She writes, Packer's End. You didn't go by yourself through Packer's End if you could help it, not after tea-time, anyway" (Lively 179-180). Later she continues, "When they were small, six and seven and eight, they'd been scared stiff of Packer's End" (Lively 180). Clearly, the center of the story is this area that is supposedly haunted by German soldiers, and this creates suspense and tension throughout the story. Another addition to the suspense is the boy, who takes an instant dislike to the old woman. Lively writes, "She's all right. What's wrong with her, then?' He shrugged. 'I dunno. The way she talks and that'" (Lively 184). She alludes to something odd about the old woman, and as the story progresses, that becomes much clearer. She is cold-blooded and even evil, and Kerry's reaction to her is exactly what the story needed to come to its conclusion. He is disgusted by her story of leaving the young German soldier there to die, and it turns him into a man in the girl's eyes. Lively writes, "He had grown; he had got older and larger. His anger eclipsed his acne, the patches of grease on his jeans, and lardy midriff" (Lively 188).

The characterization of this short story is extremely important to build the suspense and tension. Lively makes all the characters seem sweet and innocent, but the story is anything but. She ends the story darkly, indicating both of the young people have learned more about life than they cared to that day, and that their lives will never be the same as a result. She writes, "She walked behind him, through...

Thus, this story's tension comes from the children coming of age and discovering that the world around them is far different than it appears. The story is dark, even though it begins innocently enough, and Lively builds the tension and suspense throughout the story to reach the startling and disturbing conclusion.
Lively's characters are not as full and well rounded as Wells' characters are, and yet, they are satisfying and sinister just the same. The old woman is just as diabolical as Wells' character in her own terrifying way. It is difficult to believe that people could be so evil, and yet, both characters are completely believable, and both authors even give them extremely valid reasons for their garish behavior. They are not quite sympathetic, and yet, each author builds a case for them to do what they have done, making their actions seem more plausible and believable. Thus, both authors are masters at building tension and suspense in their stories, and surprising the reader with the conclusions. Both of these works are equally disturbing, and they are excellent examples of great writers and the techniques they use, even in short fiction.

References

Lively, Penelope. "The Darkness Out There." Pack of Cards: And Other Stories. New York: Grove Press, 1986. 179-188.

Wells, H.G. "The Cone." Classic Reader. 2007. 17 Jan. 2008. http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/bookid.175/sec./