Dusk Questions and Answers
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What proved to be the weak point in the young man's story?
The young man who sits down beside Norman Gortsby tells him a complicated hard-luck story with the intention of asking him for a "loan" to enable him to rent a hotel room overnight. According to...
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What is the climax of this story? Saki's "Dusk"
Climax is the moment of highest emotional intensity in a plot, when the outcome of the conflict is finally made clear to readers; this moment occurs in Saki's "Dusk" at the point in which Gortsby...
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According to the narrator, who does the dusk hour belong to?
The dusk hour belongs to those men and women who have been defeated in life because they are the kind of people who wish to hide in the half-light and shadows of this strange hour that is neither...
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What was the weak point of the young man's story in "Dusk"?
The young man who sits down on the bench beside Norman Gortsby tells him that he couldn't find his hotel after going out to buy a cake of soap. Since he had left most of his money in his hotel...
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Justify the title of the short story "Dusk."
The setting must have been very important to Saki for this particular story. He wanted the reader to feel the mood of a city at that particular time, when the day's activities were at an end and...
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Can explain how "Dusk" is the hour of defeated people?
In "Dusk," Gortsby feels that the time of day known as dusk is the hour of defeated people. People who live defeated lives come out at dusk. It is a time of day when they will not be recognized...
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Why do you think that in "Dusk," the young man made up his story on the spur of the moment at the park?
If you want to take the position that the young stranger who sat down beside Norman Gortsby had just made up his hard-luck story on the spur of the moment, there are several clues you can offer....
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Saki's short story "Dusk" says that "Dusk is the hour of the defeated". By referring to the incidents in the story,...
Titling his story "Dusk" and beginning it with a description of dusk gives the setting a universal quality. Dusk is a time rather than a place. Dusk occurs everywhere all around the globe, so...
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What is the characterisation of Norman Gortsby in the story "Dusk" by Saki?
In Norman Gortsby, Saki created a character who would serve to illustrate his moral, which is that charity is often a mistake. Gortsby is young. He has a lot to learn about life and people,...
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What is the theme of the story "Dusk"?
Perhaps this would be a good place to try to explain exactly what the young man claims happened to him, since it seems pretty odd for a person to lose a hotel. The young man says he "came up this...
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What is the role of the soap in the story "Dusk" written by Saki?
Literally speaking, the role of the soap is that it fools Norman Gortsby and makes him give money to the young man. The young man says that he has forgotten which hotel he was staying in (he had...
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In Dusk, was the young man lying to Norman about that cake of soap?
Stochastically speaking, there is at least a ninety-nine percent probability that the young grifter was lying about his whole hard-luck story, including the cake of soap. He tells Norman Gortsby he...
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How is Norman Gortsby fooled by the stranger in "Dusk" by Saki?
The young man's story was cleverly constructed and carefully rehearsed. The fact that he couldn't produce the cake of soap to substantiate it was his one mistake. There is one especially clever...
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In the story Dusk by Saki explain the expression "that forlorn orchestra to whose piping no one dances."
Saki's short story "Dusk" presents people in a park who partake in that time of day that is neither day nor night. In this "gloaming" period they pass along the walks unnoticed. On the bench...
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Explain the example of nine pence and buttonhole in connection with the old man's clothes in "Dusk" by Saki.
The delightful short story "Dusk" told in Saki's typical style of irony and surprise, brings to mind two important points: the hubris of the wealthy at that period of England's history, and the...
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How does Gortsby view the people around him?
Saki opens his story "Dusk" with a description of the poor people who come out after dark because they are ashamed to show themselves by daylight. They are described from the protagonist Norman...
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In "Dusk," what did Gortsby do to make amends for his earlier disbelief?
Norman Gortsby was apparently accustomed to lounging on a park bench at the end of the day. This suggests that he is not to be taken as a gentleman of leisure but as a young man with a...
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Is "Dusk" by Saki (H. H. Munro) an appropriate title for the story? Justify.
The title "Dusk" seems quite appropriate for Saki's story for several reasons. Obviously, it creates a mood associated with the setting. Most importantly, however, is the fact that dusk is the time...
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What important role did the soap play in the story Dusk?
Dusk centers on a series of interactions in Hyde park in London between Norman Gortsby (whose perspective the story follows), an old man, and a young man. Norman sees the old man sitting on the...
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What is the role of old man in "Dusk" by Saki?
To me, the old man is sort of a plot device -- he is used as a way to set up Gortsby to be fooled by the younger man. He also serves as the one who reveals to Gortsby that he has been fooled. At...
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In the story "Dusk" by Saki, why did the young man look at Gortsby with hostility when he came to lend him some money?
The young man who tries to con Gortsby with a hard-luck story about losing his hotel appears to be a novice criminal. For one thing, he is "young," so he could not have had much experience. For...
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Give a characterization of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk" by Saki.
Saki does not share physical characteristics about Norman Gortsby in his story “Dusk.” Everything in the story is seen through Gortsky’s thoughts and feelings although he is not the narrator of...
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What sort of a person is Norman Gortsby in "Dusk" by Saki? It has to be something like a character sketch of Norman...
Norman Gortsby is probably in his mid-twenties. Saki wanted him to be young because the moral of the story is conveyed by Gortsby's painful learning experience. He is not a wealthy gentleman of...
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What style of writing has been used by Saki (H. H. Munro) is his story "Dusk"? What is the kind of language...
The short story "Dusk" by Saki opens with a man named Gortsby sitting on a park bench at dusk, contemplating the type of people around him in the park at that time of day. An elderly man next to...
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Why does Gortsby in Saki's story "Dusk" say that the weak point of the young man's story is that he could not produce...
The young stranger tells Gortsby that he left his hotel to buy a cake of soap. He ought to have the cake of soap in his possession to serve as proof of his story. It seems possible that the elderly...
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What is the plot of "Dusk" by Saki?
The story opens with Norman Gortsby sitting on a bench in a park in London. It is early March and dusk is setting in, and this pleases Gortsby who sees dusk as "the hour of the defeated" when men...
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In "Dusk" by Saki, what is the meaning of "jostling ranks of those who enjoyed prosperity or struggle for it?"
The term "jostling" was probably an accurate description of many of London's streets. Saki was born in 1870, long before automobiles were even thought of. Many streets in big cities were not even...
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In "Dusk," by Saki, explain the role played by the dusk and the cake of soap?
The young con man either invented the story about the lost hotel or else he learned it from some other con man. He seems to be a novice. He should have bought a cake of soap in order to be able to...
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Why is the story called "Dusk"?
What a great question. I believe the short story "Dusk," by Saki has its title for a two-fold reason. The setting is around 6:30 on a March evening in Hyde Park: dusk. But more importantly, I...
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What is the character sketch of the young man in the story "Dusk" by Saki?
The young man that replaces the old gentleman who seems so defeated by the vicissitudes of life on the bench is described as being "fairly well dressed" but having the same depressed and browbeaten...
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What is the significance of dusk in the story "Dusk" by Saki and what role does the cake of soap play in the story?
The story takes place at dusk. This is the time of day when it is just getting dark. The significance of the time of day is that the defeated people come out at dusk. It is a time of day when the...
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In "Dusk," describe the park in which Norman Gortsby was dwelling?
When the story of "Dusk" opens, the setting is a park. The main character Gortsby is sitting on a park bench. He is noticing the defeated who come out at dusk, the time of day when no one will...
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What is the similarity between the young man in "Dusk" and the elderly gentleman in "The Umbrella Man"?
The chief similarity, or the common denominator, between the young con man in Saki's "Dusk" and the elderly con man in Dahl's story "The Umbrella Man" is that both have figured out ways to obtain...
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How do the dusk and the cake of soap further the moral lesson of Saki's "Dusk"?
The dusk, or twilight, and the cake of soap contribute to the lesson of Saki's "Dusk" in two ways: 1. Both the dusk,"the hour of the defeated" and the cake of soap are symbolic of Norman Grotsby's...
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Discuss the irony in "Dusk" by Saki.
There is no irony in “Dusk” until the end. Gortsby is observing the men and women he thinks of as “the defeated,” but he is not feeling sorry for them. The scene pleased Gortsby and harmonized...
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What are the character sketches of Norman Gortsby in "Dusk" and the mother in "The Umbrella Man"? What makes them...
In several ways, Norman Grotsby of "Dusk," and the mother in"The Umbrella Man" are similar, yet there are some differences. Norman Grotsby While Norman Grotsby considers himself among the...
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Analyze the character of the elderly man in the story "Dusk" by H.H. Munro (SAKI).
Saki seems to be deliberately leaving the ending of "Dusk" with an open question. Apparently the young stranger was a fledgling con artist who got a sovereign and a cake of soap from Gortsby by the...
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In the story "Dusk," do you think Gortsby is too quick and rash in forming opinions about people? Give reason for...
Norman Gortsby strikes me as a sophisticated young man who has lived in the great city of London for years and has been approached for money innumerable times. He is eminently approachable because...
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Why does the young man's voice catch when Gortsby lends him the sovereign?
It appears that the young man's emotional reaction may have been part of his act. The text tells us that, after the brief show of emotion, he quickly blurts out a word or two of thanks before he...
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Discuss what qualities of Gortsby are evident in a passage from the text.
Given that you did not specify which passage, this answer will address numerous passages and the qualities present in the protagonist for each passage. Saki's short story "Dusk" tells of Norman...
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What is the title justification of "Dusk" by Saki?
"Dusk" seems an appropriate title for this story. The author emphasizes that it is the time of day when people whom he describes as "defeated" come out because they are ashamed to be seen in the...
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What is the summary of "Dusk" by Saki?
"Dusk" is another one of Saki's darkly ironic tales. The protagonist, Gortsby, spends the duration of the story observing people scurrying about at dusk. He thinks of most of the people whom he...
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How can I compare the two people who come and sit on the bench with Norman Gortsby in Dusk?
When the story opens, Gortsby is sharing a bench with an elderly gentleman who has "a drooping air of defiance." His appearance in the story at all seems to be to serve as the rightful owner of the...
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In the story "Dusk" (by Saki) was the old man the young man's accomplice?
This is an interesting question. It is a very strange coincidence that both the old man and the young man claim to have lost a cake of soap. It is hard to see how they could have been accomplices,...
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In the story "Dusk," by Saki, what are some things that Gortsby saw as he waited on the bench in the park?
Perhaps we can understand the setting, tone, mood and message of “Dusk” better if we consider certain facts about the author Saki, whose real name was H. H. Munro. According to an article in...
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In Saki's "Dusk," describe the atmosphere during 'dusk' time.
Saki describes the setting and the atmosphere in the opening paragraph of his story. It was some thirty minutes past six on an early March evening, and dusk had fallen heavily over the scene, dusk...
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Why was the young man not in a good temper in "Dusk"?
The young man lets out a loud—and very audible—expletive as he flings himself into the seat next to Gortsby. Straight away, it's pretty obvious that he's not in the best of moods. We soon discover...
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By referring to the incidents in the story, state how dusk is said to be an hour of defeated.
The story "Dusk" by Saki illustrates the defeated. It is at this time where many unconsidered figures moving silently through the half-light, or dotted unobtrusively on bench and chair, scarcely...
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Justify the title of H. H. Munro's story, "Dusk." Why is this title appropriate?
The title of "Dusk" for Saki's story is indeed appropriate on both the literal and the figurative levels. For, it defines the setting which is at twilight, the time when the defeated come to the...
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What's a short summary of "Dusk" by Saki?
As is typical of Saki, there is a subtle irony to his story, "Dusk," in which a complacent, yet heart-weary Norman Grotsby rests on a park bench in the Park in London at twilight. The scene...
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