The Darkness Out There - The Signal Man - A comparetive study :: English Literature

The Darkness Out There - The Signal Man - A comparetive study The mood at the beginning of both stories could not contrast any more than it does. 'The Darkness Out There' has a beginning that is summery and fresh. Whereas 'The Signal Man' has a start that is very eerie and creates a sense of fear. A factor that runs all the way through the story. The effect that the beginning of 'The Darkness Out There' has is that Mrs Rutter's story hits the reader when they are not expecting it making it a lot more shocking. The mood change is massive. 'The Signalman' however, attempts to sustain the atmosphere from beginning to end. This makes the overall story more eerie by gripping the reader so that they want to read on to discover what happens later on. Historically the two texts are set in very different periods. With 'The Signalman' being set in the Victorian era and 'The Darkness Out There' being set around the 1970's. We can tell this because of many factors such as the types of jobs mentioned. Signalmen worked on early railways and were abandoned when electronic signalling was introduced into railways. Also the language used in The Signalman` seems to be from around that era. 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.