illustration of a wolf standing in the forest looking toward a fallen tree that has pinned a man underneath

The Interlopers

by Saki

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Student Question

How would "The Interlopers" change if told from the wolves' perspective?

Quick answer:

We are always invited to see things from another point of view. This is especially true when we have a situation where two men feel that something belongs to them, and the other feels the opposite.

Expert Answers

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This is a great question. This question is about focalization. In short, this means that we are giving attention to how a story is being told. More specifically, we are asking the question of perspective. In light of this, your question aims to see things from the perspective of the wolves. 

As it stands, Saki's story is told from the perspective of an omniscient narrator. We also know what both men think (Georg and Ulrich). They both feel deep in their hearts that this land belongs to them. Therefore, the other man is trespassing. Hence, there is great hatred in their hearts. 

From this perspective, we can say that both men feel that they can own a mountain or a forest. In other words, they can own mother nature. This feeling of private property naturally leads to an understanding of trespassing. All of this makes sense in their worldview, perhaps even ours. 

If we begin to look at things from the perspective of the wolves, everything changes in ironic ways.  We can ask a natural question that emerges from the flow of the narrative - who are the ones trespassing? From the perspective of the the wolves, Georg and Ulrich are the trespassers. Hence, they deserve to die. This probably never crossed their minds. Seeing things afresh from another set of eyes enables creative interpretations. 

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