Conflict in The Interlopers Literary Analysis Essay

Children often find themselves fighting each other on the playground over petty grudges, but by the time they reach adulthood, they have grown out of their obstinate immaturity.  Unfortunately, this does not apply to Ulrich and Georg in Saki’s short story, “The Interlopers”.  The pointless nature of conflict is exemplified in this short story using metaphoric language, character development, and irony.

Saki uses metaphoric language to display the pointless nature of conflict.  When Ulrich and Georg first meet in the woods, metaphoric language appears: “And before the moment of hesitation had given way to action a deed of nature’s own violence overwhelmed them both” (2).  Saki personifies nature in this section, creating imagery of nature saving the men from their own foolishness.   The men hesitated, even though they were in the perfect position to act on their hatred of each other.  Though their conflict seemed the most important thing in both of their lives, they cannot bring themselves to take action on the feud.  This indecision shows the conflict’s shallowness.  Another use of metaphoric language surfaces when Ulrich and Georg are trapped under the tree.  Ulrich reaches for his wine flask and drinks: “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…” (3).  Though Ulrich grew up hating Georg, within half an hour he finds himself empathizing with his enemy.  The analogy furthersis the idea that humans aren’t designed for conflict.  Saki’s subtle use of metaphoric language shows the meaningless nature of conflict.   

Another way Saki displays the pointless nature of conflict is through Georg’s sudden character development.  We can see Gerog’s point of view when he first speaks to Ulrich after finding himself trapped.  He gloats, “‘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!’” (2).  Georg’s use of the pronoun “you” instead of “us”, and his complete lack of acknowledgement for his own predicament show his immaturity.  Though he finds himself in the exact same situation, he considers the entanglement to be a victory.  He acts similarly to a child, and even calls the situation “real justice for you!”.  This declaration also shows verbal irony, as he calls his own restraint an act of justice, though he believes Ulrich deserves punishment.  However, later in the story Georg realizes that his feelings were flawed, and during his speech on the matter declares, “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” (4).  Saki purposefully includes the contrast between “all my life” and “this last half-hour” to create dramatic irony.  The characters don’t realize the foolishness of the multiple-generation long feud ending in half of an hour.  This irony shows that humans are not meant for conflict, and a person’s enemy can become their friend in a very short time.  The suddenness of the change also shows that conflict’s shallow and unimportant nature on a larger scale.  

Saki uses irony as another large literary element displaying the meaningless nature of conflict.  A large example of irony appears on the very first page.  While describing exposition, Saki writes, “the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it harboured or the shooting it afforded, but it was the most jealously guarded of all its owner’s territorial possessions” (1) Descriptive diction, with words such as “precipitous” and “not remarkable” create dramatic irony.  The two powerful families are fighting over a piece of land that isn’t valuable in the first place.  This irony shows the immaturity of the families.  Saki displays another large example of irony in the last sentences of the story, as Georg and Ulrich are waiting for help.  Georg questions, “‘How many of them are there?’ … ‘I can’t see distinctly’ said Ulrich; ‘nine or ten’ … ‘Are they your men?’ asked Georg.  ‘Are they your men?’ he repeated impatiently … ‘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’” (5).  Saki uses a quickened pace and shorter paragraphs to create suspense, along with syntax, mentioning Ulrich’s terror and not wanting to see what he sees.  Once the suspense peaks, the characters and the reader discover that it is wolves, creating situational irony.  The ordeal that Ulrich and Georg went through becomes irrelevant, and the irony fills the reader with a sense of sadness as the feud will go on, though it should have ended.  The suspense and irony show the pointless nature of conflict, as nothing came of the feud or the resoulution and the two men died despite the resolution of their conflict.

Though on the surface this short story may seem centered around the theme of friendship, closer inspection of Saki’s use of metaphoric language, irony, and character development reveals the pointlessness of conflict.  Though it may seem sometimes that conflict is necessary, Saki suggests that we put it to the side along with the toys of our childhood.