Name: ___________________________ Period: ____ Date: ______________ Due: _____________
“The Open Window” Anticipation Guide
Directions: For the “You” column, write “A” if you agree or “D” if you disagree for each statement. Do not
complete the “After” column until we have finished “The Open Window.” Explain your responses in the
blanks.
You
1. Playing pranks on innocent people is hilarious.
Before
After
_______
______
_______
______
_______
______
_______
______
_______
______
Explain:
2. Teenagers are likely up to no good and shouldn’t be trusted.
Explain:
3. Ghosts are real and walk among us.
Explain:
4. People with mental health issues should be treated sensitively and respectfully.
Explain:
5. Telling stories can’t hurt someone.
Explain:
Name: ___________________________ Period: ____ Date: ______________ Due: _____________
“The Open Window” Comprehension Questions
Directions: Answer the following questions while you read the short story.
1. Look up the following words before you begin so you can understand how they’re used in the short story:
a. self-possessed (adj.) –
k. falteringly (adv.) –
b. endeavor (v.) –
l. bustled (v.) –
c. duly/unduly (adv.) –
m. scarcity (n.) –
d. succession (n.) –
n. prospect (n.) –
e. migrate (v.) –
o. ghastly (adj.) –
f. moping (n.) –
p. dazed (adj.) –
g. sufficient (adj.) –
q. burdened (v.) –
h. moor (n.) –
r. hoarse (adj.) –
i. snipe (n.) –
s. imminent (adj.) –
j. bog (n.) –
t. pariah (n.) –
2. What does Framton Nuttel suffer from? Why has he gone to the country?
3. What do we learn through a flashback is the reason why Framton is at the Sappletons’ home? What is his
relationship to Vera, the young girl he’s talking to, and the Sappletons?
4. What does “An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation” foreshadow?
5. What tragedy does Vera say happened to the Sappletons three years ago? Why is the door open?
6. What does Framton talk about with Mrs. Sappleton, and how does this speech indirectly characterize him?
7. How does Vera react to the return of the men from hunting? Why? How does Framton react? Why?
8. What does the reader infer from the resolution? What is the twist ending?
“The Open Window” Discussion Questions
Directions: Answer the following questions while you read the short story.
1. Is the prank that Vera Sappleton plays on Framton Nuttel funny or mean? Why?
2. Names are revealing in “The Open Window.” How does Framton Nuttel’s name characterize his
personality? How does Vera’s name characterize her personality? What does “Vera” closely mean in
Latin? Therefore, how is Vera’s name ironic?
3. What is the point of view of the short story, and how does it set the reader up for the twist ending? How
would the story be different if it were told
4. What is ironic about Framton Nuttel’s visit to the country given his condition, especially with what
happens at the Sappletons?
5. What will likely happen to Framton Nuttel after leaving the Sappletons’ home?
6. Looking back, what characterization does Saki write that foreshadows Vera Sappleton’s true nature?