Analisis "The Open Window" by Saki

According to Mark and Kathy Anderson (2002), The category of literary text can be devided into three main text types : NARRATIVE, POETIC, AND DRAMATIC.  

Narrative text type tells a story using spoken or written language.

Poetic text type express feelings and impressions of life.

Dramatic text type use acting to communicate ideas and experiences. Drama can be spoken or written. They often use visual such as facial expressions, costumes and sets to help communicate meaning.

Menurut Mark dan Kathy Anderson sastra dapat digolongkan menjadi 3 macam yaitu cerita, puisi dan drama. berikut ini adalah contoh analisis drama yang berjudul "The Open Window"

                                                                               

THE OPEN WINDOW

By : SAKI (H.H. Munro)

The Open Window was published in the range of 1870-1916. It was published in the range of 1870-1916.

 

SUMMARY

            Framton Nuttle, a nervous young man, has come to stay in the country for his health. His sister, who thinks he should socialise while he is there, has given him letters of introduction to families in the neighbourhood who she got to know when she was staying there a few years previously. 

            Framton goes to visit a Mrs Stapleton, and while he is waiting for her to come down, he is entertained by her fifteen-year-old niece. The niece tells him that the French window is kept open, even though it is October, because her aunt's husband and her brothers were killed in a shooting accident three years ago, and Mrs Stapleton believes they will come back one day.
            When Mrs Stapleton comes down she talks about her husband and brothers, and how they are going to come back from the shooting soon, and Frampton, believing she is derranged, tries to get her to distract her by talking about his health. Then, to his horror, Mrs Stapleton points out that her husband and brothers are coming, and he sees them walking towards the window, with their dog. He thinks he is seeing ghosts, and runs away.

            Mrs Stapleton can't understand why he has run away, and when her husband and brothers (who of course are not ghosts) come in, she tells them about the odd young man who has just left. The niece explains that Frampton Nuttal ran away because of the spaniel, he is afraid of dogs since being hunted by a pack of pariah dogs in India. (the niece enjoys making up stories about people).

MAJOR CHARACTER

1.      Framton Nuttel

Mr.Nuttle is gullible,observant.but he is impulsive. Framton is the laughing stock of this humorous event, he is made to look like a fool. Mr Framton Nuttel is quite a ridiculous name for a man and this makes it even more entertaining.

2.      Vera (round and flat character)

Vera is manipulative,cunning,intelligent. she has a logically thinking and creative. She is a romantic and  unsympathatic but very consistent.

PLOT

            Frampton Nuttel suffers from a nervous condition and has come to spend some time alone. His sister sets up introductions for him with a few members of the community. His first visit is to the Sappleton house where he meets fifteen-year-old Vera, the niece of Mrs. Sappleton. Vera keeps Nuttel company while he waits. Upon hearing that Nuttel has not met the Sappletons, Vera tells Nuttel some information about the family. Vera says that three years ago to the date, Mrs. Sappleton's husband and two younger brothers went on a hunting trip and never returned. Vera goes into detail about the clothes they were wearing, the dog that accompanied them, and the song that Mrs. Sappleton's brother sang upon their return. Vera says that her grief-stricken aunt watches out the window expecting their return. When Mrs. Sappleton enters, she tells Nuttel that she expects her husband and brothers to return at any moment. Nuttel listens, thinking that Mrs. Sappleton has in fact gone crazy. Suddenly, Mrs. Sappleton brightens as she tells Nuttel that they have returned. Nuttel turns only to see the "dead" hunters. He becomes frightened and leaves in a rush. Mrs. Sappleton doesn't understand Nuttel's strange behavior, but Vera replies that he is deathly afraid of dogs.

            Not until the end of the story does the reader realize that Vera has tricked Mr. Nuttel. This is revealed with the last line of the story: "Romance at short notice was her (Vera's specialty)."

THEME

·           Deception

                 Deception provides another key theme in the story. The action and irony of the story revolve around the apparent deception practiced by Mrs. Sappleton's niece. It remains to be seen, however, whether this deception is a harmless prank or the result of a sinister disposition. If the niece's deception is cruel, then the reader must question the motives behind the deception practiced by all tellers of stories, including Saki himself.

·           Mystery

                 The theme, I think that is explored in Saki's story is mystery.

 

POINT OF VIEW

            The Point of View in this story is called "Omniscient Point Of View".

SYMBOL

            The symbol is the opened window. It is because the whole story was about the opened window and the story said"they will walk through that opened window.

IRONY

            The coward man.

           

Hugh Hector Munro, who wrote under the pseudonym Saki, is well known not only as a master of the short story form, but also for the irony with which his stories are imbued. "The Open Window," Saki's most frequently anthologized story, is an excellent example of Saki's use of irony. The events of the story itself are ironic in their own right. However, Saki increases the ironic amplitude of the story by making the reader a victim of the very same hoax that Vera perpetrates on Mr. Nuttel.

MORAL TEACHING

            Adults should pay attention of children’s behavior in order to set them limits on time.