The Open Window Questions and Answers
The Open Window
What does "Romance at short notice was her specialty" from "The Open Window" mean?
This statement that Vera is capable of "romance at short notice" is Saki at his satirical best. According to the American College Dictionary, romance is A tale depicting heroic or marvelous...
The Open Window
Write a character sketch of Vera in the story "The Open Window" by H. H. Munro.
Vera is the fifteen-year-old niece of Mrs. Sappleton. In contrast to the high-strung and anxious Framton Nuttel, Vera is described within the narrative itself as "self-possessed," and as the story...
The Open Window
How could I rewrite another suitable ending for "The Open Window" in about 150-180 words?
The orginal ending for "The Open Window" revolves around the surprise of the unexpected return of Mrs. Sappleton's husband and two younger brothers. If you were to rewrite the ending, you could...
The Open Window
The Open Window Plot Diagram
Although "The Open Window" is a very brief short story, it demonstrates the five elements of plot as it tells a humorous tale about human gullibility. The exposition or background to the plot is as...
The Open Window
What is a character trait of Mr. Framton Nuttel from "The Open Window"?
One of the most important character traits of Framton Nuttel is his painful shyness. Among other things, this makes it difficult for him to connect with other people, which in turn prevents him...
The Open Window
Why does Framton Nuttel visit Mrs. Sappleton?
Framton Nuttel is not visiting Mrs. Sappleton exclusively. That might be considered inappropriate. He is calling upon Mr. and Mrs. Sappleton, but the men are all out hunting. Only Mrs. Sappleton...
The Open Window
Why does Framton Nuttel leave in such a hurry and how does Vera explain it?
In "The Open Window," Framton Nuttel flees in terror from what he probably believes are ghosts, but Vera credits his flight to a fear of dogs. Vera, a fifteen-year-old girl whose name hints at...
The Open Window
The Open Window Theme
Under the broader theme of appearance versus reality, the story treats the theme of human gullibility. What is remarkable about the story is the ease with which both Mr. Nuttel (the nut) and the...
The Open Window
"Romance at short notice was her speciality." Justify this observation about Vera.
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...
The Open Window
Write a detailed character sketch of Mr.Framton Nuttel?
Mr. Framton Nuttel is a nervous type fellow. He is suffering from a nervous ailment. That is what brings him to the area he is visiting. He is trying to get some rest and relaxation. His sister...
The Open Window
Irony In The Open Window
Framton Nuttel is persuaded to come to the country because his sister and his doctors believe that country life is restful. This is just an assumption based on the fact that the country looks much...
The Open Window
What is the "great tragedy" that Vera relates to Mr. Nuttel and that makes her aunt keep the window open?
The great tragedy to which Vera refers in the story "The Open Window" is entirely fictional. It is a made-up story that she is able to pull out instantly since "Romance at short notice was her...
The Open Window
What is the point of view of "The Open Window" and how can you tell?
In the short story, "The Open Window," by Saki, the author uses a third-person omniscient point of view. What this means is that the narrator is a not a part of the story but can share what the...
The Open Window
What is one example of irony in "The Open Window," and what type of irony is it?
Situational irony plays on our expectations of what should be or what will happen by having something different or opposite occur. An example of this story's situation irony comes from the...
The Open Window
It could be said that there are two endings to "The Open Window." What are those two endings?
One of the endings of "The Open Window" would come with the following description: Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly-noted...
The Open Window
Identify some symbols in "The Open Window" and explain them.
In the story, the open window is symbolic, it is at the heart of the tall tale that Vera tells Framton Nuttel. She leads him to believe that the open window is a memorial, left open to honor her...
The Open Window
In "The Open Window," what did Mrs. Sappleton talk about to Framton and how did he react to her conversation?
In "The Open Window," Mrs. Sappleton begins having a conversation with Framton. She explains why the window is open. She is expecting her husband and brothers at any moment. They have been hunting...
The Open Window
What is the moral lesson of "The Open Window"?
If there is a moral lesson to be taken from Saki’s humorous short story “The Open Window,” it is that gullible people—those who take things at face value and believe what they are told without...
The Open Window
Why does Vera tell Mr. Nuttel the story about the hunters’ deaths in "The Open Window"?
Having noted Nuttel's discomfiture and ascertained his unfamiliarity with the people in the area, the obviously precocious and mischievous Vera tells Framton Nuttel the fabricated story of the...
The Open Window
Explain the title of the story "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....
The Open Window
What are the characteristics of Vera in "The Open Window"?
A chief characteristic of Vera—and the one that drives the story—is malice, which is the trait of doing evil for pleasure. Vera tells elaborate lies for the sense of enjoyment it gives her. This...
The Open Window
What are words to describe Vera in "The Open Window"?
The author describes Vera as being self-possessed. This would be about the same as being poised, relaxed, self-assured, self-confident, and sophisticated. The author emphasizes these qualities to...
The Open Window
What is referred to as the 'tragedy' in the tale of "The Open Window"?
The "tragedy" of Saki's "The Open Window" is part of the tall-tale woven within the frame story by the imaginative Vera in order to amuse herself by manipulating the feelings of the nervous Framton...
The Open Window
Who are the protagonist and antagonist in "The Open Window"? Which one is dynamic?
The protagonist of the short story "The Open Window" is Framton Nuttel. Framton is a man who visits the Sappleton family in the country in order to get some rest, as he suffers from a nervous...
The Open Window
What is the conflict in Saki's "The Open Window?"
Saki's short story, entitled "The Open Window," presents several conflicts. The first one is probably man (or the individual) vs society. Mr. Nuttel has come from the city to rest because of a...
The Open Window
Why does Framton run out the house in the story "The Open Window" by Saki?
In plotting his ghost story, Saki showed his remarkable talent for details. The three men who appear at the end of the tale did not simply go out for a stroll. They were all hunters, which meant...
The Open Window
In the story "The Open Window," why is Framton scared of dogs?
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...
The Open Window
The Open Window Setting
The setting is the living room of a big country manor house. The reader may never have seen such a house, but they are frequently shown in movies, notably in adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories...
The Open Window
What is the message of the story "The Open Window"?
If there is a message in Saki’s “The Open Window,” it could perhaps be a message that storytelling is an art. Using a story within a story, Saki uses fifteen-year-old Vera as the master storyteller...
The Open Window
What is the climax of "The Open Window" and why?
The climax of "The Open Window" occurs when Vera stares out the open window with "dazed horror" in her eyes. Framton Nuttel then feels a "shock of nameless fear" and quickly turns in his seat to...
The Open Window
Which characters in "The Open Window" are static/flat and which are round/dynamic ? All the characters in the short...
A frame story, the ironic "The Open Window" is dependent upon its main character, Vera, for its development. The other characters are merely present as the audience for Vera's ingenious fable. In...
The Open Window
In "The Open Window," what is it about Mrs. Sappleton’s niece that causes Framton additional distress?
Mrs. Sappleton's fifteen-year-old niece, Vera, causes Framton Nuttel additional mental distress by telling him an eerie tale about the tragic deaths of her uncles, who she knows will soon return...
The Open Window
Describe Mr. Nuttel's character from "The Open Window" by Saki.
In Saki's short story "The Open Window," Mr. Nuttel is depicted as a neurotic, gullible man who is easily excited and falls for Vera's ingenious prank. Mr. Nuttel suffers from a severe nervous...
The Open Window
How do irony and humor make "The Open Window" by Saki interesting?
It can be argued that the only humor in "The Open Window" is ironic humor. If one were to analyze Framton Nuttel's escaping flight at the end as humorous, it would be at the expense of (1) ignoring...
The Open Window
In "The Open Window," how have Vera and Framton Nuttel been characterized?
Saki probably started with a germ of an idea for one of his ironic, half-funny, half-scary stories. A visitor to an English country manor is told a fabricated tale that three men died while out...
The Open Window
How does Framton Nuttel react to Vera’s story of the “great tragedy" in Saki's "The Open Window"?
Framton Nuttel is an eccentric hypochondriac who visits the country under his doctor's advice to cure his nervous disorder. Upon visiting Mrs. Sappleton's home, he is greeted by Vera, Mrs....
The Open Window
What makes the story Vera tells so believable in "The Open Window"?
Evidently Framton Nuttel is sitting facing Vera and her aunt and has his back turned to the open French window when the three hunters arrive outside. "Here they are at last!" she cried. "Just in...
The Open Window
Is the story that Vera told to Framton true or false in the short story "The Open Window"?
This is actually a thought-provoking question. The story Vera tells Framton Nuttel is partially true. Three men went out that window to shoot birds. They took a brown spaniel with them. Mrs....
The Open Window
What do you find out about Vera at the end of "The Open Window"?
In kind terms, we learn that "Romance was her specialty". In unkind terms, we learn that Vera is a habitual liar. Mr. Framton Nuttel is introduced as a nervous man seeking a calm place to restore...
The Open Window
Why does Vera lie in the open window?
Saki doesn't tell us precisely why Vera tells lies in this spare, very short short story, but he does leave clues. Mr. Nuttel, who has come to stay with Vera's family for some rest, isn't a friend,...
The Open Window
In "The Open Window," why does the niece stare in ''dazed horror''?
Vera, Miss Sappleton's niece, has set Framton Nuttel up to believe that the three hunters returning towards the open window must be ghosts because she has made him believe that these men were...
The Open Window
In the story, "The Open Window" was Vera's joke funny and why?
The prank Vera plays on Mr. Nuttel is, if anything, creative and calculated. Vera appears to be a precocious, young teenager bored with staying at her aunt’s house. She is a smart girl who has...
The Open Window
What was the doctor's recommendation to Framton in "The Open Window"?
In Saki's short story "The Open Window," the neurotic Framton Nuttel takes a "rural retreat" to calm his nerves and arrives at the home of the Sappletons, where he meets Mrs. Sappleton's...
The Open Window
What is the plot of "The Open Window"?
Frampton Nuttel suffers from a nervous condition and has come to spend some time alone. His sister sets up introductions for him with a few members of the community. His first visit is to the...
The Open Window
What is the point of view in "The Open Window" and does it change?
This story is told from a third-person limited omniscient point of view. This means that the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of one character and can report them to us. Often this...
The Open Window
In Saki's "The Open Window", what reason did Mrs.Sappleton give for keeping the window open?
The reason why Mrs. Sappleton keeps her window open is because her husband and her brothers go hunting quite a lot (shooting). That particular day, the shooting party had been out in the marshes...
The Open Window
The Open Window Conflict
Framton Nuttel is here at the Sappletons' country home only because he is suffering from what he calls a "nervous disorder." He is looking for the peace and quiet he expects the English countryside...
The Open Window
What is the significance of the title of "The Open Window" by H. M. Munro?
I think there are two meanings to this title of this excellent short story, the first being literal and the second being symbolic. Firstly, the open window is what Vera uses as the basis of her...
The Open Window
How are Vera and Mr. Nuttel similar and different in "The Open Window"?
Despite their many differences, Vera and Framton Nuttel share several similar character traits. Both Vera and Framton have active imaginations. Vera displays her active imagination by...
The Open Window
In "The Open Window," why does Framton look towards Vera with sympathy after Mrs Sappleton announced the arrival of...
Framton looks at Vera in this way because Vera has told him, before her aunt enters, that Mrs. Sappleton's husband and brothers actually died in a hunting accident and that she has never been able...
Showing 1-50 of 487