Through the setting we can also see the context of the story. In “The Darkness Out There” we can see it comes from 1960’s – 1970’s because of the physical freedom given to mainly to Sandra as she is female. In “The Signalman” the description of the railway suggests the period in which the story was set, as in Victorian times railways were new for people. In the short story it was described as “ a strange magical place” as this was the Victorian view.
The narratives of both the stories do differ in the way they are told. “The Signalman” is told through the eyes of the visitor, and through him we get the narration of the story as well as things he feels, “a disagreeable shudder crept over me”. In “The Darkness out There” we see the story being told in the third person. Stories written in this form usually show how all the characters feel towards and react to different situations. However we see that Penelope Lively limits the viewpoint to Sandra’s and the story develops through her. We only realise what is happening when she does and only see things when she does. Also we can only see other characters outward reactions and emotions, but never see how they feel inside. This gives the effect of a story being told within a story; Mrs Rutter’s story being told within the story of the two children going to help this supposedly nice old lady. From this there are some aspects of tension being built. In the main story we are given hints of things like the German accident; and we are told stories of Packer’s End.
“After they were twelve or so and the witches went away. Then it was the German plane. And other things too. You didn’t know who there might be around in the woods and places. Like stories in the papers. Girl attacked on lonely road. Police hunt rapist”
This vivid suggestion put across by Sandra in the story is very strong and emotional which builds tension and suspense very well. Later on Mrs Rutter tells the story which is very slowly and in detail. This also creates tension,
“There weren’t any flames; it was just stuck there in the ground, end up, with mess everywhere. Drop more milk dear if you don’t mind”.
We are also given the image of Mrs Rutter being relaxed and not minding telling the story, as it was a normal thing to do. This is apparent in her language, which comes across as very plain and blunt, “tit for tat I said to dot” meaning her feelings towards what she had done were not strong and she felt it was an acceptable thing todo.
In Victorian times people were particularly interested in supernatural texts. Reading was a very popular and much enjoyed pastime. This meant books were usually written in a complicated way, and by today’s standards could be classed as difficult reads. We can see this in “The Signalman”, with complex sentences and extravagant words,
“That was to say he had enough responsibility to bear; but exactness and watchfulness were what was described as him, and of actual work-manual labour-he had next to none”. Also there is a complex story line, which makes the reader think about the events, especially at the end of the story, when we find that the signalman has been killed on duty in a very similar manner to that which he was seeing in his apparations.
In “The Darkness Out There” we hear a story of murder as an act of revenge. Today this may be seen as controversial subject matter, but the story was written post World War Two in about the 1960’s – 1970’s. When meant people had different views, and may have still been bitter regarding the subject, and therefore more able to accept what the story suggests. In this short story we can also see a contrast between the dark events which Mrs Rutter had taken part in and the bright future of the two teenagers, planning for careers and family, clearly in peaceful and prosperous times. “I’m leaving, July. They’re taking me on at the garage, the blue star. I been helping out there on and off, before”
In “The Signalman” we see he is presented as a very strong character. When the writer and the Signalman first meet we are given a subtle hint of forthcoming events, “He directed a most curious look towards the red light…as if something were missing…” These subtle hints interest the reader and make them want to read on. When the traveller first talks to the signalman he regards him as quite strange, “something in the man daunted me”, and reserved character. We also see from the initial meeting of the signalman, the traveller thought that he might have been a ghost because of the way the traveller introduced himself,
“The monstrous came into my mind as I perused the fixed eyes saturnine face, that this was a spirit, not a man” The mention of imortal beings help create the tension
As the story goes on we do however see the signalman’s character develop into a professional man. We find out he was an educated man but “ran wild” at university, so was expelled.
“A student of natural philosophy, and attended lectures, but had run wild, misused his opportunities, gone down and never risen again”
We also find he has other qualities as we see he is reliable and dutiful. We see this when he stops in mid sentence to carry out his duties on the line.
“I observed him to be remarkably exact and vigilant, breaking of his discourse at a syllable, and remaining until what he had to do was done”
This leads us to believe the traveller became impressed and interested by the signalman.
Through the signalman’s haunting we can also see other sides of him, we see he has a lot of fear, of the haunting. We can especially see this in his language in following his long conversation with the visitor, “What is the danger? Where is the danger?” These short sharp sentences show the fear in the signalman. We could also see this when the traveller introduces him self, as this is where we get the first hints of the Signalman’s instability and fear. He believes he has seen the traveller before and when asked where “He pointed to the red light he had looked at, there” We know the Signalman is showing fear at this point as he speaks in a “low voice”. Also how Dickens describes the signalman’s reaction shows fear, “
I detected in his eyes some latent fear of me.” The first time we are certain the Signalman is troubled is when the Signalman “turned his face towards the bell when it did not ring, he then explains “…troubled, sir, I am” However he leaves it until the next day before he tells the writer anything. This again makes the audiences want to read on because of the tension and suspicion, which has been built up. The haunting of the signalman is made to be a terrible experience because we can see his fear and frustration at being so powerless to prevent these supernatural happenings and what comes after them.
“if I telegraph danger either side of me or on both, I can give no reason for it…………They would think I was mad”.
We also see his frustration to what the spectre means
“What troubles me so dreadfully is the question, what does the spectre mean?”
Even the traveller mentions what a terrible experience it must be for the signalman at the end of his long speech “His pain of mind was most pitiable to see” We also see the traveller shows fear,
“Resisting the slow touch of a frozen finger tracing out my spine” This raises tension as the reader finds the narrator of the story begins to become afraid. This makes the reader feel uncomfortable, as it is usual for the narrator to be reliable and always provide safety for the reader.
The reader is given the image of the haunting being so terrible for the signalman because of the detail of the descriptions. We are told about the actions of the spectre and his position, as well as details of the accidents on the line. We can also see the accidents getting closer to the signalman, beginning inside the tunnel, to one accident meaning a dead body was taken into the signal box.
In “The Darkness Out There” we see Sandra and Kerry having to listen to quite a surreal story. Sandra, who is the character the story is directed through is still quite young and naive does not realise how vast the world is and how things may not be what they seem. We also know she is a little childish because some of her language suggests immaturity “old Mrs Rutter with her wonkey leg.” “She hoped it would be Suzy or Liz. They could have a good giggle…” We also get the impression she is a little self-centred and she thinks she is doing the right thing, “Ever so grateful the old poppets was what Pat said, not that you’d put it like that your self.” Also that she judges people on first appearances “You didn’t get Mrs Carpenter…running the Good Neighbours club. People with platinum highlights and spike-heel suede boots.” Sandra is part of ‘the good neighbours club, “it had become a sort of craze” this shows the reader she is also very influential.
In the story we see Sandra has a dream of going places, “run into a blue sea” and falling in love and producing garments using her skills as an embroider. We can see this contrasts with Kerry because he has a plan to work as a mechanic in the local garage, this suggests he is more clued into the surroundings and how people differ. Even though he is quite level headed and a hard worker we still see he is looked down upon by Sandra. But this changes when Sandra finds Kerry has very high morals, and is disgusted by Mrs Rutter. Sandra realise ‘the darkness is out there’, and her view of Kerry is altered, “he had grown; he had got older and larger”
To begin with Mrs Rutter comes across as stereotypical old lady, however there are hints to Mrs Rutters dark side, “her eyes snapped and darted”, this gives a very creepy feel to the woman, and builds a slight suspicion towards her. Because Sandra is so naïve, and judges people on first appearances we see that the story told by Mrs Rutter affects her more because she doesn’t know what to do and just follows Kerry. Kerry however is slightly suspicious of Mrs Rutter all the way through
“She’s alright, what wrong with her then?”
“He shrugged ‘I dunno the way she talks and that”
Also because Mrs Rutter lives in such a stereotypical ‘old persons’ hose and she is such a stereotypical old lady
“She seemed composed of circles, a cottage loaf woman”
“I always keep a few chockies for visitors, she brought out a flowered tin!!”
The revelation of Mrs Rutters true identity comes as a shock to Kerry and Sandra. When Mrs Rutter is telling the story we see her being very open about it. Like it doesn’t matter to her, “Good riddance to bad rubbish!!” We see Mrs Rutters attitude changing, she becomes a cold blooded murderer in the eyes of Sandra and Kerry, and it’s the contrast of Mrs Rutter being a nice old lady and then a killer which shocks the two teenagers the most. She also tries to make excuses for not saving the man, like bad weather and no means of transport. We can also say she is slightly hypercritical of her-self as she says she has a lot of time for young people, which is ironic as she managed to kill a 20-year-old pilot. It is these little things which gave Kerry and Sandra one of the biggest shocks as Kerry left after Mrs Rutter revealed the pilots age. All of these things contribute to the dreadfulness of the revelation, that, even someone who looks very pleasant can be completely sick, for Sandra and Kerry.
Another factor, which contributes to this, is the way Mrs Rutter comes across so unashamed of her actions, “Tit for tat I said to Dot”. The attitude she has however, I think is Lively’s way of exploring whether it is appropriate to do things, which in normal circumstances would be classed as bad. But, it is difficult for me to say whether the neutral portrayal of Mrs Rutter is appropriate as I have not experienced war and the attitudes it provokes. I do however understand that it is a time when the country has to pull together and unite against a common enemy. I think that Mrs Rutter is not a harmful person and that with the situation as it was during the war she should not be discriminated against for what she did. The time the story was set also influenced the way Mrs Rutter was represented, as a lot of people held similar views. We can also see that the way Sandra and Kerry were represented was affected by the time the story was set. This is mainly because we can see some typical gender roles of that time. Such as, Sandra wanting to work in the textiles and Kerry wanting to work as a mechanic. In “The Signalman” we see the signalman being a very professional, dutiful character which also typical of the time in which the story was written, as that was a common attitude Victorian people had to work.
After looking at the two books, I think “The Signalman” comes across as the better story. One thing I particularly liked about “The Signalman” was its use of language and interesting descriptions,
“And the gloomier entrance to the tunnel, in whose massive architecture there was a barbarous, depressing and forbidding air”
Also I enjoyed the subtlety of the clues such as how danger was drawing closer to the signalman, and the use of a mystery traveller to help lead the story along. I think it was the more interesting out of the two and has a controversial ending unlike “The Darkness out There”. This is because I found it very linear and I thought there was no real tension or surprise as today’s morals and views all suggest what Mrs Rutter did was wrong, and everyone one would realise it. The two stories build up suspicion and tension in similar ways by having the audience asking questions, which is a very effective tool to build up tension. Also both stories have contrast, “The Signalman” shows it between the world above and the world below, and “The Darkness Out There” between light and dark. However they do differ in some areas, “The Darkness Out There” concentrates on psychology, and the idea that we judge and stereotype on appearances. “The Signalman” however has little moral to the story and is rather self-explanatory in the psychological sense. The difference between the attitudes of the stories could be explained, as through time people’s preferences in books have changed and the average person wants something with more meaning than the supernatural stories.
