| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

The Interlopers

Page history last edited by VRBurton 13 years, 3 months ago

 

 

 

Make the Connection
Quickwrite
Most arguments can be settled when people agree to talk or compromise, but some disagreements become so bitter that they last for many years. Indeed, some regions of the world have been locked in conflict for generations. Write down a few examples of feuds that have torn families or even countries apart. What keeps such bitter hatred alive?
 
Vocabulary Development
precipitous adj.: very steep.
acquiesced v. (used within): accepted; complied with.
marauders n.: people who roam in search of loot, or goods to steal.
exasperation n.: great annoyance.
pious adj.: showing religious devotion.
retorted v.: replied sharply.
condolences n.:expressions of sympathy.
languor n.: weakness; weariness.
reconciliation n.: friendly end to a quarrel.
succor n.: help given to someone in distress; relief.
 
Literary Focus
Omniscient Narrator: Knowing It All
An omniscient narrator is someone who knows everything about everyone in the story. Since an omniscient narrator is not one of the characters, he or she can move easily from the mind of one character to the mind of the next. The narrator can also jump from place to place or zoom in and out. However, the fact that the narrator knows everything doesn’t mean that you will learn all the information at once. Sometimes an omniscient narrator will save an important bit of information for the very last moment of the story.
Surprise Endings
surprise ending resolves a story’s conflict in a totally unexpected—yet logical—way. In Saki’s story the surprise at the end may make you rethink the story.
 
Reading Skills
Monitoring Your Reading
Good readers use the following strategies to get through a difficult sentence or passage. As you read Saki’s story, have a notebook or some self-sticking notes handy so that you can follow these guidelines:

 

When you don’t understand a word, look for context clues.  

Break down long sentences into simpler ones.

Look for the subject and verb in complicated sentences.

Stop at the end of a passage you think is important, and summarize it.

Re-read difficult passages.

 

 

Reading Check

1.            Make a story map for “The Interlopers” by filling in a chart like the one here:

Title: “The Interlopers”

Characters:

Setting:

Conflicts:

Main events:

Climax and resolution:

2.            Review the notes you made while you read the story. Did you find Saki’s writing style difficult to understand? What reading strategies did you use to resolve your difficulties?

Thinking Critically

3.              Irony is what we feel when something turns out to be different from what we expect or think appropriate. What is surprising and ironic about the ending of the story? What truth is revealed, and what do you predict the consequences will be?

4.            Find places in the text where the word interlopers is used. What is an interloper? Who are the interlopers in the story? (Are there several kinds of interlopers in the story?)

5.            Find instances when the omniscient narrator tells what Georg and Ulrich are thinking. What similarities between the characters are revealed by the narrator? How would your reaction to events in the plot be different if you didn’t know what both characters were thinking?

6.            Tone—the writer’s attitude toward a subject or character—is affected by the choice of narrator. What tone does Saki create through the use of an omniscient narrator? How do you think the tone would be different if the story were told from the point of view of Ulrich or Georg?

7.            Most fables have a moral, a message about how we should live our lives. What is the moral of “The Trapper Trapped” (see the Connection on page 194)? How does that moral compare with the message of “The Interlopers”?

Extending and Evaluating

8.            Refer to your Quickwrite notes. Do you think Saki’s story has a serious message about the kinds of feuds you described in your notes, or do you think the story is told just for entertainment? Give reasons for your answer.

WRITING

One More Twist

Saki’s story has several surprising twists, the most stunning one being the surprise ending. Choose a point in the last two pages of the story, and create your own plot twist by changing the action and writing a new ending. You might decide not to have Ulrich and Georg reconcile; you might come up with a new twist beyond the final one. In your version, imitate Saki’s omniscient narrator by showing what each character is thinking.

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.