The+Interlopers

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title: The Interlopers__

Point of View: 3rd person

Protagonist: Ulrich von Gradwitz

What type of character is the Protagonist? Ulrich is a character bent on carrying on a grudge that has stayed in place between his and the antagonist's familiesfor quite a while. The argument over a stretch of land has carried on through generations, and Ulrich wants to finally put an end to it, and emerge victorious.

Antagonist: Georg Znaeym

Describe the setting. The setting is in the middle of the forest in the Carpathians, which is the object of the squabble that has continued for years. Ulrich is searching for his mortal enemy, the antagonist, Georg, to kill him and take his place as the owner of the strip of forest. The season is winter.

Type of Conflict: Man vs Man, Man (& other Man) vs Nature

Describe the main conflict: Ulrich and Georg are fighting over a strip of land in the forest. Both men bring extra forces along to aid in the assassination of each other. Little do they know of the ironic accident that will occur to the both of them.

Describe the Climax of the Story: A tree falls on both Ulrich and Georg as they stand facing each other, probing each other for the right moment to strike with their rifles, with the aim to kill each other. While both men survive, neither can make a move against the other, besides through speech, because of the trunk pinning their arms and legs.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? After the tree falls on Ulrich, he has second thoughts about the whole conflict, and asks Georg to be his friend and companion. Thrust into an ironic situation where both men can do nothing bit think about what they did to deserve to be crushed by a tree, Ulrich decides to change himself to be a more acceptable person to Georg. Ulrich laments about the pointlessness of their plight, and brings up the point that the land is but a strip of woodland, with no qualities that differ from the woods both men already own.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. Interloper: An intruder to another man's land, property, or business. Both men think of each other as intruders to each other's property, thus the title "The Interlopers."

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?

Give examples of each of the following literary terms in the story (use quotes):

Simile:

Metaphor:

Personification: "...weary screeching of the wind." pg 192

Symbol: The wind dropping is a symbol of a waning conflict, of a simmering down of hatred and conspiracy against one another. pg 193

Foreshadowing (give both elements): The storm was a sign that it was dangerous to go outside, yet the men went anyway, inviting danger to finish the feud.

Irony: Both men are trapped under the tree. The bitterness of being so close to the object of your hatred must have been extremely frustrating. Irony comes into the story for this reason. Also, when both men were expecting men to come and save them, wolves showed up, and it came as a great surprise. Neither man had thought of the danger of animals.

Imagery: "...tight tangle of forked branches..." page 190

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story.

1. What is Ulrich hunting for? Ulrich is hunting for Georg, to kill him and the feud between their families.

2. How did Ulrich come to own the property in question? Ulrich inherited the forest from his head of family before him.

3. Why do Ulrich and Georg hate each other? How did it all start? Ulrich and Georg hate each other because of what their respective families started. They were taught to hate each other because of the quarrel over the forest. It most likely started when one of their fathers claimed the other's property, and fought over it.

4. Identify the foreshadowing in the second paragraph. The roebuck were "running like driven things" that night. They were restless over something.

5. Why did they not try to shoot each other the moment they saw each other? The two men could not bring themselves to shoot a man in cold blood when they were brought up being taught to restrain civilization.

6. What saves Ulrich’s feet from being crushed? Ulrich's heavy hunting boots save his feet from being crushed.

7. What lies do they tell each other after realizing they are both trapped under the tree? They both say they will have their men kill the other, but they have already expressed an inability to kill a neighbor.

8. Why does Ulrich change his mind about killing Georg? Ulrich realizes that the quarrel is stupid, that the small strip of land is not worth anything.

9. What significance is there in the title of this story? What are some possible meanings of the title?

10. In the end of the story why do each of the men hope that their men will come first to rescue him? 11. Describe the irony in this story. 12. What metaphor can you find in relation to the tree pinning down the two characters? 13. Is the ending of this story effective? Why or why not?

Completion 4.5/5 Effort 3.5/5 Content 3.5/5

total11.5 /15

Questions Completion Mark /35

total 14.5/20