The+Interlopers

__//** Short Stories - Literary Devises **//__ __//** Title: The Interlopers **//__ //Ana and Brianna//

**Point of View:** 3rd person (limited) **Protagonist:** Ulrich von Gradwitz **What type of character is the Protagonist?** Dynamic and Round **Antagonist:** Georg Znaeym, the tree that pins them down **Describe the Setting:** PLACE: A forest somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Carpathians, probably somewhere in Romania or Germany based on the names. TIME: Early 1900s. (The author died in 1916, so it could not have been any later than that.) ATMOSPHERE: Tense because they're hunting for each other, and later because they aren't sure if they will die or not. **Type of Conflict:** Man V.S. Man, Man V.S. Environment **Describe the main conflict:** Ulrich and Georg are trying to kill each other because of a family feud, but in the end it turns out that they are really the interlopers in nature. I think that in this way the author is trying to say that the forest and the wolves within it do not belong to either of the men, but really to the earth. **Describe the Climax of the Story:** The climax is also the end of the story, when they see the wolves coming toward them. It is a cliffhanger ending. **How does the Protagonist change over the course of the story?** He becomes more neighborly, and instead of being an angry character, he becomes nice and makes friends with Georg. **Describe the relationship between the title and the theme:** The title word 'Interloper' means 'a person who becomes involved in a place/situation where she/he is not wanted'. In the story, Georg is not wanted on Urlich's land, so it has everything to do with the story. Also it ties in with the theme, which we think is forgiveness, because Urlich chose to forgive Georg and end the family feud even though he was trespassing on his land. **How does the main conflict help to illustrate the theme?** The main conflict (man v.s. man) is the feud that the two men had, and how Urlich had to forgive Georg for his trespassing, and Georg had to forgive Urlich for whatever bad things he ever said to him. **How does the climax help to illustrate the theme?** It illustrates it well but in a very ironic sense, as they have just become friends and forgiven each other, but there forgiveness was futile as they are pretty much left for dead.

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

"...were running like driven things tonight..." (Page 190)
 * Simile: **

I think the way the wolves were about to eat the men is a metaphor that nature is free, and neither of the men truly own the forrest.
 * Metaphor: **

"...with the wind tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches and whistling round the tree trunks..." (Page 193) "A fierce shriek of the storm..." (Page 190)
 * Personification: **

The fallen tree was a symbol for a trap, they stayed trapped until they forgave each other.
 * Symbolism: **

The talk about the feud in the second paragraph foreshadows that the men will probably meet and either kill each other or reach some sort of agreement to do with the land.
 * Foreshadowing (both elements): **

It was ironic that the wolves come to kill them at the end, after they forgave each other, and now no will know and their families will continue to hate each other. It is also kind of ironic that after hating each other for decades they were destined to die together.
 * Irony: **

"He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree-trunk and listening through the whistling and skirling of the wind and the restless beating of the branches for sight or sound of the marauders."
 * Imagery: **

Power, the class's theme related to the story because both of the charactors wanted power over each other and the land. They tried to capture and murder each other just for the power they could achieve over each other. There was also a long power struggle over the land- even though Georg's ancestors originally owned the forest, and it was taken by Urlich's ancestors, they both feel they deserve the land, which is the cause of the conflict in the story. Another type of power in the story was that the land possessed more power over Ulrich and Georg, the tree had pinned them under its strength.
 * Describe the relationships between the class theme and the story. **

Ulrich was hunting for his enemy, Georg Znaeym. There was a famous lawsuit that enabled the land to be taken away from his neighbours and given to Ulrich's family. The land was taken away from Georg's family and was given to Ulrich's family three generations ago. Georg's family never forgave them for 'stealing' their land. The second paragraph foreshadows that the two men will have a big confrontation, because it talks about how they have hated each other all their lives and it would not just talk about that without any purpose. Because of the way they were brought up, they didn't want to shoot before they said anything, perhaps because it would be cowardly. The heavy shooting-boots Ulrich was wearing saved him from a crushed foot. They both told each other that the other person was the one that was going to die, but really neither of them really knew which group of hunters were going to resue them first and then kill the other. They also might have lied about how close there men were to them- Urlich said ten minutes behind him, but he could have been lying to scare Georg. Ulrich is fed up with the fighting and decides its going on too long, he is no longer as angry at Georg as he once was, maybe because the pain they are both in puts things into perspective. An interloper is someone who intrudes into someone else's land. Georg was trespassing on Ulrich's territory, but he must have thought that Urlich was the trespasser because originally the property belonged to Georg's family. Also, both the men are interlopers in nature: the wolves coming to eat them is a metaphor that the forest doesn't truly belong to either of them. At the beginning they wanted their men to come first to kill the other person, but then they wanted their men to come first to "....be the first to show horourable attention to the enemy that had become a friend." It is ironic how they are about to die soon after they forgive each other and become friends, and Georg though it was ironic that Urlich was pinned down by the tree in the 'stolen forest' (Page 191). The tree was a peace keeper to Ulrich and Georg, the tree was fed up with the fighting and wanted instant changes. The ending is quite effective, but also kind of pointless. If they had not made up, the men might have died happy knowing that the other was in pain. There is also a subtle message that if they had come to their senses and made up sooner, they wouldn't be in the woods at night, with a bunch of hungry wolves coming to eat them. Both the men decided to carry on their parent's anger since childhood, even though they could have been very good friends. If they had not been blinded by anger and hatred, they would probably not be wolf food.
 * 1. What is Ulrich hunting for? **
 * 2. How did Ulrich come to own the property in question? **
 * 3. Why do Ulrich and Georg hate each other? How did it all start? **
 * 4. Identify the foreshadowing in the second paragraph. **
 * 5. Why did they not try to shoot each other the moment they saw each other? **
 * 6. What saves Ulrich’s feet from being crushed? **
 * 7. What lies do they tell each other after realizing they are both trapped under the tree? **
 * 8. Why does Ulrich change his mind about killing Georg? **
 * 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: 5/5 Effort: 5/5 Content: 5/5

total: 15/15

Questions Completion Mark 5/5

total: 20/20