386 unit 4: theme

Literary Analysis

Workshop

unit 4Theme and SymbolWhen 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 LiteratureDespite 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.

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)

Valmiki’s RamayanaIndiac. 250 b.c.

Virgil’s AeneidRomec. 20 b.c.

Spider-ManUnited States1962–present

“with great power comes great responsibility”

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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.

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 sweet-voiced 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?

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� White Heronfrom

Short story by Sarah Orne Jewett

388 unit 4: theme

Part 2: Identify ThemeSometimes 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

titleThe 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?• Does the title have more

than one meaning?

symbolsSymbols can powerfully reinforce the theme. Ask• What characters, objects,

places, or events have symbolic significance in the story?

• What ideas do these symbols communicate?

charactersCharacters’ 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.

• How does the main character change?• What lessons does the character learn?

settingThe setting’s significance to the characters and the conflict can suggest the theme. Ask• How does the setting influence the

characters?• How does the setting affect the plot?• What larger idea or issue might the

setting represent?

important statementsThe 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?

plot and conflictA story revolves around conflicts that are central to the theme. Ask• What is the main conflict in the story?• How is the conflict resolved?• Is the resolution portrayed as a

positive or a negative outcome?

!?

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.

Literary Analysis Workshop

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Part 3: Analyze the LiteratureAs you read the following story, use the questions provided to help you identify the theme and understand the symbolism of the cranes.

The northern village lay snug beneath the high, bright autumn sky, nearthe border at the Thirty-eighth Parallel.

White gourds lay one against the other on the dirt floor of an emptyfarmhouse. Any village elders who passed by extinguished their bamboo pipesfirst, and the children, too, turned back some distance off. Their faces weremarked with fear.

As a whole, the village showed little damage from the war, but it still didnot seem like the same village Songsam1 had known as a boy.

At the foot of a chestnut grove on the hill behind the village he stopped andclimbed a chestnut tree. Somewhere far back in his mind he heard the old manwith 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 villageelders Songsam had met. Holding on to the trunk of the tree, Songsam gazed

1. Songsam (sEngPsämP).

2. wen: a harmless skin tumor.

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Close Read1. 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.

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?

cranesShort story by Hwang Sunwon

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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3. Tokchae (tEkPjBP).

4. Ch’ont’ae (chEnPtBP).

5. flushed: driven from hiding. 6. Ch’ongdan (chEngPdänP).

Close Read3. What do you think

motivates Songsam to take Tokchae with him? Explain your answer.

4. What does Songsam’s flashback to his childhood in lines 35–43 tell you about Tokchae’s character and their friendship?

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 Songsam went up for a closer look. He was stunned: this young man was none other than his boyhood playmate, Tokchae.3

Songsam asked the police officer who had come with him from Ch’ont’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, Songsam learned.

Songsam sat down on the dirt floor and lit a cigaret.Tokchae was to be escorted to Ch’ongdan6 by one of the peace police. After a time, Songsam lit a new cigaret from the first and stood up. “I’ll take him with me.”Tokchae averted his face and refused to look at Songsam. The two left

the village.Songsam 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 Tokchae, 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?

Once, when they were small, he went with Tokchae to steal some chestnuts from the old man with the wen. It was Songsam’s turn to climb the tree. Suddenly the old man began shouting. Songsam 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 Songsam turn his bottom to Tokchae. The burrs hurt so much as they were plucked out that Songsam could not keep tears from welling up in his eyes. Tokchae produced a fistful of chestnuts from his pocket and thrust them into Songsam’s . . . Songsam threw away the cigaret he had just lit, and then made up his mind not to light another while he was escorting Tokchae.

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They reached the pass at the hill where he and Tokchae had cut fodder7 for cows until Songsam had to move to a spot near Ch’ont’ae, south of the Thirty-eighth Parallel, two years before the liberation.

Songsam felt a sudden surge of anger in spite of himself and shouted, “So how many have you killed?”

For the first time, Tokchae cast a quick glance at him and then looked away.“You! How many have you killed?” he asked again.Tokchae looked at him again and glared. The glare grew intense, and his

mouth twitched.“So you managed to kill quite a few, eh?” Songsam felt his mind becoming

clear of itself, as if some obstruction had been removed. “If you were vice-chairman of the Communist League, why didn’t you run? You must have been lying low with a secret mission.”

Tokchae did not reply.“Speak up. What was your mission?”Tokchae kept walking. Tokchae was hiding something, Songsam thought.

He wanted to take a good look at him, but Tokchae kept his face averted.Fingering the revolver at his side, Songsam 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.” Tokchae’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,” Tokchae 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 Tokchaehad teased her and made her cry. And Tokchae had married her!

“How many kids?”“The first is arriving this fall, she says.”Songsam had difficulty swallowing a laugh that he was about to let burst

forth in spite of himself. Although he had asked how many children Tokchae

7. fodder: coarsely chopped hay or straw used as food for farm animals. 8. capital offense: a crime calling for the death penalty.

6. What details in lines 65–80 remind Songsam that Tokchae has a human side? One detail has been boxed.

Close Read5. Reread lines 45–64. How

has the war affected Songsam’s opinion of his former friend? Cite details that helped you to understand Songsam’s view of Tokchae.

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Close Read7. Line 101 marks a change

in Songsam’s behavior. What does this change reveal about what’s going on inside him? Reread lines 95–100 and explain what motivates the change.

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?”

Songsam 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 Songsam had left alone. Roaming about the strange streets and villages in the South, Songsam 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.

They had crossed over a hill. This time Songsam 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, Songsam 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 Songsam and Tokchae were about twelve, they had set a trap here, unbeknown to the adults, and caught a crane, a Tanjong 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 governor-general’s office to catch cranes as some kind of specimens. Then and there

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9. demilitarized zone: an area—generally one separating two hostile nations or armies—from which military forces are prohibited.

10. Tanj ong (tänPjEngP) crane: a type of crane found in Asia. 11. Seoul (sIl): the capital and largest city of South Korea.

Literary Analysis Workshop

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?” Songsam said suddenly.Tokchae was dumbfounded.“I’ll make a trap with this rope; you flush a crane over here.”Songsam had untied Tokchae’s hands and was already crawling through the

weeds. Tokchae’s face whitened. “You’re sure to be shot anyway”—these words

flashed through his mind. Any instant a bullet would come flying from Songsam’s direction, Tokchae thought.

Some paces away, Songsam quickly turned toward him.“Hey, how come you’re standing there like a dummy? Go flush a crane!”Only then did Tokchae understand. He began crawling through the weeds.A pair of Tanjong cranes soared high into the clear blue autumn sky,

flapping their huge wings.Translated by Peter H. Lee

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Close Read8. In what ways is Tokchae

like the crane? Cite specific descriptions of the crane that could also apply to Tokchae.

9. Why does Songsam push Tokchae 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.

Before Reading

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The InterlopersShort 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 long-standing 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.

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.

Know Well Think I Know Don’t Know

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, his works convey the 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.

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.

more about the author

For more on Saki, visit the Literature Center at ClassZone.com.

Saki1870–1916

word list

acquiesce languor pinionedcondolence marauder precipitousdraft pestilential succorinterloper

Confusing Passage

How I ClarifiedMy Understanding

My New Understanding

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

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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.

InterlopersInterlopersS A K I

the

interloper (GnPtEr-lõQpEr) n. one that intrudes in a place, situation, or activity

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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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s

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

b MONITOR

Clarify your under-standing of why Ulrich and Georg are enemies by rereading or reading aloud lines 7–30.

marauder (mE-rôdPEr) n. one who raids and loots

5. Georg Znaeym (gA-ôrgP tsnAPCm). 6. roebuck: a male roe deer. 7. skirling: a shrill cry or sound.

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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 thick-strewn 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.

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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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“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

condolence (kEn-dIPlEns) n. an expression of sympathy

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MONITOR

Summarize in one or two sentences what each man threatens to do if rescued.

draft (drBft) n. a gulp or swallow

8. open winter: a mild winter.

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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.

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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).

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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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