unit 4
Literary
Analysis
Workshop
Theme and Symbol
When a friend inquires about a movie you saw recently, you might describe it by
saying something like “It’s about a Guatemalan girl who moves to New York and
adjusts to life in an unfamiliar world.” While it is true you’ve described the topic of
the movie, you’re not communicating its big idea. If you continue by saying “It’s really
about finding a way to fit in without losing your uniqueness,” you are talking about
theme. A theme is an underlying message about life that a writer wants to convey.
Whether that message is about fitting in, love, or another timeless topic, it can often
prompt you to think about human nature in a new way.
Part 1: Universal Themes in Literature
Despite the diversity in the world, many themes show up again and again in
literature, no matter what the culture, time period, or country. These universal
themes deal with emotions and experiences that are common to all people. For
example, the theme “With great power comes great responsibility” has been
explored in stories as varied as ancient epics and today’s comics.
“with great power comes great responsibility”
Valmiki’s Ramayana
India
c. 250 b.c.
Virgil’s Aeneid
Rome
c. 20 b.c.
Spider-Man
United States
1962–present
Theme and Symbol A writer has many tools he or she can use to develop a
theme. Symbols, for example, can powerfully reinforce a theme. A symbol is
something concrete—a person, place, object, or activity—that represents an
abstract idea. For example, a bird flying in the sky might represent a character’s
individuality and freedom. Here are some other examples of symbols and the
ideas they might communicate:
• a bleak winter setting (isolation or death)
• a small child (innocence)
• a physical challenge, such as climbing a mountain (a character’s
emotional growth)
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unit 4: theme
model: theme and symbol
In this story, a poor farm girl named Sylvia meets a hunter in search of a
rare bird. Wanting to impress the hunter, Sylvia decides to help look for the
heron. In the end, however, she makes a difficult choice—to protect the bird.
As part of her initial effort to help, Sylvia climbs a tree to look for the heron.
As you read, consider what the tree and Sylvia’s climb might symbolize.
White Heron
from
Short story by Sarah Orne Jewett
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Half a mile from home, at the farther edge of the woods, where the land was
highest, a great pine tree stood, the last of its generation. Whether it was left
for a boundary mark, or for what reason, no one could say; the woodchoppers
who had felled its mates were dead and gone long ago, and a whole forest
of sturdy trees, pines and oaks and maples, had grown again. But the stately
head of this old pine towered above them all and made a landmark for sea and
shore miles and miles away. Sylvia knew it well. She had always believed that
whoever climbed to the top of it could see the ocean; and the little girl had
often laid her hand on the great rough trunk and looked up wistfully at those
dark boughs that the wind always stirred, no matter how hot and still the air
might be below. Now she thought of the tree with a new excitement, for why,
if one climbed it at break of day, could not one see all the world, and easily
discover whence the white heron flew? . . .
There was the huge tree asleep yet in the paling moonlight, and small and
silly Sylvia began with utmost bravery to mount to the top of it. . . .
The way was harder than she thought; she must reach far and hold fast, the
sharp dry twigs caught and held her and scratched her like angry talons, the
pitch made her thin little fingers clumsy and stiff as she went round and round
the tree’s great stem. . . .
The tree seemed to lengthen itself out as she went up, and to reach farther
and farther upward. It was like a great mainmast to the voyaging earth; it must
truly have been amazed that morning through all its ponderous frame as it felt
this determined spark of human spirit wending its way from higher branch to
branch. Who knows how steadily the least twigs held themselves to advantage
this light, weak creature on her way! The old pine must have loved his new
dependent. More than all the hawks, and bats, and moths, and even the sweetvoiced thrushes, was the brave, beating heart of the solitary gray-eyed child.
And the tree stood still and frowned away the winds that June morning while
the dawn grew bright in the east.
Sylvia’s face was like a pale star, if one had seen it from the ground, when
the last thorny bough was past, and she stood trembling and tired but wholly
triumphant, high in the tree-top. Yes, there was the sea with the dawning sun
making a golden dazzle over it, and toward that glorious east flew two hawks. . . .
Truly it was a vast and awesome world!
Close Read
1. What is special about the
pine tree? Cite details
in the first paragraph to
support your answer. One
detail has been boxed.
2. Find three details in lines
14–32 that suggest just
how challenging Sylvia’s
climb is. What might her
climb symbolize?
3. Consider Sylvia’s decision
to protect the bird, as
well as the symbolic
meanings of the tree
and the climb. What
might the writer be
saying about how people
should treat their natural
surroundings?
literary analysis workshop
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Part 2: Identify Theme
Sometimes the theme of a story is stated directly by a character or the
narrator. Most of the time, however, the theme is implied, and readers must
analyze elements in the text—for example, the setting, the characters, and the
symbols—to uncover the story’s deeper meaning. Use the questions shown to
identify and analyze the theme of any story you read.
clues to theme
title
characters
The title may refer to a significant idea
explored in the story. Ask
• To what in the story does the title
refer?
• What ideas or symbols does
the title highlight?
3C 4HE
,E ARLET
TTE
R
• How does the main character change?
• Does the title have more
than one meaning?
• What lessons does the character learn?
plot and conflict
setting
A story revolves around conflicts that are
central to the theme. Ask
• What is the main conflict in the story?
The setting’s significance to the characters
and the conflict can suggest the theme. Ask
• How does the setting influence the
characters?
• How is the conflict resolved?
• How does the setting affect the plot?
• Is the resolution portrayed as a
positive or a negative outcome?
• What larger idea or issue might the
setting represent?
important statements
The narrator or the characters may make
statements that hint at the theme. Ask
• What key comments do the characters
or the narrator make? Take note of
statements about values and ideas.
• What message or attitude about life
do these statements reveal?
Characters’ actions and motivations may
reflect the message of the story. Ask
• What are the main character’s key
traits and motivations? Consider how
the writer might want readers to feel
about the character.
symbols
!?
Symbols can powerfully reinforce
the theme. Ask
• What characters, objects,
places, or events have symbolic
significance in the story?
• What ideas do these symbols
communicate?
Remember, some works of literature have more than one theme, but typically
only one is dominant. When you describe a theme of a work, be sure to use one
or two complete sentences, not single words or phrases. For example, “love”
expresses a topic, not a theme. “People often find love where they least expect
it,” however, is a valid way to state a theme.
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unit 4: theme
Literary Analysis Workshop
Part 3: Analyze the Literature
As you read the following story, use the questions provided to help you identify
the theme and understand the symbolism of the cranes.
cranes
Close Read
1. The title of this story is
one clue to the theme.
As you read, look for
details that explain the
significance of birds
known as cranes.
Short story by Hwang Sunwŏn
BACKGROUND This story takes place at the end of the Korean War (1950–
1953), a civil war that pitted the Communist government of North Korea
against the more democratic government of South Korea. At the end
of World War II, the Korean peninsula had been divided along the line of
38° north latitude, commonly called the 38th parallel. During the Korean
War, intense fighting along this border shifted control of nearby villages
back and forth between the North Koreans and South Koreans. One of
these villages is the setting of “Cranes.”
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10
The northern village lay snug beneath the high, bright autumn sky, near
the border at the Thirty-eighth Parallel.
White gourds lay one against the other on the dirt floor of an empty
farmhouse. Any village elders who passed by extinguished their bamboo pipes
first, and the children, too, turned back some distance off. Their faces were
marked with fear.
As a whole, the village showed little damage from the war, but it still did
not seem like the same village Sŏngsam1 had known as a boy.
At the foot of a chestnut grove on the hill behind the village he stopped and
climbed a chestnut tree. Somewhere far back in his mind he heard the old man
with a wen2 shout, “You bad boy, climbing up my chestnut tree again!”
The old man must have passed away, for he was not among the few village
elders Sŏngsam had met. Holding on to the trunk of the tree, Sŏngsam gazed
1. Sŏngsam (sEngPsämP).
2. The boxed details
describe a peaceful
setting—not one you
might expect in a story
about war. Which
details in lines
1–8 suggest that the
residents are unsettled
by their seemingly calm
surroundings?
2. wen: a harmless skin tumor.
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up at the blue sky for a time. Some chestnuts fell to the ground as the dry
clusters opened of their own accord.
A young man stood, his hands bound, before a farmhouse that had been
converted into a Public Peace Police office. He seemed to be a stranger, so
Sŏngsam went up for a closer look. He was stunned: this young man was
none other than his boyhood playmate, Tŏkchae.3
Sŏngsam asked the police officer who had come with him from
Ch’ŏnt’ae4 for an explanation. The prisoner was the vice-chairman of
the Farmers’ Communist League and had just been flushed5 out of
hiding in his own house, Sŏngsam learned.
Sŏngsam sat down on the dirt floor and lit a cigaret.
Tŏkchae was to be escorted to Ch’ŏngdan6 by one of the peace police.
After a time, Sŏngsam lit a new cigaret from the first and stood up.
“I’ll take him with me.”
Tŏkchae averted his face and refused to look at Sŏngsam. The two left
the village.
Sŏngsam went on smoking, but the tobacco had no flavor. He just kept
drawing the smoke in and blowing it out. Then suddenly he thought that
Tŏkchae, too, must want a puff. He thought of the days when they had shared
dried gourd leaves behind sheltering walls, hidden from the adults’ view. But
today, how could he offer a cigaret to a fellow like this?
O
nce, when they were small, he went with Tŏkchae to steal some chestnuts
from the old man with the wen. It was Sŏngsam’s turn to climb the tree.
Suddenly the old man began shouting. Sŏngsam slipped and fell to the ground.
He got chestnut burrs all over his bottom, but he kept on running. Only when
the two had reached a safe place where the old man could not overtake them
did Sŏngsam turn his bottom to Tŏkchae. The burrs hurt so much as they
were plucked out that Sŏngsam could not keep tears from welling up in his
eyes. Tŏkchae produced a fistful of chestnuts from his pocket and thrust them
into Sŏngsam’s . . . Sŏngsam threw away the cigaret he had just lit, and then
made up his mind not to light another while he was escorting Tŏkchae.
3. Tŏkchae (tEkPjBP).
4. Ch’ŏnt’ae (chEnPtBP).
5. flushed: driven from hiding.
6. Ch’ŏngdan (chEngPdänP).
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unit 4: theme
Close Read
3. What do you think
motivates Sŏngsam to
take Tŏkchae with him?
Explain your answer.
4. What does Sŏngsam’s
flashback to his
childhood in lines 35–43
tell you about Tŏkchae’s
character and their
friendship?
Literary Analysis Workshop
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They reached the pass at the hill where he and Tŏkchae had cut fodder7 for
cows until Sŏngsam had to move to a spot near Ch’ŏnt’ae, south of the Thirtyeighth Parallel, two years before the liberation.
Sŏngsam felt a sudden surge of anger in spite of himself and shouted, “So
how many have you killed?”
For the first time, Tŏkchae cast a quick glance at him and then looked away.
“You! How many have you killed?” he asked again.
Tŏkchae looked at him again and glared. The glare grew intense, and his
mouth twitched.
“So you managed to kill quite a few, eh?” Sŏngsam felt his mind becoming
clear of itself, as if some obstruction had been removed. “If you were vicechairman of the Communist League, why didn’t you run? You must have been
lying low with a secret mission.”
Tŏkchae did not reply.
“Speak up. What was your mission?”
Tŏkchae kept walking. Tŏkchae was hiding something, Sŏngsam thought.
He wanted to take a good look at him, but Tŏkchae kept his face averted.
Fingering the revolver at his side, Sŏngsam went on: “There’s no need to
make excuses. You’re going to be shot anyway. Why don’t you tell the truth
here and now?”
“I’m not going to make any excuses. They made me vice-chairman of the
League because I was a hardworking farmer and one of the poorest. If that’s a
capital offense,8 so be it. I’m still what I used to be—the only thing I’m good at
is tilling the soil.” After a short pause, he added, “My old man is bedridden at
home. He’s been ill almost half a year.” Tŏkchae’s father was a widower, a poor,
hardworking farmer who lived only for his son. Seven years before his back had
given out, and he had contracted a skin disease.
“Are you married?”
“Yes,” Tŏkchae replied after a time.
“To whom?”
“Shorty.”
“To Shorty?” How interesting! A woman so small and plump that she knew
the earth’s vastness, but not the sky’s height. Such a cold fish! He and Tŏkchae
had teased her and made her cry. And Tŏkchae had married her!
“How many kids?”
“The first is arriving this fall, she says.”
Sŏngsam had difficulty swallowing a laugh that he was about to let burst
forth in spite of himself. Although he had asked how many children Tŏkchae
Close Read
5. Reread lines 45–64. How
has the war affected
Sŏngsam’s opinion of
his former friend? Cite
details that helped you
to understand Sŏngsam’s
view of Tŏkchae.
6. What details in
lines 65–80 remind
Sŏngsam that Tŏkchae
has a human side? One
detail has been boxed.
7. fodder: coarsely chopped hay or straw used as food for farm animals.
8. capital offense: a crime calling for the death penalty.
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had, he could not help wanting to break out laughing at the thought of the
wife sitting there with her huge stomach, one span around. But he realized
that this was no time for joking.
“Anyway, it’s strange you didn’t run away.”
“I tried to escape. They said that once the South invaded, not a man would
be spared. So all of us between seventeen and forty were taken to the North. I
thought of evacuating, even if I had to carry my father on my back. But Father
said no. How could we farmers leave the land behind when the crops were
ready for harvesting? He grew old on that farm depending on me as the prop
and the mainstay of the family. I wanted to be with him in his last moments
so I could close his eyes with my own hand. Besides, where can farmers like us
go, when all we know how to do is live on the land?”
Sŏngsam had had to flee the previous June. At night he had broken the news
privately to his father. But his father had said the same thing: Where could a
farmer go, leaving all the chores behind? So Sŏngsam had left alone. Roaming
about the strange streets and villages in the South, Sŏngsam had been haunted
by thoughts of his old parents and the young children, who had been left with
all the chores. Fortunately, his family had been safe then, as it was now.
T
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hey had crossed over a hill. This time Sŏngsam walked with his face averted.
The autumn sun was hot on his forehead. This was an ideal day for the
harvest, he thought.
When they reached the foot of the hill, Sŏngsam gradually came to a halt. In
the middle of a field he espied a group of cranes that resembled men in white,
all bent over. This had been the demilitarized zone9 along the Thirty-eighth
Parallel. The cranes were still living here, as before, though the people were all
gone.
Once, when Sŏngsam and Tŏkchae were about twelve, they had set a trap
here, unbeknown to the adults, and caught a crane, a Tanjŏng crane.10 They
had tied the crane up, even binding its wings, and paid it daily visits, patting
its neck and riding on its back. Then one day they overheard the neighbors
whispering: someone had come from Seoul11 with a permit from the governorgeneral’s office to catch cranes as some kind of specimens. Then and there
9. demilitarized zone: an area—generally one separating two hostile nations or armies—from
which military forces are prohibited.
10. Tanjŏng (tänPjEngP) crane: a type of crane found in Asia.
11. Seoul (sIl): the capital and largest city of South Korea.
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unit 4: theme
Close Read
7. Line 101 marks a change
in Sŏngsam’s behavior.
What does this change
reveal about what’s
going on inside him?
Reread lines 95–100 and
explain what motivates
the change.
Literary Analysis Workshop
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the two boys had dashed off to the field. That they would be found out and
punished had no longer mattered; all they cared about was the fate of their
crane. Without a moment’s delay, still out of breath from running, they untied
the crane’s feet and wings, but the bird could hardly walk. It must have been
weak from having been bound.
The two helped the crane up. Then, suddenly, they heard a gunshot. The
crane fluttered its wings once or twice and then sank back to the ground.
The boys thought their crane had been shot. But the next moment, as
another crane from a nearby bush fluttered its wings, the boys’ crane stretched
its long neck, gave out a whoop, and disappeared into the sky. For a long while
the two boys could not tear their eyes away from the blue sky up into which
their crane had soared.
“Hey, why don’t we stop here for a crane hunt?” Sŏngsam said suddenly.
Tŏkchae was dumbfounded.
“I’ll make a trap with this rope; you flush a crane over here.”
Sŏngsam had untied Tŏkchae’s hands and was already crawling through the
weeds.
Tŏkchae’s face whitened. “You’re sure to be shot anyway”—these words
flashed through his mind. Any instant a bullet would come flying from
Sŏngsam’s direction, Tŏkchae thought.
Some paces away, Sŏngsam quickly turned toward him.
“Hey, how come you’re standing there like a dummy? Go flush a crane!”
Only then did Tŏkchae understand. He began crawling through the weeds.
A pair of Tanjŏng cranes soared high into the clear blue autumn sky,
flapping their huge wings.
Translated by Peter H. Lee
Close Read
8. In what ways is Tŏkchae
like the crane? Cite
specific descriptions of
the crane that could also
apply to Tŏkchae.
9. Why does Sŏngsam push
Tŏkchae to flush a crane?
10. What might the two
cranes symbolize? Use
details from the text to
support your answer.
11. Considering the clues
in the story, what do
you think the writer is
saying about friendship?
State the story’s theme
and cite details that
helped you arrive at your
conclusion.
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Before Reading
The Interlopers
Short Story by Saki
What’s wrong with
?
holding a
grudge
KEY IDEA Both history and literature are full of individuals who bear
grudges, or feelings of great resentment, against others. Recall, for
example, the Montagues and Capulets—Romeo and Juliet’s warring
relatives. In “The Interlopers,” you will read about two neighboring
families whose ongoing feud has dire consequences.
ROLE-PLAY With a partner, imagine a scenario in which a longstanding grudge exists between the two of you. Think about what
your relationship once involved. For example, maybe you were
teammates or best friends. Also consider what event led to your
disagreement. Then role-play a chance meeting. How do you behave
toward each other? Do you remain angry or make up? Afterward,
discuss what the hazards of holding the grudge have been.
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literary analysis: theme and setting
In a short story, a theme is a message about life or human nature
that the writer wants to communicate to readers. Often, the
setting of a story, or where and when it takes place, helps convey
this message. To understand how setting might contribute to
theme, ask yourself the following questions:
• What aspects of the setting are emphasized?
• How does the setting affect the characters?
• How does the setting relate to the story’s main conflict?
“The Interlopers” takes place in a forest whose ownership has
been disputed by two families for generations. As you read,
think about what Saki is saying about human nature and how
the story’s setting helps make this message clear.
reading strategy: monitor
Good readers automatically check, or monitor, their
comprehension of what they read. One way they accomplish
this is by clarifying difficult passages. Strategies such as
rereading, reading aloud, and summarizing can make tough
parts easier to understand.
As you read “The Interlopers,” make sure to stop and clarify
those points in the story that are confusing to you. Use a chart
like the one shown to help you.
Confusing
Passage
How I Clarified
My Understanding
My New
Understanding
vocabulary in context
Saki uses the following words to tell his tale of resentments
and greed. Categorize each word as “Know Well,” “Think I
Know,” or “Don’t Know.” Then write a brief definition of each
word you are familiar with.
word
list
A World Traveler At the age of 32, Saki began
a long career as a newspaper correspondent.
While on assignment, he lived in various
places, including the Balkans, Russia, and
France. In 1908, after his father died, Saki
settled in London. There, at the age of 38, he
began to write fiction, incorporating many
of the exotic places he had visited into his
works. For example, “The Interlopers” is set in
the Carpathians, a mountain range in eastern
Europe that Saki knew through his many
journeys.
A Tragic End Unfortunately, Saki’s career as
a fiction writer was short-lived. Following
the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted
in the British army. “I have always looked
forward to the romance of a European war,”
he once remarked. In November 1916, he
was killed by a German sniper during an
attack at Beaumont-Hamel, France. He was
46 years old.
acquiesce
languor
pinioned
condolence
marauder
precipitous
more about the author
draft
pestilential
succor
For more on Saki, visit the Literature
Center at ClassZone.com.
interloper
Know Well
Full of Surprises
“Saki” (säPkC) was the
pen name of Hector
Hugh Munro, a British
fiction writer of the
early 20th century.
He was considered
one of the finest wits
and storytellers of his
generation. Written
in the years leading
up to World War I,
Saki
his works convey the
1870–1916
mixed sentiments
of the time. Many of his short stories are
satires, darkly humorous pieces that reveal
flaws in social customs and institutions. Like
the fiction of American icon O. Henry, Saki’s
narratives often feature surprise endings.
Think I Know
Don’t Know
the interlopers
395
the
Interlopers
SAKI
10
In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Carpathians,1
a man stood one winter night watching and listening, as though he waited
for some beast of the woods to come within the range of his vision, and, later,
of his rifle. But the game2 for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was
none that figured in the sportman’s calendar as lawful and proper for the chase;
Ulrich von Gradwitz3 patrolled the dark forest in quest of a human enemy. a
The forest lands of Gradwitz were of wide extent and well stocked with
game; the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on its outskirt was
not remarkable for the game it harbored or the shooting it afforded, but it
was the most jealously guarded of all its owner’s territorial possessions. A
famous lawsuit, in the days of his grandfather, had wrested it from the illegal
possession of a neighboring family of petty landowners; the dispossessed
party had never acquiesced in the judgment of the Courts, and a long series
of poaching affrays4 and similar scandals had embittered the relationships
between the families for three generations. The neighbor feud had grown into
a personal one since Ulrich had come to be head of his family; if there was a
1. eastern spurs of the Carpathians (kär-pAPthC-Enz): the edges of a mountain range in central Europe.
2. game: animals hunted for food or sport.
3. Ulrich von Gradwitz (MlPrGKH fôn grädPvGts).
4. poaching affrays (E-frAzP): noisy quarrels about hunting on someone else’s property.
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unit 4: theme
interloper (GnPtEr-lõQpEr)
n. one that intrudes in a
place, situation, or activity
a
THEME AND SETTING
What aspects of the
story’s natural setting
are emphasized in this
introductory paragraph?
precipitous (prG-sGpPG-tEs)
adj. extremely steep
acquiesce (BkQwC-DsP) v. to
agree or give in to
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30
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50
man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to it was Georg Znaeym,5
the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game-snatcher and raider of the
disputed border-forest. The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been
compromised if the personal ill-will of the two men had not stood in the
way; as boys they had thirsted for one another’s blood, 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 the dark forest, not in quest
of four-footed quarry, but to keep a lookout for the prowling thieves whom
he suspected of being afoot from across the land boundary. The roebuck,6
which usually kept in the sheltered hollows during a storm wind, were running
like driven things tonight, and there was movement and unrest among the
creatures that were wont to sleep through the dark hours. Assuredly there was
a disturbing element in the forest, and Ulrich could guess the quarter from
whence it came. b
He strayed away by himself from the watchers whom he had placed in
ambush on the crest of the hill, and wandered far down the steep slopes amid
the wild tangle of undergrowth, peering through the tree trunks and listening
through the whistling and skirling7 of the wind and the restless beating of the
branches for sight or sound of the marauders. If only on this wild night, in
this dark, lone spot, he might come across Georg Znaeym, man to man, with
none to witness—that was the wish that was uppermost in his thoughts. And
as he stepped around the trunk of a huge beech, he came face to face with the
man he sought.
The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long silent moment.
Each had a rifle in his hand, each had hate in his heart and murder
uppermost in his mind. The chance had come to give full play to the passions
of a lifetime. But a man who has been brought up under the code of a
restraining civilization cannot easily nerve himself to shoot down his neighbor
in cold blood and without a word spoken, except for an offense against his
hearth and honor. And before the moment of hesitation had given way to
action a deed of Nature’s own violence overwhelmed them both. A fierce shriek
of the storm had been answered by a splitting crash over their heads, and ere
they could leap aside a mass of falling beech tree had thundered down on
them. Ulrich von Gradwitz found himself stretched on the ground, one arm
numb beneath him and the other held almost as helplessly in a tight tangle
of forked branches, while both legs were pinned beneath the fallen mass. His
heavy shooting boots had saved his feet from being crushed to pieces, but if
his fractures were not as serious as they might have been, at least it was evident
that he could not move from his present position till someone came to release
him. The descending twigs had slashed the skin of his face, and he had to wink
away some drops of blood from his eyelashes before he could take in a general
5. Georg Znaeym (gA-ôrgP tsnAPCm).
6. roebuck: a male roe deer.
7. skirling: a shrill cry or sound.
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unit 4: theme
b MONITOR
Clarify your understanding of why Ulrich
and Georg are enemies
by rereading or reading
aloud lines 7–30.
marauder (mE-rôdPEr) n.
one who raids and loots
60
view of the disaster. At his side, so near that under ordinary circumstances he
could almost have touched him, lay Georg Znaeym, alive and struggling, but
obviously as helplessly pinioned down as himself. All around them lay a thickstrewn wreckage of splintered branches and broken twigs. c
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
was nearly blinded with the blood which trickled across his eyes, stopped his
struggling for a moment to listen, and then gave a short, snarling laugh.
“So you’re not killed, as you ought to be, but you’re caught, anyway,” he
cried; “caught fast. Ho, what a jest, Ulrich von Gradwitz snared in his stolen
forest. There’s real justice for you!”
And he laughed again, mockingly and savagely.
pinioned (pGnPyEnd) adj.
restrained or immobilized
pinion v.
c THEME AND SETTING
How does the natural
setting, particularly the
fallen tree, affect Ulrich
and Georg?
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399
70
80
90
100
110
“I’m caught in my own forest land,” retorted Ulrich. “When my men come
to release us, you will wish, perhaps, that you were in a better plight than
caught poaching on a neighbor’s land, shame on you.” d
Georg was silent for a moment; then he answered quietly.
“Are you sure that your men will find much to release? I have men, too,
in the forest tonight, close behind me, and they will be here first and do the
releasing. When they drag me out from under these branches, it won’t need
much clumsiness on their part to roll this mass of trunk right over on the top
of you. Your men will find you dead under a fallen beech tree. For form’s sake
I shall send my condolences to your family.”
“It is a useful hint,” said Ulrich fiercely. “My men had orders to follow
in ten minutes’ time, seven of which must have gone by already, and when
they get me out—I will remember the hint. Only as you will have met your
death poaching on my lands, I don’t think I can decently send any message of
condolence to your family.”
“Good,” snarled Georg, “good. We fight this quarrel out to the death, you and
I and our foresters, with no cursed interlopers to come between us. Death . . . to
you, Ulrich von Gradwitz.”
“The same to you, Georg Znaeym, forest thief, game-snatcher.” e
Both men spoke with the bitterness of possible defeat before them, for each
knew that it might be long before his men would seek him out or find him; it
was a bare matter of chance which party would arrive first on the scene.
Both had now given up the useless struggle to free themselves from the mass
of wood that held them down; Ulrich limited his endeavors to an effort to
bring his one partially free arm near enough to his outer coat pocket to draw
out his wine flask. Even when he had accomplished that operation, it was
long before he could manage the unscrewing of the stopper or get any of the
liquid down his throat. But what a heaven-sent draft it seemed! It was an open
winter,8 and little snow had fallen as yet, hence the captives suffered less from
the cold than might have been the case at that season of the year; nevertheless,
the wine was warming and reviving to the wounded man, and he looked across
with something like a throb of pity to where his enemy lay, just keeping the
groans of pain and weariness from crossing his lips.
“Could you reach this flask if I threw it over to you?” asked Ulrich suddenly;
“there is good wine in it, and one may as well be as comfortable as one can. Let
us drink, even if tonight one of us dies.”
“No, I can scarcely see anything; there is so much blood caked around my
eyes,” said Georg, “and in any case I don’t drink wine with an enemy.”
Ulrich was silent for a few minutes and lay listening to the weary screeching
of the wind. An idea was slowly forming and growing in his brain, an idea that
gained strength every time that he looked across at the man who was fighting
8. open winter: a mild winter.
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unit 4: theme
d GRAMMAR AND STYLE
Reread lines 70–72. Saki
uses the subordinate
clause “When my men
come to release us” to tell
how Ulrich thinks he will
be rescued.
condolence (kEn-dIPlEns)
n. an expression of
sympathy
e
MONITOR
Summarize in one or two
sentences what each man
threatens to do if rescued.
draft (drBft) n. a gulp or
swallow
120
130
140
150
so grimly against pain and exhaustion. In the pain and languor that Ulrich
himself was feeling the old fierce hatred seemed to be dying down. f
“Neighbor,” he said presently, “do as you please if your men come first. It
was a fair compact. But as for me, I’ve changed my mind. If my men are the
first to come, you shall be the first to be helped, as though you were my guest.
We have quarreled like devils all our lives over this stupid strip of forest, where
the trees can’t even stand upright in a breath of wind. Lying here tonight,
thinking, I’ve come to think we’ve been rather fools; there are better things in
life than getting the better of a boundary dispute. Neighbor, if you will help
me to bury the old quarrel I—I will ask you to be my friend.”
Georg Znaeym was silent for so long that Ulrich thought, perhaps, he had
fainted with the pain of his injuries. Then he spoke slowly and in jerks.
“How the whole region would stare and gabble if we rode into the market
square together. No one living can remember seeing a Znaeym and a von
Gradwitz talking to one another in friendship. And what peace there would
be among the forester folk if we ended our feud tonight. And if we choose to
make peace among our people, there is none other to interfere, no interlopers
from outside. . . . You would come and keep the Sylvester night9 beneath my
roof, and I would come and feast on some high day at your castle. . . . I would
never fire a shot on your land, save when you invited me as a guest; and you
should come and shoot with me down in the marshes where the wildfowl are.
In all the countryside there are none that could hinder if we willed to make
peace. I never thought to have wanted to do other than hate you all my life, but
I think I have changed my mind about things too, this last half-hour. And you
offered me your wine flask. . . . Ulrich von Gradwitz, I will be your friend.”
For a space both men were silent, turning over in their minds the wonderful
changes that this dramatic reconciliation would bring about. In the cold,
gloomy forest, with the wind tearing in fitful gusts through the naked branches
and whistling around the tree trunks, they lay and waited for the help that
would now bring release and succor to both parties. And each prayed a private
prayer that his men might be the first to arrive, so that he might be the first to
show honorable attention to the enemy that had become a friend. g
Presently, as the wind dropped for a moment, Ulrich broke silence.
“Let’s shout for help,” he said; “in this lull our voices may carry a little way.”
“They won’t carry far through the trees and undergrowth,” said Georg, “but
we can try. Together, then.”
The two raised their voices in a prolonged hunting call.
“Together again,” said Ulrich a few minutes later, after listening in vain for
an answer halloo.
“I heard something that time, I think,” said Ulrich.
“I heard nothing but the pestilential wind,” said Georg hoarsely.
languor (lBngPgEr) n. a
lack of feeling or energy
f
THEME AND SETTING
In what ways are Ulrich’s
actions influenced by the
natural setting and its
conditions? Cite specifics
from lines 92–112.
succor (sOkPEr) n. help in a
difficult situation
g
THEME AND SETTING
Reread lines 113–142. How
has the setting brought
about changes in the
conflict between Ulrich
and Georg?
pestilential
(pDsQtE-lDnPshEl) adj.
likely to spread and
cause disease
9. Sylvester night: New Year’s Eve, the feast day of Saint Sylvester (Pope Sylvester I).
the interlopers
401
160
There was silence again for some minutes, and then Ulrich gave a joyful cry.
“I can see figures coming through the wood. They are following in the way I
came down the hillside.”
Both men raised their voices in as loud a shout as they could muster.
“They hear us! They’ve stopped. Now they see us. They’re running down the
hill towards us,” cried Ulrich.
“How many of them are there?” asked Georg.
“I can’t see distinctly,” said Ulrich; “nine or ten.”
“Then they are yours,” said Georg; “I had only seven out with me.”
“They are making all the speed they can, brave lads,” said Ulrich gladly.
“Are they your men?” asked Georg. “Are they your men?”
“No,” said Ulrich with a laugh, the idiotic chattering laugh of a man
unstrung with hideous fear.
“Who are they?” asked Georg quickly, straining his eyes to see what the
other would gladly not have seen.
“Wolves.” h
h THEME AND SETTING
How does nature seem to
get the better of Ulrich
and Georg at the story’s
conclusion?
ANALYZE VISUALS
Review the photographs
in this lesson. What
mood do they help
create?
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unit 4: theme