The story-teller Saki Hello everyone, my presentation today is about the story-teller, written by saki. As we have already read his another short story before, I’ll only give a brief introduction on him.

Saki British writer Witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories. A master of short story. Hector Hugh Munro, better known by the pen name Saki, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story, and often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. Saki Hector Hugh Munro 

The story-teller This story is "a story within a story." An aunt is travelling by train with her two nieces and a nephew. The children are naughty and mischievous. A bachelor is sitting opposite. The aunt starts telling a moralistic story, but is unable to satisfy the children's curiosity. The bachelor intervenes and tells a story in which the "good" person ends up being unwittingly devoured by a wolf, to the children's delight. The bachelor is amused by the thought that in the future the children will embarrass their guardian by begging to be told "an improper story".

Aunt’s story vs. bachelor’s story Horribly good girl, clicking medals, an invitation in the prince’s garden Wolf, spotless clean pinafore, clicking sound Climax (or anticlimax): good girl eaten by the wolf An unusual story Function: silence the noisy children (non-educational) Feedback: beautiful (children) improper (aunt) Aunt’s story: Good girl, good friends, saved when danger comes. A typical story guardian may narrate to a kid. Function: teaching Feedback: not welcomed (children simply don’t listen) "The story began badly," said the smaller of the small girls, "but it had a beautiful ending." "It is the most beautiful story that I ever heard," said the bigger of the small girls, with immense decision. "It is the ONLY beautiful story I have ever heard." "It's the stupidest story I've ever heard," said the bigger of the small girls, with immense conviction. "I didn't listen after the first bit, it was so stupid," said Cyril. Actually the whole piece of story consists of 2 stories, the aunt’s story and the bachelor’s. The aunt’s story is exactly what a moralistic story is. A good girl with her good friends and they all end up in good. It’s a typical story a guardian may narrate to a kid on purpose of teaching. However, the children simply don’t listen. And they give such comments.   While the bachelor tells the children with bravado an unconventional tale in which a "horribly good little girl" is gobbled up by a wolf because her three medals of honor clink against one another and reveal where she is hiding. To my surprise, the children were entranced by the tale which goes against the grain of "a decent story," (once again, much to the irritation of the disgruntled aunt). They think it’s rather a beautiful story.

A typical Saki story Children are not spotless angels as what most adults figure. They have their feelings, their imagination and their own estimation of the world. They also possess the power of fright and cruelty that most adults choose to ignore. Other examples: Shredni Vashtar, the Toys of Peace And this reminds me of what we have read before. Shredni Vashtar, another short story also written by saki. Children are not spotless angels as what most adults figure. They have their feelings, their imagination and their own estimation of the world. They also possess the power of fright and cruelty that most adults choose to ignore.

Symbols The Wolf The Good Girl The Garden The Pigs Moderation represents less a specific person or demographic than an ideal Exceptional goodness The Garden represents the rewards of virtue the garden is more of a place of interest rather than of pleasure. The Pigs Moderation The Wolf represents misfortune Symbols As I dig further, I find something more hidden in this multilayered story. Saki's storytelling mechanics are subtle, but his strong use of symbolism goes a long way in conveying the underlying meanings of the piece.

Theme In the reality,not everything good and positive is rewarded with something good. “The Storyteller” is a cynical antidote to crude didacticism. Insisting everything should have a moral is stupid. These symbols make the whole piece of story worth much of our thinking. The crude didacticism only force kids to learn what things should be rather than what reality actually is. In the reality, not everything good and positive is rewarded with something good. And that’s also the theme of this short story. "The Storyteller" is a cynical antidote to crude didacticism." In plain English, this means that insisting everything should have a moral is stupid. That’s all for my presentation. Thanks for your listening.