1. The Interlopers by Saki
Feature Menu
Introducing the Story
Literary Focus: Omniscient Narrator
Literary Focus: Surprise Endings
Reading Skills: Monitoring Your Reading

2. The Interlopers by Saki

3. The Interlopers Introducing the Story
The world perishes not from bandits and fires, but from hatred, hostility, and all these petty squabbles.
Anton Chekhov

4. The Interlopers Introducing the Story
Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym are sworn enemies. What happens when these two armed enemies come face to face in the woods on a winter night?
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5. The Interlopers Literary Focus: Omniscient Point of View
An omniscient narrator
is not a character in the story
knows everything about all the characters in the story
can reveal characters’ thoughts and actions
can zoom from place to place
may tell all or save information until the end
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6. The Interlopers Literary Focus: Surprise Endings
A surprise ending resolves a story’s conflict in a totally unexpected way.
The ending, while surprising, is still logical.
The unexpected ending may make you rethink the story.
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7. The Interlopers Reading Skills: Monitoring Your Reading
When you encounter a difficult sentence or passage, try one of these strategies.
Use context clues to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Context clues may
give the word’s definition
restate the word’s meaning in a different way
provide an example
show comparison or contrast

8. The Interlopers Reading Skills: Monitoring Your Reading
When you encounter a difficult sentence or passage try one of these strategies.
Break long sentences into simpler ones.
Look for the subject and the verb.
Stop to rephrase or summarize.
Finally, take time to re-read.
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9. The Interlopers Quickwrite
Make the Connection
Most arguments can be settled when people agree to talk or compromise, but some disagreements become so bitter that they last for many years. Indeed, some regions of the world have been locked in conflict for generations. Write down a few examples of feuds from history or literature that have torn families or even countries apart. What keeps such bitter hatred alive?
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10. The Interlopers Vocabulary
Vocabulary Activity: Context Clues
Context clues—the words and phrases around a word— can point toward the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
Definition: The people who interfered were accused of being interlopers.
2. Restatement: The interlopers, intruders on horseback, rode into town.
3. Example: Guards treated all visitors—tourists, journalists, photographers—as interlopers.
4. Comparison or Contrast: Far from being welcome guests, those dropping by were seen as interlopers.

11. Meet the Writer

12. The Interlopers Meet the Writer
Hector Hugh Munro (1870–1916) adopted the pen name Saki, after the character who served wine to the gods in the then-popular Persian poem the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
Saki was born in Burma, where his father was an officer in the military police. After the death of his mother, Saki and his two older siblings were sent to England to live with their grandmother and two aunts.
More About the Writer
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13. Serious arguments can begin over trivial matters.
Agree or Disagree?
Serious arguments can begin over trivial matters.

14. Agree or Disagree?
People who quarrel for a long time often forget why they started fighting in the first place.

15. Arguments always weaken as time goes by.
Agree or Disagree?
Arguments always weaken as time goes by.

16. When arguing you should never give in or show your weakness.
Agree or Disagree?
When arguing you should never give in or show your weakness.