Study Guide for Saki’s “The Interlopers”
Name: ________________________ Date:
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I. VOCABULARY:
Be able to define the following words and understand them when they appear in the
story.
1. interloper – one who interferes or meddles in the affairs of others; an intruder
2. precipitous – extremely steep; impassably steep
3. acquiesced – complied silently, agreed, consented without protest
4. marauders – ones who roam for the sole purpose of raiding others’ domains
5. exasperation – a state of irritation or annoyance
6. pious – showing reverence to God, religious devotion
7. retorted – replied in sharp retaliation to an argument or an accusation
8. condolences – expressions of sympathy to someone suffering
9. languor – lack of energy, listlessness, physical weakness
10. reconciliation – in a state of harmony or compatibility
11. succor – help, relief, aid, assistance
II. VOCABULARY SYNONYMS: Replace each underlined word with a synonym from your list above.
1. “I’ve waited over an hour,” she said in annoyance. ____________________________
2. To seal our making up, we shook hands. ____________________________
3. At the memorial service, we offered our sympathy. _____________________________
4. The rescue worker’s comforting words provided relief to the terrified child. ________________________
5. A steep trail ran up the mountain. ________________________
6. “It’s you who arrived late,” he replied sharply. ___________________________
7. Those gangs are terrorizing their neighbors. ________________________
8. After a bout of the flue, I was overcome with weakness. _____________________
9. The devoted monks prayed continuously. _______________________
10. Both teams agreed to the new rules of the game. ________________________
11. The gray cat meandering in the yard was considered a trespasser by the indoor cats. ________________
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III. PLOT QUESTIONS: Answer the following questions.
1. How did the Gradwitzes receive all the land they have?
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2. Why do Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym NOT get along?
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3. What is Ulrich von Gradwitz hunting in the story?
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4. What was Ulrich von Gradwitz’s wish when he wandered away from his crew?
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5. What happened once Ulrich von Gradwitz and George Znaeym met in the forest?
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6. How do Ulrich von Gradwitz and George Znaeym behave once they are stuck beneath the tree?
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7. What makes Gradwitz start to behave differently?
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8. What can we infer happens to Gradwitz and Znaeym at the end of the story? Provide textual evidence
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9. What is the THEME of this story? (the big lesson the author was trying to convey)
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IV. LITERARY DEVICES: Use your yellow notes to help you!!
1.
Describe a scene in which a character experienced internal conflict: __________________________
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Describe a scene in which there was an external conflict: ___________________________________
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2. What are 4 words or phrases from the story that describe the setting? _________________________,
____________________________, ________________________, ___________________________
3. What scene creates the climax (the point where the rising action is at its most exciting point) of the
story?____________________________________________________________________________
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4. In what way(s) does the author create suspense? (Discuss and give an example from the story)
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5. Who is the narrator? From what point of view is the story told? ______________________________
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6. What is one theme of the story?________________________________________________________
Give a quote from the story that you think supports that theme: ______________________________
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7. Explain the irony in this story and tell what type of irony it is_______________________________
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8. Are Gradwitz and Znaeym static or dynamic characters? __________________________________
Explain.__________________________________________________________________________
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V. VOCABULARY USAGE IN SENTENCES: Fill in the blank with one of your list words.
1. Unable to free themselves, they waited for rescuers to give them ___________________________.
2. They never _____________________ in the judgment of the court; instead, they bitterly opposed it.
3. When he heard about his enemy’s death, he sent ______________________ to the widow.
4. His ________________________ at being captured was so great that he cursed aloud.
5. Feeling insulted, he ________________________ angrily with a nasty tone of voice.
6. The wooded slope was _______________________ – a vertical cliff – and hard to climb.
7. After hours of hard work, he felt a great ________________________, and this exhaustion lasted all day.
8. Although not religious, his words were __________________________.
9. The man kept a sharp lookout for __________________________ who might be prowling through the
woods.
10. The fight could end in one of two ways -- _______________________ or death.
VI. Complete the paragraph below by writing the correct word from your list into the blank. Not all words
will be used.
The two enemies stared at each other. The gray-haired one laughed. “What are hyou laughing at?”
the brown-haired one asked in (1)__________________________. “I am laughing at two helpless men
caught in a trap,” the other (2)______________________ in anger. “Shall we become friends? No,
(3)__________________________ is not in my plans. I will never make up with you. And don’t give me
any (4)_______________________ words about what religion has taught us. We will always be enemies.
Our widows can send each other (5)_____________________________ if they wish.”
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ESSAY QUESTION:
1. Who do YOU think is the interloper in this story? Explain who you think it is and give 2 examples that
help you support your reasons for thinking. You must start your paragraph with th topic sentence, have 2
examples, an explanation of those examples about how they support your topic, and a conclusion sentence.
(20 points)
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