The+Interlopers

Short Stories - Literary Devises Title:__ ﻿The Interlopers

Point of View: ﻿Third Person/ Omniscient

Protagonist: Ulrich von Gradwitz/ Georg Znaeym What type of character is the Protagonist? round and dynamic

Antagonist: ﻿Georg Znaeym/ Ulrich, the tree

Describe the setting Time: Early 1900's Place: A narrow strip of forest on the eastern spurs of Carpathians Mood: Suspence, Anger, Frustration, Tension, Forgiveness

Type of Conflict: ﻿Man v.s. Man, Man v.s. Environment

Describe the main conflict: Two neighboring families have been fighting for three generations over a narrow strip of land. The Znaeyms illegally posssessed the land and used it to hunt. The Gradwitzs filed a lawsuit and repossed the land but the Znaeyms kept interloping the narrow strip of land. The hatred between the two families kept growing one generation to the next and was never resolved.

Describe the Climax of the Story: The two enemies, Georg and Ulrich, stumbled upon each other in the forest and both have rifles that are aimed and ready to fire at each other. But before either one of them could fire a tree collapsed on them. They think about how to kill each other while trapped under the weight of the tree but realize that their hatred for each other is illogical. Ulrich and Georg decide to let their pasts go, end their feud, and become friends. Before Georg and Ulrich can let others know that they've resolved their conflict, wolves attack and kill them both.

How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story? The Protagonist decides that the battle between their families over land is not worth it and decides to brake the quarrel and become friends with his enemy. The protagonist, Georg/ Ulrich, realizes that his hatred for his neighbor is over a small strip of forest that isn't worth much anyway and that the forest ended up trapping them both; this means that they had an illogical hatred for each other that wasn't worth dying for.

Describe the relationship between the title and the theme. The word 'Interlope' means to intrude into some region without a proper license. The theme is 'the illogical nature of hatred'. The theme is related to the title " The Interlopers" because the forest strip beside the Gradwitz's forest land was illegally possessed by the Znaeyms. The Gradwits wrested it from the illegal possession of a neighboring family of petty landowners ( the Znaeyms). The Znaeyms kept intruding into that narrow strip of land though to hunt and for three generations, their families have quarrelled. The land that the neighbors fought over was not well stocked with game but was jealously gaurded. The hatred between the two families was illogical and not necessary. The Interlopers led to an illogical nature of hatred.

How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme? The main conflict helps to illustrate the theme because what the main conflict was the fact that they were fighting over land for generations. The land was not well stocked with game and had nothing special about it. There was no point in fighting over the strip of land but they fought over it jealously because they were raised to hate one another. The main conflict illustrates the theme because the hatred of the neighboring families over a small strip of land was illogical.

How does the climax help to illustrate the theme? The climax helps to illustrate the theme because when the two protagonists/antagonists are forced to confront each other, they tell each other about how they will kill one another after their men find and rescue them. After realizing that the thing that they were fighting over was the thing that almost killed them, Ulrich offered Georg a drink. After a while Georg and Ulrich decided that what they were fighting for wasn't worth killing for or even fighting over; their hatred for each other was illogical. Georg and Ulrich no longer hated each other but they ended up being killed by wolves anyway; if they didn't hate each other they wouldn't have been in the forest in the first place and wouldn't have been trapped and killed by wolves.

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

Simile: "...a man stood one winter night watching and listening, as though he waited for some beast of the woods to come..."

Metaphor: A metaphor in "the Interllopers" was the tree that fell on top of Georg and Ulrich "And before the moment of hesitation had given way to action a deed of Nature's own violence overwhelmed them both. A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on them.". The tree was a metaphor for conflict resolution. The tree acted as a therapist that forced them to confront their problems and resolve their hatred.

Personification: " In the cold, gloomy forest, with the wind tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches and whistling round the tree trunks..."

Symbol: The wine flask was a symbol for friendship and forgiveness in the "Interlopers". After Ulrich offered Georg a wine flask Georg realized that Ulrich was actually kind and that what they were fighting over wasn't worth all the trouble.

Foreshadowing (give both elements): "As boys they had thirsted for one anothers blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall upon the other." " A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on them" They hated each other and wanted misfortune to fall upon the other; the tree fell onto both of them so that they were trapped in the very forest that they were fighting over.

Irony: " "Are they your men?" asked Georg. "Are they your men?" he reapeted impatiently as Ulrich did not answer. "No," said Ulrich with a laugh, the idiotic chattering laugh of a man unstrung with hideous fesr. "Who are they?" asked Georg quickly, straining his eyes to see what the other would gladly not have seen. "Wolves." " This is ironic because what the audience expected to happen did not. The expected ending would be that their men arrived, saved them, and ended the family fued. Instead, thw wolves attacked and the family fued would continue on because Georg and Ulrich could not tell anyone that they resolved the family fued.

Imagery: " The descending twigs had slashed the skin of his face, and he had to wink away some drops of blood from his eyelashes before he could take in a general view of the disaster."

Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. The class theme, chioces, was related to the story theme (illogical hatred) because if you hate someone or something because of an illogical reason, or because you were rased to hate that thing, it is your own choice to continue to hate that thing for no apparent reason. If you choose not to hate someone or something even though you were taught to than you are probably going to be better off. For example, Ulrich and Georg were brought up hating each other because of an unsettled land title but, they decided that their reasons for fighting was illogical and made the choice to stop fighing and become friends.

1. What is Ulrich hunting for? He is hunting for Georg Znaeym 2. How did Ulrich come to own the property in question? A famous lawsiut, in the days of Ulrich's Grandfather, had wrestled it from the illegal possession of the Znaeyms. 3. Why do Ulrich and Georg hate each other? How did it all start? Georg and Ulrich hate each other because they were raised to hate each other and fight over a narrow strip of land. It all started when the Znaeyms claimed that the forest land next to the Gradwitz's land was theirs. The Gradwitzs filed a lawsuit and won the land. After that a long series of poaching affairs had embittered the relationships of the families. 4. Identify the foreshadowing in the second paragraph. " As boys they had thirsted for one another's blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other" This is forshadowing because later on they came face to face with each other but were knocked over and trapped by a tree. They told one another about how they were going to kill each other. In the end they resolved their hatred for each other and became friencds. 5. Why did they not try to shoot each other the moment they saw each other? They didnt shoot each other because they were brought up under a restraining civilization and it was not easy for a man to shoot his neighbor without a word spocken. 6. What saves Ulrich’s feet from being crushed? His heavy shooting boots saved his feet from being crushed. 7. What lies do they tell each other after realizing they are both trapped under the tree? They tell each other that their men are coming to get them in a few minutes and that they will kill each other right after that. 8. Why does Ulrich change his mind about killing Georg? He changes his mind because he realized that the forest that they were fighting over was not worth the trouble because it was what trapped them and that Georg and him were only fighting because they were brought up to hate each other. 9. What significance is there in the title of this story? What are some possible meanings of the title? The title is significant because it refers to the both intruding land without a proper licsence and that neither one of the families owns the land. 10. In the end of the story why do each of the men hope that their men will come first to rescue him? Because they want to have the pride and honnor of setting the other man free and showing others that they are now friends. 11. Describe the irony in this story. " "Are they your men?" asked Georg. "Are they your men?" he reapeted impatiently as Ulrich did not answer. "No," said Ulrich with a laugh, the idiotic chattering laugh of a man unstrung with hideous fesr. "Who are they?" asked Georg quickly, straining his eyes to see what the other would gladly not have seen. "Wolves." " This is ironic because what the audience expected to happen did not. The expected ending would be that their men arrived, saved them, and ended the family fued. Instead, thw wolves attacked and the family fued would continue on because Georg and Ulrich could not tell anyone that they resolved the family fued 12. What metaphor can you find in relation to the tree pinning down the two characters? A metaphor in "the Interllopers" was the tree that fell on top of Georg and Ulrich "And before the moment of hesitation had given way to action a deed of Nature's own violence overwhelmed them both. A fierce shriek of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on them.". The tree was a metaphor for conflict resolution. The tree acted as a therapist that forced them to confront their problems and resolve their hatred. 13. Is the ending of this story effective? Why or why not? The ending of the story is not effective because even though the conflict between the Interlopers was resolved, wolves attacked before they could tell anyone about it. If the wolves had not attacked, and if a group of men had found and rescued them, then they could have resolved the conflict and the ending would be effective.

Completion 5/5 Effort5 /5 Content 5/5

total 15/15

Questions Completion Mark 5/5

total 20/20