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Setting In 'Searching For Summer And The Interlopers'

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Harvard psychologist Jerome Kagan once said, “Genes and family may determine the foundation of the house, but time and place determine its form.” In literature the time and place is known as setting. In three short stories it is clearly seen how the place affects the characters. The first story is Saki’s “The Interlopers”, in which Georg Znaeyn and Ulrich Von Gradwitz are involved in a decade long feud over a forest. One night they are trying to kill each other, but a storm gets in their way. In the second story, “Searching for Summer” by Joan Aiken, the sun cannot be seen after the nuclear war, so Tom and Lily go looking for the sun. Another example is “The Californian’s Tale” by Mark Twain, in which a traveler is crossing an abandoned Californian …show more content…

The story is set in the forest, over which Georg and Ulrich are feuding. If there was no forest there would be no conflict. Another of the aspects of the setting in “The Interlopers” is the storm. It influences the plot of the story because if not for the windy conditions, Ulrich and Georg would not have resolved their conflict. The storm forced the issues to be solved because a tree fell on them, pinning them to the ground, and pushing them to discuss the problem problem, realizing the foolishness of their petty behavior, and dissolving their feud. Another facet of the situation that the characters are in is the woods. In the woods there were many wild creatures, including wolves. After Georg and Ulrich make up and form a truce, they see wolves approaching. It can be inferred that they, being trapped, will be attacked and killed by said wolves. If not for the action taking place in the forest, the main characters would not be deceased. The mood as well is affected by the cold stormy winter climate, which helps the reader to feel what the writer is trying to portray, which is the icy, tense feeling that the main characters feel towards each other. Thus it is seen through various aspects that setting of “The Interlopers” affects the plot and mood of this

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Your men will find you dead under a fallen beech tree. For forms shake I shall send my condolences to your family.” Georg had the choice to be nice to Ulrich when they both knew they were dying. He decided to threaten to take Ulrich’s life if his men got there first. Also, on page five their conversation went from Ulrich trying to make amends, but Georg dismissed it.

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