The Open Window by Saki

Who was “Saki”?  “Saki” was the pen name (or pseudonym) of Hector Hugh Munro, a British writer  Born Dec. 18, 1870 in Burma – then a part of the British Empire  Mother died when he was 2; Munro and his sisters were sent to England to be raised by a strict relative  His childhood was unhappy and would be considered abusive today

Who was “Saki”?  From 1899 to 1914 he wrote history books, newspaper articles, several plays and many, many short stories  Considered one of the best writers of ironic short stories in English  Almost all his stories compare “polite society” with either nature or an individual  The more honest, but more cruel, side always wins

Who was “Saki”?  At age 43 – over the age of most soldiers – WWI began (1914), and Munro volunteered to fight  More than once he returned to the battlefield when officially still too sick or injured  Killed by a German sniper Nov. 14, 1916  Last words: “Put that bloody cigarette out”  Munro has no grave

 “The Open Window” is considered one of his best stories

We will look for:  1) Comprehension  2) Inferences  3) Flashbacks  4) Foreshadowing  6) Irony

Comprehension  Grammar  Vocabulary

Inference  Meanings that the author does NOT tell us directly – we must guess, or figure them out  To infer something is to guess something is true

Flashbacks  The author takes us BACK in time

Foreshadowing  The author gives a hint or a clue about what WILL HAPPEN

Irony  Related to sarcasm  Something is said or something happens that is the OPPOSITE of the writer’s meaning or mood

Framton Nuttel endeavored to say …  FN tried to say … 1

Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which...  FN tried to say the right words { which …} 1

Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct words which should { duly flatter the niece of the moment } without { unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. }  words which should {1} without {2} 1

Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come.  Paraphrase: be nice in the right amount to the person here now 1

Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come.  Paraphrase: being rude to the person who is coming later 1

Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come.  Paraphrase: FN tried to say the words that would be appropriately nice to the person with him, without being rude to the person who was coming later 1

Privately he doubted more than ever …  Paraphrase:  In his mind, he doubted more than before … 2

… whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers …  Paraphrase:  - if visiting a lot of new people, like he had been doing, - 2

… would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.  Paraphrase: - would help him relax, like his doctor had told him to do. 2

… the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.  Inference: FN is seeing a doctor  He is a nervous guy – maybe a little sick or a little crazy 2

"I know how it will be," his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat;  Paraphrase: - he was getting ready to take a vacation in the countryside 3

“I know how it will be,” his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat;  Flashback Before he went on vacation his sister gave him advice  (Inference? Is his sister pushy?)  Not long ago 3

Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division.  Irony: If “some of them are nice” then some of them are NOT nice

“Do you know many of the poele around here?”  Foreshadowing  (Why does she ask this?)

“Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?”  Foreshadowing  (Why does she ask this?)

“Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?”  Grammar = a sentence  Intonation = a question  Used then the speaker thinks she knows the answer already, but wants to be polite of make sure 4

The niece tells the story of how Mrs. Sappleton’s family was killed while hunting

“In crossing the moor to their favorite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog.” 5

5

5

“Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel … her husband with his white waterproof coat … her youngest brother singing ‘Bertie, why do you bound?’ …”  Foreshadowing  (Why does she give such a SPECIFIC desription?)

The aunt comes into the room. She is cheerful and lively. She mentions the men who will return from hunting soon.

To Framton it was all purely horrible.  Inference: FN thinks she is crazy 2

“I hope Vera has been amusing you?" she said. “She has been very interesting," said Framton.  Irony: Vera has been the opposite of amusing!  “ Interesting” because he is too polite to say “Creepy”

He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic;  Paraphrase:  He tried to talk about something more cheerful and normal, but wasn’t completely successful; 6

… he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention …  Paraphrase:  He realized that Mrs. Sappleton isn’t really listening 6

Irony:  Why is his hostess not paying attention to him?  He thinks : She is obsessed with dead family  But maybe : He is very boring

"The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise," announced Framton, …  Foreshadowing:  Complete rest  Absence of mental excitement  Avoid … violent physical exercsie 7

… who labored under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure.  Paraphrase:  He falsely believes (like a lot of people) … 8

… who labored under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances …  Paraphrase:  … that people he doesn’t really know 8

… are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure.  Paraphrase:  … are really curious about your health problems. 8

… in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment.  Inference: She is incredibly bored 2

The aunt says the men are returning from hunting

Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension  Paraphrase:  … a look to show that he understood and felt sorry for her 9

But the niece looks freaked out and shocked

There are the men – EXACTLY as the niece had described them!

Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall door, the gravel drive, and the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat.  Paraphrase: Active voice: …Framton hardly/barely noticed these 3 places as he ran away 10

“… One would think he had seen a ghost.”  Irony: He does believe he saw ghosts

“He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, …  Paraphrase: When he was in India, a pack of wild dogs chased him into a graveyard … 11

… and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him.”  Paraphrase:  … he was in a new grave all night with the wild dogs above him, trying to attack him. 11

A very famous last line:  Romance at short notice was her specialty.