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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Discussion Topic

Point of View and Irony in "The Interlopers"

Summary:

"The Interlopers" by Saki employs a third-person omniscient point of view, allowing the narrator to access the thoughts and feelings of the two protagonists, Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym. This perspective enhances the story's dramatic and situational irony, particularly evident in the unexpected ending. The narrator's selective revelation of details builds suspense, culminating in the ironic twist that the figures approaching the trapped men are wolves, highlighting the futility of their generational feud.

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What is the point of view in "The Interlopers"?

The point of view of "The Interlopers" is third-person omniscient narrator. For, the narrator taps into the thoughts and feelings of Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym, even though near the end of the narrative as suspense rises the narrator does not describe the inner workings of the men quite as much in order to create more suspense.

omniscient narrator--a narrator who knows everything that needs to be known about the agents and events in the story, and is free to move at will in time and place, and who has privileged access to a character's thoughts, feelings, and motives. 
[http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_P.html]

That the narration of Saki's "The Interlopers" is third-person omniscient is evinced in the exposition of the narrative as, for instance, the narrator describes the two men who are foes in an ancient feud over a "narrow strip of precipitous woodland." This "all-knowing" narrator describes the hatred between the two men who have continued the feud despite the ownership having been settled in a famous lawsuit between their grandfathers. Now von Gradwitz owns this land, but Znaeym is suspected by von Gradwitz of poaching in these woods.

  • Rising Action

During the rising action, this omniscient narrator remains throughout, describing the encounter of the two men at the beech tree and the feelings of each man as he becomes a victim of Nature's force, being pinioned beneath the fallen branches of this mammoth tree.

Relief at being alive and exasperation at his captive plight brought a strange medley of pious thank offerings and sharp curses to Ulrich's lips. Georg, who is nearly blinded with the blood which trickled across his eyes, stopped his struggling a moment to listen, and then gave a short, snarling laugh.

This point of view of omniscient narration continues throughout the narrative. Near the end of the story, suspense is enhanced as the focus is on the two men who raise their voices to shout in the hope that one of their hunters will come to rescue them. At this point, with the remaining dialogue, the narration is reduced to what is said and done by the two men, Ulrich and Georg in order to heighten suspense. However, the presence of the omniscient/all-knowing narrator is still apparent with the final description of Georg as he strains his eyes "to see what the other would gladly have not seen." 

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What is the point of view in "The Interlopers"?

The narrator of "The Interlopers" is the omniscient narrator. This type of narrator is a kind of mind reader, it is the all-knowing narrator. The narrator is not a character in the story and almost never refers to himself directly. The omniscient narrator is able to tell the reader everything, including how each character thinks and feels.

Just because the omniscient narrator knows all does not necessarily mean that this narrator will let you in all the information to be had in a story. Sometimes this narrator will save an important piece of information until the very last lines of a story, much like this one. Our omniscient narrator had a bird's eye view of what was happening with Ulrich and Georg, but did not tell us about the wolves until the last sentence of the story.

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How do point of view and irony relate in "The Interlopers"?

The story is told from a third-person omniscient point-of-view. From this vantage point, the author is able to use dramatic and situational irony to underline one of the main themes of his story: generational feuds often pose little substantial benefit for the parties involved.

As an omniscient narrator, the author is able to skilfully guide the plot of the story without revealing the surprise ending until the stunning last word: "wolves." Saki uses his third-person viewpoint to reveal only specific details at each juncture of the story.

It is not until we come to the last word that we recognize Saki's brilliance: the situational irony contained in the word "wolves" underlines the point that generational feuds are more prone to ending badly than positively. Instead of being saved by members of the von Gradwitz family (which Ulrich expects, from seeing the figures in the distance), the word "wolves" indicates that both men will likely die savage deaths side by side. Situational irony is the discrepancy between what is expected to occur and what occurs instead.

Ulrich informs Georg that he sees men in the distance. When Georg asks how many of them there are, Ulrich answers that he sees nine or ten men. Upon hearing this, Georg exclaims that they are probably Ulrich's men, as he only brought seven men out with him. As the figures draw nearer however, Ulrich is reduced to laughing "the idiotic chattering laugh of a man unstrung with hideous fear." The last word "wolves" perfectly explains Ulrich's fear, and we are left marveling at Saki's skill in using the third-person point of view to underline the irony of Ulrich and Georg's situation.

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