Skip to main content

Some dreadful calamity will happen, it is not to be doubted this third time, after what has gone before. But surely this is a cruel haunting of me....

The speaker of these lines is the signalman and he is speaking to the narrator. The signalman feels certain that a "dreadful calamity" is about to happen because two accidents have recently occurred on the railway line and each of these was preceded by a ghostly apparition which warned him of the events to come.


The signalman suspects that this third ghostly sighting is designed to warn him of another impending accident but he is...

The speaker of these lines is the signalman and he is speaking to the narrator. The signalman feels certain that a "dreadful calamity" is about to happen because two accidents have recently occurred on the railway line and each of these was preceded by a ghostly apparition which warned him of the events to come.


The signalman suspects that this third ghostly sighting is designed to warn him of another impending accident but he is unable to decipher the ghost's message, prompting him to call it a "cruel haunting." He desperately wants to understand the meaning, to try and prevent an accident but is unable to do so.


The signalman is understandably grieved by these recent events and the prospect of another accident on his watch. This is supported by the narrator's observation of the man:



His pain of mind was most pitiable to see. It was the mental torture of a conscientious man, oppressed beyond endurance by an unintelligible responsibility involving life.



The narrator's response is to try and help the signalman. His initial scepticism now gone, the narrator wants to prove that he has indeed been visited by a ghost. His solution is to accompany the signalman to see the "wisest medical practitioner" in the area and take his opinion.


The narrator and the signalman thus agree to meet the next evening but the meeting never takes place. In a tragic twist of events, the signalman is killed the next morning and the narrator realises that the ghost had come to warn the signalman of his own death on the line.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

What gift did Della buy for Jim and why in "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry?

Della buys Jim a watch fob because his watch is his most prized possession. Della and Jim Young do not have much money. Despite this, Della really wants to buy Jim a good Christmas present. She is even willing to sell her hair to get him a nice gift. This is ironic because we learn Della and Jim both highly prize her hair. Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which... Della buys Jim a watch fob because his watch is his most prized possession. Della and Jim Young do not have much money. Despite this, Della really wants to buy Jim a good Christmas present. She is even willing to sell her hair to get him a nice gift. This is ironic because we learn Della and Jim both highly prize her hair. Now, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair.  Della is still willing to sell her hair so she can b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...
Post a Comment
Read more