The Darkness Out There

2801 Words12 Pages
Introduction This study guide is meant to support students in England and Wales preparing for GCSE exams in English and English literature. It may also be helpful to the general reader who is interested in the stories of Penelope Lively. If the guide is used as preparation for a written exam, then all the activities suggested here may be done in writing or orally, as students and teachers wish. Some of the activities here can be used also for assessment in speaking and listening, in original writing and in wider reading. The guide is too long to read from start to finish, and I hope no one would ever want to. (One student e-mailed me to say that she had done this!) Use the headings to find the bits you need, as and when you need them. If you are a teacher, look for the many prompts for activities. Most can be done in speech or writing or using Internet technologies. If you are using this guide on a computer system, then you ought to open the application software you think most helpful for various tasks, as you see the need for it. What happens in The Darkness Out There? The Darkness Out There is a short story from Penelope Lively's collection Pack of Cards, published in 1984. If you have not yet read the story, then do so before you read this summary! It is the sort of story to which you can return several times. On a first reading the power of the story may make you miss some details. The plot can be reduced to a few sentences: * Two young people go to help an old lady with her housework. * She tells them a story about something she did in the war. * The young people are shocked by her story and leave. This is a slightly more detailed account: Sandra and Kerry (a boy) are in a club, at school, run by Miss Hammond. The club members help people in the community. One Saturday Sandra and Kerry go to the house of an old lady, Mrs, Rutter. When they
Open Document