"The Interlopers" by Saki - The Story Flashcards

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1
Q

Where does the story take place?

A

“In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Carpathians”

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2
Q

Whose family won possession of the disputed land in the lawsuit?

A

The von Gradwitz family. Ulrich’s grandfather won the “famous lawsuit.”

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3
Q

What can you infer about the characters from their unwillingness to compromise?

A

Both characters are stubborn and somewhat arrogant in their inability to compromise.

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4
Q

At the beginning of the story, what is Ulrich’s wish?

A

Ulrich wants to find George poaching on his land, so he can be alone with him with no witnesses.

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5
Q

What happens to the two men when the tree falls?

A

The beech tree pins both men down, leaving them injured and helpless until someone comes to rescue them.

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6
Q

What is each man’s hope for rescue?

A

For their men to seek them out and find them.

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7
Q

In what condition does the fallen tree leave each man?

A

Ulrich: One arm numb beneath him and the other held in a tangle of branches. Both legs pinned beneath the tree, twigs had slashed the skin of his face.

Georg: “Alive and struggling”, helplessly pinned down, nearly blinded with blood trickling across his eyes.

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8
Q

Why do the men decide to end their feud?

A

They had foolishly “quarreled like devils” their whole lives, and decided there are better things in life than getting the better of a boundary dispute.

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9
Q

What are some dangers the characters might face in a setting like this one?

A

They could freeze, starve, die of thirst, or get eaten by animals like wolves.

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10
Q

Why was Ulrich not able to shoot at Georg when given the opportunity?

A

Because of the “code of a restraining civilization”, which prohibits shooting someone without warning or words exchanged.

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11
Q

What does Ulrich offer to share with Znaeym while awaiting rescue?

A

A flask of wine.

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12
Q

What is Ulrich hunting?

A

Ulrich is hunting for Georg Znaeym.

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13
Q

What do the men do in an attempt to attract attention?

A

Yell for help.

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14
Q

Who are the main characters of the story?

A
  • Ulrich von Gradwitz

- Georg Znaeym

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15
Q

What is the weather like?

A

Cold, stormy, and windy.

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16
Q

How long has the land dispute lasted for?

A

3 generations.

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17
Q

How does Georg respond to Ulrich’s offer of wine?

A

He was hesitant and shocked.

Georg also says that he does not drink wine with an enemy.

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18
Q

What do the figures that Ulrich spots coming towards them turn out to be? How many?

A

9 or 10 Wolves.

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19
Q

What type of tree fell on the pair

A

A beech tree

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20
Q

Who was the one that spotted the wolves

A

Ulrich

21
Q

What do Ulrich and Georg hold in their hands when they meet each other in the forest?

A

Each had a rifle in his hands

22
Q

How many people did Georg bring?

A

Seven men

23
Q

Why do Ulrich and Georg dislike each other at the beginning of the story?

A

Both characters dislike each other because they are from separate families that have disputed an area of forest in the Carpathians for generations.

24
Q

What type of tree traps Georg and Ulrich?

A

A beech tree

25
Q

What was Ulrich’s situation after the tree had pinned him down?

A

Stretched on the ground:

  • One arm numb beneath him
  • The other held almost as helplessly in a tight tangle of forked branches
  • Both legs were pinned beneath the fallen mass.

Injuries:

  • Fractures
  • Twigs had slashed his face
26
Q

What were Ulrich’s injuries after the beech tree pinned him down?

A
  • Had fractures
  • Descending twigs had slashed the skin of his face
  • Drops of blood from his eyelashes (he was bleeding)
27
Q

What were Georg’s condition and injuries after the beech tree had fallen?

A

He was nearly blinded by the blood which trickled across his eyes.

28
Q

What did Georg and Ulrich do when they meet in the forest, and why? What were they thinking?

A
  • Georg and Ulrich both glared at one another for a long, silent moment.
  • They both had hate in their hearts and murder uppermost in their minds.
  • However, they could not shoot each other due to the code of a restraining civilization.
29
Q

Who are Georg and Ulrich waiting for towards the end of the story? What do they do?

A

Georg and Ulrich are waiting for their men to come to their rescue. They try to yell for help from their men.

30
Q

Why couldn’t Georg see clearly?

A

He was nearly blinded by the blood dripping from his eyes.

31
Q

What was Georg’s reaction to Ulrich’s offer (when both of them become stuck)?

A

Georg was hesitant and shocked when Ulrich offered a flask of wine.

32
Q

What were the forest lands of Gradwitz like?

A

They were of wide extent and well stocked with game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on the outskirt was not remarkable for the game it harbored or the shooting it afforded but most jealously guarded of all its owner’s territorial possessions.

33
Q

The feud might have been compromised if the….

A

personal ill will of the two men had not stood in the way.

34
Q

What did Ulrich band together?

A

Ulrich banded together his foresters to watch the dark forest to keep a lookout for the prowling thieves whom he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary.

35
Q

Where did Ulrich place his men before going to meet Georg?

A

On the crest of the hill in ambush

36
Q

What lay around Georg and Ulrich after they were pinned down by the trees?

A

A thick-strewn wreckage of splintered branches and twigs.

37
Q

What did Georg say to Ulrich as he was struggling?

A

He gave a snarling laugh and said that Ulrich had not been killed as he ought to be, but caught in his stolen forest. That was real justice, according to him.

38
Q

What was Ulrich’s response to Georg’s insult?

A

Ulrich claimed that he was caught in his own land and that his men would come to rescue him in ten minutes of time. He said it was a shame for Georg to be found poaching on a neighbor’s land.

39
Q

Georg said that he and Ulrich would fight this quarrel for how long?

A

They will fight the quarrel out to the death, without any cursed interlopers to come between them.

40
Q

What did each of the men pray for?

A

That their men would be the first to arrive and show the honorable attention to the enemy that had become a friend.

41
Q

What was Ulrich waiting for at the beginning of the story?

A

He was waiting for a beast (Georg Znaeym) of the woods to come within range of his vision, and, later, of his rifle.

42
Q

What was the most jealously guarded of all of Ulrich’s territorial possessions?

A

The forest lands of Gradwitz in the Carpathians.

43
Q

The neighbor feud had grown into what?

A

It grew into a personal one since Ulrich had come to be the head of his family.

44
Q

A fierce shriek of the storm had what?

A

It was answered by a splitting crash over their heads and a falling beech tree thundered upon them.

45
Q

A fierce shriek of the storm had what?

A

It was answered by a splitting crash over their heads and a falling beech tree thundered upon them.

46
Q

What is ironic about the fact that Georg and Ulrich were both trapped by the trees?

A

They had both wished for the other to be harmed, yet they were harmed together

47
Q

Why were Ulrich’s legs not crushed by the fallen beech tree?

A

His heavy shooting-boots helped protect his legs

48
Q

If Ulrich were to die, what would Georg send to his family?

A

Georg would send his “condolences” to Ulrich’s family if Ulrich was found dead under the beech tree by his men.

49
Q

The narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on the outskirts were not remarkable for what?

A

They were not remarkable for the game it harbored or the shooting it afforded, but the most jealously guarded of all its owner’s territorial possessions.