rather than thinking of the larger good or accepting your insignificance. It is what prolongs senseless feuds but also what gives humans a swelled sense of their own importance in the grand scheme of the universe.

Pride keeps Ulrich and Georg feuding, each determined to "stand their ground" and teach the other a lesson. They both lay claim to a small woodland as their own property.

This story is an example of literary naturalism, in which humankind is reduced to a mere speck against the larger background of nature. In naturalism, there is no god controlling events for the benefit of humankind, and nature has no special consideration for humans as it goes about its business of surviving.

Both Ulrich and Georg are trapped when a tree falls on them, and both men are about to be attacked in this helpless state by a pack of predatory wolves. The men's pride has literally been their undoing. The wolves do not accept in any way—or even have any concept—that one of the men "owns" this strip of land. In nature's mind, the land belongs to nature. The men, if not blinded by their own pride in petty differences, might have discovered sooner the importance of bonding together.

The main subject for the theme of "The Interlopers" can be expressed by the word "possession." The story revolves around a fierce territorial dispute between the Gradwitz and Znaeym families, which has resulted in a longstanding, bitter feud. The narrow strip of precipitous woodland on the spurs of the Eastern Carpathians is the disputed territory in question, and each family claims ownership of the forest. Although the forest is not well-stocked and on the outskirts of the Gradwitz's extensive property, both families feel entitled to the land and desire sole possession of it. Possession of land is a human construct, and both families neglect to understand that nature is an indifferent force that does not recognize or honor this construct. The land and animals inhabiting the region do not belong to anybody, and possession does not exist in the natural world.

The conflict concerning the possession of the forest parallels the underlying conflict regarding man versus nature. Despite Ulrich and Georg's dispute, nature intervenes when a massive beech tree falls onto both men, trapping them beneath its heavy trunk. The helpless men once again fall victim to nature when the hungry wolves arrive to devour them. Saki cleverly uses irony to explore the ambiguous, complex relationship between humans and nature by illustrating the men's futile attempts to establish dominion and control over the disputed territory.

It is pride that has brought Ulrich and Georg together in this sticky situation, and it is pride that will cause their downfall. To be specific, this is family pride, rather than the pride of individuals. Both Ulrich and Georg regard themselves as the defenders of their respective families' pride and honor. Those families have been engaged in a long, bitter, and increasingly pointless dispute over a mere plot of land for what seems like an eternity. Neither side is willing to back down, and each new generation regards it as its sacred responsibility not to be the first to capitulate. Antagonism between the Znaeym and von Gradwitz families has become something of a tradition, a tradition that Ulrich and Georg are committed to upholding.

But pride comes before a fall, as they say, and that's what happens here. Ulrich and Georg's stubborn insistence on defending their families' pride and honor at all costs has resulted in their being pinned beneath a tree, ready to be pounced on by a pack of hungry wolves. Although the two men finally agree to put aside their differences and bury the hatchet, it's too little, too late. Family pride will be the ruin of both of them.

Greed is a word that represents a key theme in this story. Ulrich's family owns a piece of land and has kept an ongoing feud with George's family about staying off of this land. But George inherits this two-family conflict and neither man does anything to end the feud. So, George continues hunting on the land in spite of Ulrich's disapproval. And the men are sworn enemies as a result of their mutually declared right to this piece of land. 

Their greed to use the land for their own purposes is what fuels the feud. But that greed is supplemented by a habitual anger or enmity for one another. In other words, greed for the land and anger for one another are two supplemental feelings that feed into each other. 

Greed connects this theme of anger/enmity and the notion of arrogance. The two men arrogantly feel they have a right to "own" or control this land. Given social laws about legal property, Ulrich has a written right to own the land, but George feels a practical right to it. In the end, in the grand scheme of nature itself, neither man really owns the land. And to be sure, neither man "controls" the land. In fact, the land itself (nature) is what destroys the men. The wind, the fallen tree, and the wolves have the last say. In their arrogance, the men think they control nature. This arrogance stems from their anger and from their greed to control land/nature. So, anger and arrogance are prominent themes in the story, but you can show how greed connects these themes. 

The idea of laying claim to a specific territory and possessing a piece of land is a completely human construct, which is established in human courts and supported by human institutions. Despite Ulrich and Georg's dispute and ideas regarding the precipitous strip of woodland, Nature is completely indifferent to their designs and seems to act maliciously against them.

As the tension rises and the two enemies finally meet face-to-face in the forest, a strong storm sends a massive beech tree crashing down on both of them, trapping them beneath its heavy trunk. The storm and falling beech are acts of Nature which dramatically undermine Ulrich and Georg's designs and plans. Saki notably refers to the incident as "a deed of Nature’s own violence."

In addition to the severe storm and downed beech tree, the arrival of hungry wolves is another example of Nature's ultimate authority over mankind and indifference to human designs. After Ulrich and Georg finally repair their relationship by ending the feud, a pack of menacing wolves arrives to devour them. The natural world does not recognize them as owners and is portrayed as an indifferent, malevolent force working against the men.

Saki's short story is brilliant, at least, when it comes to one theme, the theme of what it means to be an interloper. While Ulrich and Georg see each other as interlopers and enemies, they are both interlopers in the natural world.

When the short story starts, we learn briefly of the history of the hatred between two men - Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym. Ulrich is a wealthy landowner who had a dispute with Georg. The courts ruled in favor of Ulrich, but Georg still used the land to hunt. In light of this, the two men hated each other.

In fact, Ulrich and his men are on watch to find Georg, presumably to kill him. As we can see, both men believe that the other is an interloper. The assumption here is that humans can own mother nature. 

As the story unfolds, a storm knocks down a tree and the men are pinned underneath. Unexpectedly, the men reconcile. But it is too late, because wolves come onto the scene. The story ends. The implication is that both men will die. From this perspective, the men never considered one essential point, that they both were interlopers. To be honest, most readers probably never considered this point as well. The wolves, other animals, and nature were in the forest far before Georg and Ulrich. Men are interlopers in the natural world. 

Like all good stories, there are several important themes. Let me delve into two of them.

First, the most obvious feature of the story is the feud that exists between the two families. Ulrich Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym hate each other, even though they do not know much of each other. Here is a quote on their hatred.

...if there was a man in the world whom [Ulrich] detested and wished ill to, it was Georg Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game snatcher and raider of the disputed border forest. 

The foolishness of this hatred is obvious, because they inherited it. So, they hate blindly. Why perpetuate hatred? Why inherit a feud? Hence, the theme of blind hate is present. That their hatred is foolish is confirmed as they become friends as they spend time together. In fact, they seek to outdo one another in kindness by the end.

Second, there is also a theme of who is the real interloper. The men accuse each other of trespassing, but it may be that the men are the trespassers. Can they own the tract of land? At the end of the story when the wolves come, it is implied that they are foolish to think that they can own the land. Nature cannot be owned or tamed.

As for events, the three main events are: the storm that takes place in the beginning of the story that fells a tree on the two men; the reconciliation that takes place between the two men; and the impending death of the men as wolves come. 

The main theme of "The Interlopers" is that of an awareness of the distortions of the vendetta and its eventual denial.

Having inherited the feud over a strip of woods, Ulrich von Gradwitz intensifies the animosity between him and the man he considers his foe, Georg Znaeym, whom Ulrich considers a "raider of the disputed border-forest." This vendetta is fueled by the hatred of the two men for each other from the time that they are boys. Furthermore, this vendetta intensifies until both Ulrich and Georg yearn for each other's blood, hoping that fate will bring them misfortune.

....as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night Ulrich had banded together his foresters to watch for the dark foresters. 

Ironically, when they are finally confronted with one another, the realization that his enemy is before him is so sudden that each man who has been brought up with a sense of honor does not immediately fire his weapon. This unexpected intervention of nature and its terrible blow to both men brings with it also a disturbing awareness of the mental distortions that holding such a vendetta causes. So, as Ulrich and Georg lie pinioned beneath huge tree branches, their common plight effects the reconciliation of the two men. Inevitably, however, nature again strikes with a final denial of the men's vengeful mentalities in their vendetta as ferocious wolves hear their cries and run toward them. 

As with most texts, multiple themes are present.  Here are a few ...

1.  "Man is insignificant to nature."  This is apparent when two very powerful men are trapped under a tree and then are ultimately killed by a pack of wolves.

2.  "Holding a grudge benefits no one."  The grudge that the two men have against each other leads to their death.  If they had forgiven each other and moved on, neither would have died.