DISCUSSION FORUM QUESTIONS
1.
The real life situation of the character, Mr. Framton Nuttel who was introducing himself to the people of the new neighborhood he had moved to, created great interest for the reader and helped relate better. Moreover, Framton’s tenseness while conversing with one of the neighbor’s niece, who took advantage and played a practical joke on him, was very hilarious and captivating. She made up a convincing story about the mysterious death of her three uncles and their dog. This seemed so realistic to Framton that their entrance through the open window terrified him and in his rush almost collided into the cyclist passing by. However, it was funny initially but morally it is not right to scare someone to such an extreme extent that might cause an accident, as Mr. Framton was about to crash into the cyclist. Also humiliating a new neighbor in such a way is not delightful. (150 words)
2. A lot of Munro’s stories depict women in the negative role because of his personal experience in childhood with his aunts. His mother died when he was only two and his father left him and his siblings with his sisters in England to be brought up well. However, the aunts used corporal punishments and ill treated the three children. This shows in many of his stories, for example, in his story Sredni Vashtar, in which the main character, Conradin a ten year old boy, lives with his strict guardian and creates a new religion for him in her defiance. Furthermore, the social and political commotions of the time when he was sent to Balkans, as a foreign correspondent reflects in his story “The Cupboard of the Yesterdays”. The story reveals the issues the people face during the time of the war and their dislike towards bloodshed at that time. (150 words)
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Hector Hugh Munro was born in Akyab, Burma on 18th December 1870. His pen name was “Saki” a Farsi word meaning “cup bearer”, which was derived from a Persian poem “The Rubayat of Omar Khayyam”. At the age of two his mother Mary Francis died in a terrible accident in England. He had a sister- Ethel, a brother-Charles. Their father, a Scottish Military Policeman sent his children to live with their aunts in North Devon, England. The ill treatment of the aunts is portrayed as model characters in many of his stories.
In his twenties he returned to Burma as an officer in Colonial Burmese Military Police. Ill health did not permit him to continue and hence he returned to England after a year. Thereupon, he started writing for The Westminster Gazette, The Daily Express, Bystander, The Morning Post and Outlook. His most famous creation was a political sketch Alice in Westminster. Moreover, in 1900 his first publication, a historical treaty called The Rise of Russian Empire was printed.
He became a Foreign Correspondent in Russia and the Balkans from 1902 to 1908. His historical treaties and numerous stories about deceitful young men and sympathetic female characters created great interest in the readers, for example; Matilda, in The Boar Pig and Mrs. Hoopinton, in The Bag. Additionally, in 1902 his collection of short stories “Not So Stories” was published.
At the age of 42 he volunteered in the 22nd Battalion as Royal fusilier in the World War 1. During this time he continued to write short stories in the trenches, and was also promoted as Lance Sergeant in September 1916. He was brutally shot by a German sniper while he was helping the French town of Beaumont-Hamel, on 16th November 1916. His last words were “Put that damned cigarette out”. (300 words)
References
Merriman, C.D. (2005). H. H. Munro. The Literature Network. Retrieved from http://www.online-literature.com/hh-munro/
Merriman, C.D. (2005). Saki-(H. H. Munro), 4 Short Stories. Franciscovazbrazil. Retrieved from http://franciscovazbrasil.blogspot.ca/2008/06/saki-hhmunro-4-short-stories.html
Bernardo, Karen. (2011). Saki (H. H. Munro)- Biography. Storybites. Retrieved from http://www.storybites.com/author-biographies/saki-h-h-munro.php
