The Sharing of a Common Theme “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst and “The Interlopers” by Saki both share a common theme ‘appearance versus reality’. Though both of the articles have two completely different plots, they share an idea that is displayed throughout both stories. The theme may seem to have different levels of importance or appear in different parts of the stories, but it is present in both no matter what. Here is an example of how “The Scarlet Ibis” and “The Interlopers” both have the theme ‘appearance vs. reality’. The theme of appearance versus reality is displayed in the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by illustrating Big Brother’s disappointment at having a disabled brother transformed to embarrassment and selfish desire of …show more content…
For instance, “We fight this quarrel out to the death, you and I and our foresters, with no cursed interlopers between us” (Saki 307). In the beginning of the story, Ulrich and Georg want to settle their long-lived family feud privately and in a civilized manner. They want to settle once and for all whose land this is, and they want no one else to come in between. However, things do not go their way and they are trapped together and they see possible help. To the contrary, it is not help that comes. They say, “‘Who are they?”... “Wolves’” (Saki 310). In conclusion, the shows theme appearance versus reality explaining that Ulrich and Georg are the interlopers, and it is not their land to begin with. People interpret the story by stating the wolves are the interlopers, yet I believe that is not what Saki is trying to convey. The reality is the opposite; the land belongs to the wolves. The repetition of the word “interlopers”, the situational irony of them being the interlopers, and the verbal irony of them saying interlopers as if they are not the one all support the theme of appearance vs. reality.
The stories magnificently convey the same theme to develop not only the story’s plot, but also the big picture.To sum it up, the dramatic irony and the internal conflict in “The Scarlet Ibis” and the verbal, situational, and repetition in “The Interlopers”