The Darkness Out There Flashcards
“Keeping to the track”
Lively introduces the story with the visual imagery of the protagonist Sandra playing things safe and keeping to the same monotonous routine as everyone else. Her life appears to be uneventful, with her following the same route as everyone else has done before her.
“witches and wolves and tigers”
By using the rule of three, along with the repetition of the ghostly “w” sound, Lively emphasises the fantastical nature of Sandra’s fears. She appears to be listing these creatures on her fingers, like you would do with your hobbies, portraying them as harmless and childish.
“some people you only have to look at to know they’re not up to much”
This exposes the tendency of people to judge others based solely on appearances. The definitive connotations of the adverb “only” highlights Sandra’s immaturity, which is exaggerated with the colloquial phrase “not up to much”. Lively uses the character of Sandra to portray prejudice as a whole as immature and childish.
“smiling pool”, “eyes snapped and darted”.
Lively’s references to Mrs Rutter’s eyes allude to her real personality. It references the metaphor that “eyes are the windows to the soul” suggesting that underneath her “smiling” exterior there’s something more dark and sinister.
The verbs “snapped and darted” connote an animalistic, dangerous persona, portraying Mrs Rutter as intimidating and frightening.
Lively’s description of her with the noun “pool” also implies hidden layers of personality, suggesting that all is not as it seems. These drastically contrast with the earlier preconceived stereotypes of elderly people as “really sweet”, exaggerating the danger of these assumptions.
“tit for tat”
This casual colloquialism reveals Mrs Rutter’s heartless, almost inhumane desire for revenge, implying that the death of her husband has desensitised her, making her bitter and vindictive, as well as blind to the world around her. Many readers would doubtless be appalled by this callous disposition, particularly as the man she left for dead likely had nothing to do with her husband’s death.
“his anger eclipsed his acne”
This presents Sandra’s admiration of Kerry - she has learnt that personal traits of more revealing of a person than their looks, suggesting that she has conquered her earlier prejudices.
“the darkness was out there and it was a part of you and you would never be without it, ever”
The finality of Lively’s use of the modifier “ever” emphasises the irreversible finality of this exposure. Sandra’s fearful realisation vastly contrasts with Kerry’s resentment, and her terror is alluded to through the monosyballic nature of the closing sentence.
