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   ladyvols1 Teacher
   High School - 9th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   At the very beginning of the story the narrator is describing how the fighting began between the two families.  He writes, “as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other,” The roebuck, which usually kept in the sheltered hollows during a storm-wind, were running like driven things to-night, and there was movement and unrest among the creatures that were wont to sleep through the dark hours. Assuredly there was a disturbing element in the forest, “

   The fact that the deer are running indicates the presence of predators.  Not all predators in woods that night are men.  This is an example of foreshadowing of something bad happening before the story ends.

   The themes of this story are: "Enmity, the hatred each feels toward the other. Community The uneasy relationship between Ulrich and Georg has repercussions within the community. Man and Nature The very title of the story alludes to the fact that the men are trespassing on the forest in their attempts to assert ownership of it. Social Class The Gradwitz family occupies a higher social class than the Znaeym family, and this is one of the reasons that the feud has lasted throughout the generations."
   

   Sources:

   http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Inte.shtml

   http://www.enotes.com/interlopers/themes

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   Posted by ladyvols1 on Thursday November 13, 2008 at 6:58 PM