The Signalman by Charles Dickens, The Adventure of the Speckled Band by

The Signalman by Charles Dickens, The jeopardise of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and The yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman pot have write short stories for hundreds of years yet itwas not until the nineteenth century that they really became popular. Shortstories were the ideal form for writers who wished to straighten out someimmediate money and reach a wide audience. As more people were giventhe chance of receiving basic education, literacy rates better andmore were able to enjoy instruction. As the technology improved depressionbecame chinchyer meaning that more people could afford to buy and readcheap magazines. This was in the days before television or radio whenreading aloud was a much more popular form of entertainment.I have chosen to look at three short stories which were written in theVictorian age by different authors. They are The Signalman byCharles Dickens, The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir ArthurConan Doyle and The Yellow Wallp aper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.The story The Signalman takes place in an isolated railway cutting,where a traveler meets and befriends a lonely signalman who has astrange account to tell. He is being haunted by a mysterious figure thatlurks in the let out of a rail tunnel, warning him of imp final stage tragedy.He has appeared twice before and on both occasions the signalmanwitnessed terrible accidents a train pick and a young bride fallingfrom a speeding carriage. The signalman fears that the figure pull up stakesreturn and some other tragedy will occur.Charles Dickens wrote this tale after being involved in a train clangin which he narrowly escaped injury. The accident haunted him for the residuum of his life.The Yellow Wa... ... next? What will happen to her? The woman in The Yellow Wallpaperis very untypical of the figure subject in a psychological thriller.She at first seems to be a perfectly ruler woman not really ill atall, but gradually we see her mind deteriorat e and she slowly turnsinto a creature resembling a wild animal, prowling around her bedroom.The Signalman bears some similarities to Sir Arthur Conan Doylesstory in that on that point is a definite ending when the signalman is killed.There is a difference however in that the reader is then left with aquestion in their mind, which is similar to The Yellow Wallpaper. Isthe narrator of the story a normal person or is he possibly the ghost?This is the typical ending of a mystery story leaving the reader witha troth to ponder over after they have finished reading, makingthem want to read it all over again.