Dusk Questions and Answers
Dusk
What are the similiarities between the mother in "The Umbrella Man" by Roald Dahl and Norman Gortsby in "Dusk" by Saki?
Both the mother in "The Umbrella Man" and Norman Gortsby in "Dusk" are intelligent, experienced urbanites who are suspicious of strangers and characteristically alert and watchful. They are both...
Dusk
State two reasons given by Gortsby to suggest that the young man was willfully careless in "Dusk."
When the young man finishes his story, admitting that all his trouble started with going out of his hotel to buy the soap, Gortsby turns to him and says, "Of course," said Gortsby slowly, "the weak...
Dusk
There is one trickster in the story "Dusk" and one in "The Umbrella Man." Compare between them.
One difference that stands out in comparing "Dusk" and "The Umbrella Man" is that the young trickster in "Dusk" has a far more complicated story. It is hard to keep in straight in one's mind. He...
Dusk
What is the negative aspect of "Dusk"?
According to the Wikipedia article on Saki, he was a Tory and a reactionary. This means he was probably unsympathetic to the conditions of the poor. No doubt he subscribed to the popular philosophy...
Dusk
Do you think Gortsby was a cunning confident trickster once? "Dusk" by Saki
Gortsby sounds like a street-smart urbanite who has heard all kinds of sob stories, but he seems too generous and too gullible to be a confidence trickster. Why should he give a sovereign to a...
Dusk
What is the negative aspect depicted in the story "Dusk" by Sakl (H. H. Munro)?
If a stranger asks us for money on any pretext, our instinct is to say "No." We don't like to part with our money. But we sometimes tell ourselves that we are being too selfish, too negative, too...
Dusk
What are the possibilities of Norman Gortsby being cheated in Saki's "Dusk"?
At first reading it would appear that Norman Gortsby was cheated out of the sovereign by the young man who claimed he had forgotten the name of his hotel and couldn't find the place. But there is a...
Dusk
What support do you think should be given to the unsuccessful people in "Dusk"?
To answer this we need to establish very clearly what has made these individuals "unsuccessful" and causes such individuals to wander around at night, "bat-like" as the text describes them. Let us...
Dusk
How would "Dusk" have ended if the gentleman were not to appear at the end?
After Gortsby gives the sovereign and the cake of soap to the young man, he returns to the vicinity of the bench where he had been sitting and ...he saw an elderly gentleman poking and peering...
Dusk
In the story "Dusk," narrate how Norman Gortsby was out-witted in the most interesting manner in the park at dusk.
In the story "Dusk," Gortsby was out witted by a young man who claimed to have lost a bar of soap. Gortsby is sitting in the park when an older gentleman sits down. Gortsby who is a good judge of...
Dusk
JUSTIFY THE TITLE DUSK SIGNIFICANCE AND ROLE OF TITLE DUSK
In the short story "Dusk," the title is significant in that the setting takes place at dusk, the time between sunset and dark. The main character, Norman Gortsby, is sitting on a park bench at...
Dusk
According to Norman Gortsby in "Dusk," the young man was not a "genius" in "his particular field." What does he mean...
In “Dusk,” the young man who sits down on the bench next to Norman Gortsby spins a yarn about forgetting the name and location of the hotel where he is staying. The reason he gives is that he had...
Dusk
I need something written about the second victim met by Gortsby. "Dusk" by Saki
After Gortsby's experience with the young man who contends that he has rushed from a hotel that was not the one at which he had planned on staying in order to purchase a cake of soap, Gortsby...
Dusk
How are old people treated in the society of "Dusk?"
There is not a great deal of evidence in this story for how the society treats the old. We can infer some things from what Gortsby says about the old man early in the story, but we cannot know for...
Dusk
"Genius certainly consists of an infinite capacity for taking precautions." What precaution is Gortsby asking the...
The young man in Saki's “Dusk” appears to be something of a con artist who has just spun Norman Gortsby an elaborate story. Apparently, the young man came to London only to find that his hotel had...
Dusk
In "Dusk," how is dusk said to be the hour of the defeated?
It is important to remember that the significance of dusk is given to the story by Norman Gortsby, who sees in this time of day a symbolism that he finds morosely pleasing to his own state of mind...
Dusk
Why was Gortsby instantly on his guard upon meeting the young man in "Dusk"?
In Saki’s short story “Dusk,” Norman Gortsby sits in a park as the sun goes down. This time of day pleases Gortsby as is it brings out the abject, the misfortunate, and those who have been...
Dusk
In the story "Dusk," what impression do you form about the young man in the story?
My impression of the young man in Saki's "Dusk" is that as a con artist he is a novice. Gortsby may be his very first prospective victim. This apprentice con artist has invented a very good story....
Dusk
What happened at the park in Dusk?
As the story's title indicates, it was dusk--the time right between the ending of the day and dark. Gortsby was a quiet observer of the type of people who come out at dusk. These people often have...
Dusk
State how dusk is said to be the hour of the defeated.
What a great and sophisticated question! The best answer that I know of comes from Mary Douglas, the great cultural anthropologist. Her basic point is that dusk is between day and night. It is...
Dusk
Can you please describe the encounter of the stranger with Gortsby and discuss the title 'Dusk' with the ending of...
The stranger comes and sits down next to Gortsby on a park bench. He says that he is from out of town and has forgotten which hotel he is in. He says he went out to buy some soap and then forgot...
Dusk
Dusk can be associated with what kind of an atmosphere in this short story? "Dusk" by Saki
One poet wrote that twilight, or dusk, is a time of other worldliness, for it is that vague space between time, being neither day nor night. In twilight there is a suspension of the world and of...
Dusk
What is the role of light in "Dusk" by Saki?
In the short story "Dusk," the role of light is that things can be seen much more clearly in the light. In the dimness of dusk, things are not as clear. With nightfall approaching, the defeat in...
Dusk
In the short story "Dusk" by Saki, what two kinds of people are compared?
I don't know that anyone is really contented in this story. I don't think even the con man is content. To me, the real contrast in this story is between people who are basically honest and those...
Dusk
In "Dusk," was the young man a very shrewd trickster who had actually seen the bar of soap falling out from the old...
This is an excellent question to ask. However, in my opinion, I don't think that this is correct. I think that the young man is presented as a trickster who lacks experience and is not actually as...
Dusk
According to the author, who takes advantage of the dusk? it should be a very short answer with keywords Saki's "Dusk"
Dusk, that time of day that cannot clearly be defined as either day or night that falls shortly after twilight is a time Edith Wharton called, "The moment when afternoon and evening hang balanced...
Dusk
In Saki's story "Dusk," what kind of impression do you form about the young man? Do you think he is smart and clever...
My impression of the young man is that he is very bold and temperamental. He must be smart to be able to memorize the complicated story he tells Norman Gortsby. It is so complicated that it is hard...
Dusk
In "Dusk," Gorstby had actually been too clever in judging by circumstances for the second time in one night. Do you...
The truth is that Gortsby relies too much on logic in ascertaining whether the young man is truthful or not, and not enough on his own judgement and intuition. Notice the way in which Gortsby...
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What is the con artist's story?
Like Saki's story "The Open Window," his "Dusk" contains a story within a story. The con artist's story has been carefully worked out and rehearsed. The details are complex but the whole hard-luck...
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How did the young man convey to Norman Gortsby that he was not in a good mood in "Dusk"?
It is clear from the description and inner monologue of Norman that he is keenly perceptive of such matters, being able to spot the signs of someone in distress quite clearly. After all, by his own...
Dusk
"'Dusk' is a somber, quiet hour; appropriate to take a dim view of life or even for the mischief makers and...
In "Dusk," there is an hour of defeat. The main character Gortsby sits on a park bench at dusk. He analyzes the men who sit on the park bench next to him. When the older man sits down, he seems...
Dusk
Compare both tricksters in "Dusk" and "The Umbrella Man."
The trickster in "Dusk" seems to be a sort of apprentice or beginner at his chosen profession. Gortsby listens to his elaborate hard-luck story and then exposes him as a fraud with a single...
Dusk
What is the element of suspense and suspicion in "Dusk" by Saki?
Saki writes: The young man turned to him with a look of disarming frankness which put him instantly on his guard. Gortsby is not an easy mark. He is a city dweller and, as the story indicates, he...
Dusk
Please compare "Dusk" by Saki and "The Umbrella Man" by Roald Dahl as stories of tricksters.
People who live in the country can satisfy some needs, especially for food, without money. But city people need money for everything. Money is their preoccupation. Both “Dusk” and “The Umbrella...
Dusk
With reference to "Dusk," state how unsucessful people determine their sense of failure. Saki's short story, "Dusk."
In his novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck's isolated character of Crooks, who is separated from the other itinerant workers who stay in the bunkhouse, tells Lennie, another character how...
Dusk
Please compare the methods used to trick others by the young man in "Dusk" and the astrologer (Astrologer's Day).
The young man in "Dusk" is an expert at playing on the human emotions. He tests Gortsby's ability to show compassion for his situation. The young man tells a sad story, and it would have worked had...
Dusk
With reference to "Dusk " state how the unsucessful people feel suppressed by the sucessful people.
Let us remember that the description we receive of the people that move around at dusk comes from Norman Gortsby alone, and reflects his own "subtle failure" and his feeling of being unsuccessful...
Dusk
How is wealth a factor in "Dusk"?
The most interesting feature of "Dusk" is the fact that the young con man poses as a sort of aristocrat rather than a panhandler. Supposedly he has plenty of money but is just in a temporary fix...
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Compare "Dusk" and "The Umbrella Man" as stories of tricksters in 250 words.
What is interesting about both of these excellent short stories is the way that they involve a trickster who attempts to fool the protagonist(s) of the stories. In the case of "Dusk," the...
Dusk
In Saki's story "Dusk," was the "elderly gentleman" also a con artist? If not, why could he have been so sure he had...
In her story "Roman Fever," Edith Wharton writes of dusk, "It was the moment when afternoon and evening hang balanced in mid-heaven." And, at this time, Mrs. Slade, one of the two matrons on...
Dusk
Why do the people consider the hour of dusk to vent their frustrations in "Dusk"?
According to the main character Gortsby, the hour of dusk is the hour of defeat for many people. During the hour of dusk, shady characters surface. It is the hour of defeat and those who live...
Dusk
In "Dusk" by Saki, why do you think that the young man's look of disarming frankness puts Gortsby on his guard?
It is evident from the description of Gortsby's observations and reflections that he makes a habit of sitting on a bench in this general area around dusk, probably shortly after he gets off work in...
Dusk
What is the deception in the story "Dusk" by Saki?
The most important element of deception in the young man's story is that he doesn't want anybody to give him money but only to lend him some money until he can find his hotel, get back into his...
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How did Norman Gortsby's mood affect his decision not to believe the young man's story?
Since he sits in the shadows of Hyde Park with others of his ilk, Gortsby is in a cynical mood, "heartsore and disillusioned," and inclined to entertain a certain sardonic pleasure as he observes...
Dusk
"Dusk" is a somber, quiet hour of the day, a time appropriate to take a dim view of life or even for mischief makers...
In the short story "Dusk," it is about the time of day known as dusk. People who live defeated lives wander about at dusk. They fear rejection so dusk is the time of day to take a walk in the park....
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