Whereas Mrs Rutter is an old woman involved in the second world war, but some of the things she mentions lead us to believe that the story is set around the 1970’s.
Physically both stories are set in a similar climate to each other. In cosy little rooms, with atmosphere, that are lonely and secluded with an open fire. Fire helps create a perception of evil as many people think of hell as fire and brimstone orientated.
As I have already said, the beginnings of the two stories are contrasted. ‘The Signalmans’ beginning is eerie and weird and doesn’t give out a lot of information to the reader. This means the reader is enticed to read on just to see how the story develops. ‘The Darkness Out There’, however, has a light and refreshing start. Leading us into a false sense of security.
But there are also similarities between the two. Both stories include places that represent people’s fears. Packers End and the Tunnel.
The main theme of ‘The Darkness Out There’ is that people are not necessarily what they seem to be. Also in ‘The Darkness Out There’ is the theme of young people growing up and realizing whom they are. Whereas the main theme in ‘The Signalman’ is death and responsibility and how it affects's people. So really they are similar in a way. As both themes are focussed around responsibility, death and guilt and how they affect people. Mrs Rutter is not guilty at all as she has justified and glorified her actions to herself, and The Signalman can never forgive himself for something that was not really his fault. The main characters are two very different people, in both mind and actions.
The main characters in ‘The Darkness Out There’ are Mrs Rutter, Sandra and Kerry. Mrs Rutter is an old woman that has lived through world war two. Sandra and Kerry are young and still in school. They meet Mrs Rutter through a school club. Both stories show similarities between their main characters. They are both lonely people. Both of the characters are affected in different ways in the situations being discussed in the two stories. But the reactions of the other characters are more important. It helps create the mood of the story. The reader is likely to follow the lead of a character and react in the same way when revelations are made. In ‘The Darkness Out There’ Sandra and Kerry react in disgust at Mrs Rutter refusal to accept responsibility for what she has done. Whereas the narrator in ‘The Signalman’ is intrigued by The Signalman’s refusal to accept that the accident was not his fault. In both stories there are characters we do not see but only hear about through narration. The Signalman and The Pilot. Unseen characters create an atmosphere of suspense because you do not know a lot about these people. There are not many people in each story. This allows the author’s to develop their characters quickly. It also means the reader can focus on the more important moral issues being brought up in each story.
The writers both write in different styles creating different effects. Dickens uses a first person narrative in The Signalman, possibly to make the reader more involved in the story. In ‘The Darkness Out There’ the author uses a third person narrative. This allows her to use more descriptive language in the story. This means the reader can get more of a sense of the surroundings involved with the story.
There are many plot similarities between the two texts. Firstly, both stories are areas thought to be comfortable. In a small room, around a fire. Fire being a symbol of two things, evil and warmth. Secondly, both stories are about how people accept responsibility. But both characters show contrasts in how they do accept responsibility. The Signalman almost becoming depressed about something he could not have stopped, and Mrs Rutter refusing to accept responsibility and attempting to justify her own actions.
Both stories have twists in the plot. In ‘The Darkness Out There’ it is Mrs Rutter. The story begins making her out as a sweet old lady, but as it develops it becomes evident that the old sweet lady is not as innocent as she seems, it really grips the reader and all the time it makes the reader think, ‘What else has she done?’. This is why I think it is a very effective ending.
But ‘The Signalman’s’ huge double twist makes the reader feel for The Signalman. Of how he is strapped with guilt for an incident he could not have stopped. Also the reader is left to decide whether he is human or spirit. These perplexing twists come completely against all expectations. The ending of ‘The Signalman’ makes it, for me, a more interesting and effective ending, and an atmosphere that could be cut with a knife all the way through.
