Friday, October 26, 2012

What is a description of Georg, the antagonist from "The Interlopers"?

You are right in thinking that Georg Znaeym is the
antagonist in this classic Saki story. We know before we are introduced to Georg that he
is the implacable enemy of Ulrich von Gradwitz. Georg is introduced
as:



The
neighbour feud had grown into a personal one since Ulrich had come to be head of his
family; if there was a man in the world whom he detested and wished ill to, it was Georg
Znaeym, the inheritor of the quarrel and the tireless game snatcher and raider of the
disputed border
forest.



Enemies since
"childhood", both Ulrich and Georg are therefore resolutely opposed to each other and
harbour deep enmity. However, it is clear that in spite of this hatred, they are both
men of honour, for when they finally meet they do not immediately give reign to their
baser instincts:


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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 neighbour in cold
blood and without a word spoken, except for an offence against his hearth and
honour.



Even though they hate
each other, both are honourable men and will not kill the other in cold
blood.


However, when the tree falls and traps them both, in
spite of the initial threats they exchange, the pain that they suffer seems to dull
their enmity. They swap their rancour for friendship, and interestingly it is Georg that
imagines the scene of him and Ulrich riding into the market square together. However, in
a twist of bitter irony, their shouts only summon a pack of wolves, who will no doubt
prey on the trapped men and end all dreams of their reconciliation and
peace.


Georg therefore as the antagonist starts of opposed
to Ulrich, but what befalls them both gives them a new perspective on life and they plan
their reconciliation, only to be stopped by the arrival of a pack of wolves. Befitting
their enmity, they fall together and will die together.

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