prison. If we glance in the other direction, at the end of which we can see a dim red
light, we can see the entrance to a giant dark tunnel with a sad and eerie atmosphere hanging
in the air. Only a small amount of sunlight can penetrate into this hole, giving the air a smell
of earth and death.
•Inciting moment / Force
The railroad crossing guard felt that he had seen the narrator before, but the narrator refuted
this. Then the railroad crossing guard takes the narrator to his guard post and talks about his
work. His job consisted of boring monotonous routines, but the crossing guard felt he didn't
deserve better, because he wasted his academic opportunities when he was young. The
narrator explains that the railroad crossing guard seemed like a devoted employee at all
times, except when he twice saw the notification bell when it wasn't ringing. There seems to
be something interfering with the bell. Before the narrator leaves, the railroad
crossing guard asks him not to call him when he gets to the top and invites the narrator to
come back the next day because he wants to tell the narrator something.
•Rising action
The next day, the crossing guard tells the narrator that he is haunted repeatedly by the ghostly
apparitions he saw at the entrance of the tunnel and that each aftermath of the ghost
sightings was always followed by a tragedy. In the first instance, the crossing guard saw a
figure with his left arm covering his face, waving his hand. He then ran into the tunnel but
there was no one. A few hours later, there was a terrible train accident with many dead. The
second ghost apparition is a figure with both hands in front of the face as if crying. Then a
young woman died in a train carriage. The crossing guard admitted that he had seen ghosts
several times over the past week.
•Complications
The railroad crossing guard believes that the appearance of a ghost figure he saw was a sign
of the coming third tragic event waiting to happen like the previous 2 cases.
•Climax
The narrator is worried and worried about the condition of the railroad crossing guards. He
then tries to calm the crossing guard and leaves him at the guard post at two in the morning
even though the narrator offers to stay the night.
•Falling action
On the way home, the narrator thinks about ghost sightings and about what the railroad
crossing guard said.
•Denouement
The next day, the narrator visits the railroad crossing again and sees a mysterious figure at
the mouth of the tunnel. But that figure is not a ghost, but a group of people on duty. The
narrator finds that the railroad crossing guard is dead by being hit by an oncoming train.
Before the accident happened, the driver explained that he was trying to warn the crossing
officer by calling him, “I said, ‘Below there! Look out! Look out! For God’s sake, clear the way!’
” In addition, the driver waved his hand while covering his face so as not to see when the
train hit the crossing officer. The narrator sees the similarities between the actions taken by
the driver exactly as described by the crossing guard before.
CONFLICT
•Conflict between characters
In the short story "The Signal-Man", the author describes the conflict between the characters,
namely the narrator and the railroad crossing guard. Where the railroad crossing guard firmly
believed that what he had seen all this time was a ghostly figure who appeared to give him a
signal of the coming tragic event waiting to happen.
•Character conflict with environment
In the next conflict, the author describes the conflict between the crossing guard and his
environment. Where he is always visited by a ghost figure while on duty. Every time he
appears, the ghost always says the same thing, “Halloa! Below there! Look out!”.However,
when the crossing guard approached the source of the sound, the ghostly figure disappeared.
And every time that ghost figure appears, there will definitely be a tragedy that follows.
CHARACTER
1. Physical Aspect
there are only two main characters in the short story "The Signal-Man," and neither of them
are named.
Narrator
Very little can be described for the narrator's character in this short story, although we can
infer from the way the railroad crossing guards treat him. He calls him "Sir", indicating that
the narrator is from the middle or professional class. We also know that the narrator lives in
an "inn," which can be assumed that he doesn't live in the area.
· The Signal-Man The Signal-Man
himself is the main character in this short story, as shown in the title. The Signal-Man lives at
the railroad crossing guard post. Her past trauma is revealed. On his last visit, the narrator
finds out that the signal-man has died
· Two more Characters
Only two other characters in the story appear briefly at the end .
-First, the man who works on the crossing, takes care of the signal-man's body,
-an engineer who explains to the narrator how the train hit the signal-man.
2. Psychological Aspect
Viewed from the psychological aspect, the narrator and the signal-man have opposite
properties, which can be described as follows: ·
Narrator :
From a psychological point of view, this narrator is a person who does not believe in mystical
things. ·
The Signal-Man :
The Signal-Man is described as a responsible and hard worker. Believe in mystical things
because they have experienced taruma in the past.
1.from the proportions of its nature
·Flat Character : Auxiliary officer and machinist
· Round Character : Narrator and The signal-man
2. from the development of his character
· Static Character : Auxiliary officer and machinist
·Develoving Character : Narrator and The signal-man
3. from its function
-Central character:
a. The narrator has an antagonistic nature because he does not believe in the supernatural
events told by the signal-man.
b. The Signal-Man : Protagonist
-Subordinate characters:
In the short story "The Signal-Man" there are additional characters, namely, assistant officers
and machinists.
SETTING
The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens, the setting is one of the intrinsic elements that greatly
influences the whole story. The background in the short story is what makes the story very
horror. The background can also affect the characters in this short story.
1. Settings of Place
· Rail
Proof: I walked along the tracks (with an uncomfortable feeling at the thought of a train
coming from behind me).
· Guardhouse
Proof : When he heard a voice call out to him, he was standing in the doorway of the guard
post holding the flag still rolled up.
2. Setting of Time
· Morning
Proof : “What is the matter?” I asked the men.
“Signal-man killed this morning, sir.”
“Not the man belonging to that box?”
“Yes, sir.”
· Evening
Proof : He wished me good-night, and held up his light. I walked by the side of the down Line
of rails (with a very disagreeable sensation of a train coming behind me) until I found the path.
…”Good-night, then, and here’s my hand.” “Good-night, sir, and here’s mine.”
3. Social Settings
The narrator describes that the signal-man is an educated person even though he is only a
railroad crossing guard.
Proof : On my trusting that he would excuse the remark that he had been well educated, and
(I hoped I might say without offence) perhaps educated above that station, he observed that
instances of slight incongruity in such wise would rarely be found wanting among large bodies of men; that he had heard it was so in workhouses.
4. Style of Setting
The background of the room in this short story is in the guard post near the railroad crossing tunnel
5. Atmosphere
The atmosphere in The Signalman short story is dominated by a gloomy, scary, and sad
atmosphere. Proven by: If we glance in the other direction, at the end of which we can see a dim red light, we can see the entrance to a giant dark tunnel with a sad and eerie atmosphere hanging in the air. Now, sir, listen to this carefully and imagine how much it breaks my heart. The ghost reappeared a week ago. Since then, the ghost has remained there, occasionally appearing and then disappearing.”
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