Interlopers

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title:__ The Interlopers

Point of View: Omniscient.

Protagonist: Ulrich von Gradwitz. What type of character is the Protagonist? I think this character is a dynamic character because he changes as the story unfolds.

Antagonist:Georg Znaeym.

Describe the setting: The setting is placed in a dense winter forest lightly covered with snow. During the story a winter storm is taking place.

Type of Conflict: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Environment.

Describe the main conflict: The protagonist and the antagonist area arch rivals both battling for the forests territory. They both set out to due harm to each other when they are pinned under a massive falling tree and unable to escape.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The men both grow tiresome and decide to call for help in the chance one of their groups will come to their rescue. They keep calling and calling until they spot a few shadows of moving figures up on the hills. They both at once call again until the figures on the hills get there attention and start running towards them.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?: He changes from being a sort of angry and hateful character to a more understanding character. He starts to think about not just his side of life but also the antagonist's and how they are both men trying to gain territory of the forest. He even tries to befriend his enemy and put aside their petty quarrel. It most likely was the fact they were both under the fallen tree facing death but the character dramatically changes which makes him a dynamic character.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. An interloper is someone who intrudes on another's region without permission. The struggle of this story is the territory both men have and both men are trying to get, and they do so so by intruding on each others region. I like the title cause it offers a kind of foreshadowing into the story. The whole story takes place because both sides are trying to get more of the forest for themselves so they are interlopers. This is why I personally think the title " The Interlopers" fits well with the overall theme of the story.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? : Both the protagonist and the antagonist are caught under the large fallen tree because they were trying to due harm to each other. Both the men are interlopers and the author provides a kind of situational irony because if the characters had settled their feud before hand instead of when they were trapped under the fallen tree they would have survived.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? When the men are both calling for help and then spot the moving shadows on the hill they are both over joyed. It illustrates the idea and makes you originally conclude that their feud has ended and the two groups will live in harmony together. Without writing any of this the author paints the picture of a happy ending and a much less hostile relationship amongst the two characters which is why I really liked how the author make the climax illustrate the overall theme of the story.

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

Simile: " We have quarreled like devils all our lives..." I liked this simile because it was one of the turning points and confessions of Ulrich when he was acknowledging how petty and useless the two mens quarrel really was.

Metaphor: "I'm caught under my own forest-land." This metaphor stood out to me because it has more than one meaning. Ulrich is saying that it is his forest directly to Georg and that he has complete confidence that his men will be first to come to his rescue because it is his forest. This metaphor also states the irony in the matter how the two men are caught and trapped helplessly under the very land their families have been fighting over for three generations.

Personification: "A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads..."

Symbol: I believe that the author used the protagonist's wine flask as a symbol of friendship between the two men. Although at first his generous behavior is rejected later when the antagonist is making his peace he refers to how he the protagonist offered him his wine flask and how they now would be friends.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): At one point the author states that if the protagonist could have one wish granted that night it would be to get face to face alone with his arch enemy. Directly after that the protagonist walks around a stump to find his enemy and to have his wish granted. Obviously the two characters would meet in the story to resolve the issue but when the author said it was the protagonists one wish to get face to face with his enemy that night he was foreshadowing it was going to happen.

Irony: I think that a truly ironic situation is how the protagonist and the antagonist are caught under the fallen tree together after setting out to harm each other. Irony is usually in some way or another comical and as a reader I find it comical that the two characters who have so much hate for each other are so close but unable to due each other harm. And actually end up giving up their childish feud and decide to become friends.

Imagery: A good author is able to paint a picture in the readers head of the story to really give the full effect of his writing. An Author does so by using colourful descriptive words and phrases of the setting he is trying to describe. Some phrases that really caught me were " In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Carpathians a man stood one winter night watching and listening...." and "He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wondered down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of the undergrowth...."

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. I think this story is a classic case of how the choices me make truly affect us and the people around us. Their petty quarrel was ultimately what lead them out into the story night to due each other harm which only lead to disaster. I believe out class theme will work well and connect with any story because no matter what the theme of the story the choice made in the story are the building blocks to the outcome and conclusion. A few bad choices in this story conclude in both the protagonist and the antagonist's death. Choices are what make the character who they are in the story and choices are always tied up in the overall theme of any story.

Extra Questions

1. What is Ulrich hunting for? He is hunting for his human enemy Georg Znaeym who has been intruding on his property many times.

2. How did Ulrich come to own the property in question? Since his quarrel with Georg Znaeym is passed on through his family, he most likely inherited the land from his relatives. Also in the story it says how the Gradwitz and the Znaeym family had a famous lawsuit and how they were neighboring landowners long ago in the time of Ulrich's grandfather.

3. Why do Ulrich and Georg hate each other? How did it all start? The hate for each other has been passed down amongst the two family's for generations. It started as a feud over land long before either Ulrich or Georg were born but the hatred for each others family lives on through each new generation.

4. Identify the foreshadowing in the second paragraph. The author foreshadows that it was dangerous to be in the forest on such a stormy night. The author stated how the forest animals were restless and moving frighteningly about. Although simply put the author foreshadows how dangerous and foolish it was to be out in such harsh conditions.

5. Why did they not try to shoot each other the moment they saw each other? The author stated how the two characters did not want to shoot down there enemy without a word spoken. Another element on why the two characters stood frozen in front of each other could be accounted on how stunned and shocked they would have felt having there arch enemy standing face to face in front of them at last.

6. What saves Ulrich’s feet from being crushed? Ulrich was wearing his heavy shooting boots which saved his feet from being absolutely demolished from the fallen tree but did not completely protect his feet from the tree's blow leaving him unable to escape without help.

7. What lies do they tell each other after realizing they are both trapped under the tree? Both men say how their men are close behind and would soon come to their rescue and execute the other. Ulrich's men were far ahead waiting in position to ambush whoever passed. Ulrich had purposely left from the group so that he would get a chance to be face to face with his enemy. Georg who was found alone also guaranteed that his men would come to his rescue and kill Ulrich but of course his men never end up coming to his rescue either.

8. Why does Ulrich change his mind about killing Georg? He looks over and sees his enemy laying across from him, just as stuck and helpless as he is, holing in his groans of pain and anguish so he offers him his wine flask as a gesture of friendship. Although rejected at first the more Ulrich looked over at the man in such pain the more his hatred decreased and the more compassion he felt for him.

9. What significance is there in the title of this story? What are some possible meanings of the title? Interlopers mean intruders of ones region, which is exactly what Georg was doing to Ulrich's land. In almost every title there is a hint of foreshadowing to the main idea and theme of the story. The title means intruders as the antagonist is an intruder to the protagonist.

10. In the end of the story why do each of the men hope that their men will come first to rescue him? It will allow them to be the first to provide a true peace offering if there men come and rescue the new comrade. So the act of rescuing their once arch enemy is symbolic to the first peace offering which is why it is so important to them. In my opinion having their men come first to rescue them is almost as much for their egos as it is a first peace offering because even though the two en have put aside their quarrel it doesn't mean they are no longer competitive as most leaders are.

11. Describe the irony in this story. It is truly and comically ironic on how not long after the two have settled a quarrel which was started long before they were even born that their first choice together ended in their deaths. Personally I think the message is not that once you put aside your differences and work together it will end badly but that you should work your problems out before not just because you are trapped and forced to talk to each other. Which is why I find this situational irony affective and powerful.

12. What metaphor can you find in relation to the tree pinning down the two characters? At one point Ulrich in rage says to his also trapped enemy Georg " I'm caught in my own forest-land." When he said this he was not only implying that he actually was the rightful owner of the forest but that his men would obviously come rescue him first because it was his own forest to begin with.

13. Is the ending of this story effective? Why or why not? I believe this ending is effective because it would be near impossible to predict, which keeps the reader interested and guessing until the very end. The fact how ironic it is that the two characters and their families have not been able to settle an argument about land has lead to their deaths is a great way to portray the message of how silly it is to dance around your problems until you are forced to face them. The point of a story is to entertain and to portray a message which I personally think it did very well on multiple levels.

Completion 5/5 Effort 5/5 Content 5/5

total15/15

Questions Completion Mark 55

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