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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel is calling on the Sappletons because he feels more or less compelled to do so by his sister. "I know how it will be," his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this...
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The Open Window
In Saki's "The Open Window," Vera, a young girl of fifteen, takes advantage of a weak man's ignorance to play a practical joke on him. She sets up the scene perfectly by first asking if he knows...
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The Open Window
Hector Hugh Munro, better known by his pen-name Saki, was the author of The Open Window. Saki was born in present-day Myanmar in 1870, and in his early childhood he was sent to live with family in...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel jumps up and flees the Sappleton's house when he believes that he sees men coming back from the dead. While Vera, Mrs. Sappleton's niece, keeps Framton company as he waits for his...
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The Open Window
In short, Vera (Mrs. Sappleton's niece) causes Framton Nuttel additional distress by telling a story that causes "mental excitement." This is exactly the stress poor Framton Nuttel is trying to...
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Literature
The initiating event in "The Open Window" is the arrival of Framton Nuttel at the home of the Sappletons. He is a complete stranger who comes with a letter of introduction from his sister, a woman...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel knows nothing at all about the Sappleton family. He is only calling on them because he was given a letter of introduction by his sister, who seems to have known little about them...
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The Open Window
While a literal meaning for the selection of the name is not something Saki ever explains in detail, the reader can make several connections, drawn by a combination of a play on sounds, words, and...
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The Open Window
It does not seem as though Mrs. Sappleton is necessarily self-absorbed so much as Mr. Nuttel catches her at an inopportune time. Mr. Nuttel has letters of introduction from his sister to give to...
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The Open Window
The title seems to emphasize the importance of the open window in the story. It also sets a somewhat ominous tone. It suggests that something or other is going to cause trouble from the outside....
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The Open Window
One message to the reader of "The Open Window" is that it is often difficult to decipher the truth in a person's narrative about an incident. Moreover, those who possess such talent of being able...
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The Open Window
Vera's fabricated story convinces Mr. Nuttel that she is telling the truth for three main reasons. First, he doesn't personally or casually know the men involved in Vera's story, so there is no...
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The Open Window
A paradox is defined as anyone or anything that is self-contradictory. A paradox can also be something that seems absurd but might express a possible element of truth. Saki's short story "The Open...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel never says anything about his medical condition to Vera. Vera has to do most of the talking because Framton is silent and ill at ease with her. He does tell her aunt Mrs. Sappleton...
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The Open Window
In the story, Mrs. Sappleton's niece, Vera, accompanies her story with acutely expressive facial and bodily expressions. It is these dramatic theatrics that cause Framton additional distress. After...
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The Open Window
The author describes exactly what Framton Nuttel saw when he looked through the open French window. In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window, they...
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The Open Window
Vera very cautiously and cunningly makes sure that Framton Nuttel is a stranger in this part of the English countryside and would not know anything that would contradict the totally fictitious...
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The Open Window
The answer, however, will depend on your worldview and personal opinion. If you find Vera's actions compelling, you may come to the conclusion that her practical joke is merely humorous. If,...
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The Open Window
When determining author's purpose, think about the acronym P.I.E., which stands for "persuade, inform, entertain." A story's purpose can usually be understood from these three points. The purpose...
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The Open Window
The term "romance" is usually associated with love stories, but the definition of the word, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary includes these meanings: a (1) : a medieval tale...
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The Open Window
In "The Open Window," Vera gains the confidence to fabricate her tale about her aunt's brothers and husband after Framton Nuttel says he knows "[H]ardly a soul" in the area. When Framton first...
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The Open Window
In "The Open Window," Framton Nuttel brings his frayed nerves and letters of introduction to Mrs. Stappleton's home, but flees in terror the same day. Having arrived at the Stappleton home, Framton...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel certainly is an unusual name. It helps to characterize the visitor as an odd and eccentric man. The last name of Nuttel must suggest to most readers that the visitor is a little bit...
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The Open Window
Part of the beauty of "The Open Window" is that the reader is taken in by Vera's story just like Framton Nuttel. The reader gets the same uncanny feeling that Framton experiences when he sees Vera...
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The Open Window
The above answer by mwestwood is excellent. I would like to suggest another possibility. Vera is being forced to play hostess. She doesn't like it. She probably hates it. Her conflict may be with...
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The Open Window
Saki created the characters, the setting, and all the elements to suit his purpose, which was to have a visitor think three men approaching a country house were ghosts and to make him flee for his...
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The Open Window
The French window standing open gives Vera the inspiration for her ghost story. She hints that if the three hunters were actually to return, as she claims her aunt has expected them to do for the...
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The Open Window
This is an interesting question. If Vera were my daughter and this event happened in my home, I certainly wouldn't approve of her frightening the wits out of a guest, especially a stranger who was...
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The Open Window
In the story, Vera does indeed show hospitality towards Mr. Nuttel. Her methods are a little unusual, however, and she entertains herself at his expense. As the story begins, we learn Vera, a young...
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The Open Window
Before Mrs. Sappleton arrived to greet the visitor, Vera had prepared Framton Nuttle to believe that her aunt was insane. "Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the...
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The Open Window
Certainly, the weak and timorous hypochondriac, Framton Nuttel, has few, if any positive character traits; on the other hand, while Vera takes advantage of Nuttel, she does have some engaging...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel does not seem like a particularly attractive or likeable character. He seems to have been created to serve as the ideal victim for young Vera. He is neurotic and self-centered. Mrs....
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The Open Window
In the story, Framton Nuttel is described as undergoing a "nerve cure." This is significant because it highlights Framton's hypochondriac tendencies and foreshadows his later, agitated response to...
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The Open Window
Most of the imagery Saki provides in "The Open Window" is in straight prose description. There are three especially striking images in the story. The description of the first two is understood to...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel is completely taken in by Vera's story. The same applies to the reader, who believes that the three men approaching the open window must be the ghosts of the three male relatives who...
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The Open Window
Throughout the narration of "The Open Window," Framton Nuttel is depicted as silly and rather pathetic in his efforts to endeavor to "duly flatter" one person while not "unduly discounting" another...
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The Open Window
In Saki's "The Open Window," Framton Nuttel is a stranger to the Sappleton house. Before he is able to speak directly with Mrs. Sappleton, Vera, her niece, asks about him. She wonders if he knows...
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The Open Window
In Saki's "The Open Window," Vera plays a practical joke on a stranger named Framton Nuttel. First, Vera would probably tell her friends that a timid and nervous man entered her home and she...
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The Open Window
In Saki's "The Open Window," there is foreshadowing—defined as clues that suggest events that have yet to occur—soon after Vera enters the room where Framton Nuttel awaits her aunt. Nuttel is...
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The Open Window
Saki, the author, wanted to keep the reader in the dark as to Vera's intentions and motives. The girl seems to be making polite conversation with the visitor. It does not become apparent until much...
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The Open Window
Indirect characterization is when a character is not explained explicitly. Another way to say it is that the reader must use inference to figure out the personality or description of a character...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel is a complete bore. He has come out to the country to get away from anything strenuous. After hearing Vera's dramatic and morbid story about her aunt's husband and brothers, he is...
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The Open Window
One approach to teaching this story is to address the justification of Vera's lying. Framton Nuttel is a complete bore. His nervous condition may be self-induced or it may actually be legitimate....
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The Open Window
Saki is definitely playing with words, puns, and names in this story. Vera is the feminine root for "truth" or "real" in Latin. Saki is being ironic here because Vera is a compulsive and...
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The Open Window
The topic sentence will depend on the angle or theme you are working with. For example, consider the notion of sanity. Framton Nuttel ("nuts" - crazy) was trying to cure his nerves with a trip to...
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The Open Window
Vera is feeling bored and rebellious. As a Victorian girl, she is confined to the house and probably spends most of her time reading escapist fiction. She has heard the same conversations among the...
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The Open Window
The 15 year-old niece in "The Open Window" knows how to play the perfect practical joke; however, the narrator calls this "Romance at short notice." In order to get the desired effect on a victim,...
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The Open Window
Twice, before she tells Framton the story about Mr. Sappleton and his two brothers-in-law, the narrator describes Vera as "self-possessed." This means that she is confident and able to control her...
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The Open Window
Vera can be described as a fun-loving and adventurous girl who is very inventive and shrewd. She uses her ability to think on her feet to be a ruthless prankster. She’s not just a terrific...
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The Open Window
Framton Nuttel is not scared of dogs--at least not of little brown spaniels. Vera makes up a story involving dogs in order to explain why their guest suddenly panicked and went running out of the...