In many parts of the world, wolves have been feared and misunderstood. Do you think "The Interlopers" contributes to the myth of the "big bad wolf"?

This is an interesting question. The wolves are presented
as hungry, man-eating animals who love to prey on the weak and injured, and therefore we
could say that this story does contribute to myths and fairy tales where the wolf is
constantly given the role of the antagonist or the evil, three-little-pig-eating and
Grandmother-chomping wolf. However, I think such a view of the wolves in this story
would be rather superficial. We need to understand what Saki is actually trying to
achieve through casting the wolves in the way that he does and what he is saying about
nature and fate.

Firstly, Saki creates two distinct
conflicts in this story: the conflict between two men and the conflict between man and
nature. Clearly, the latter is harder to resolve and Saki seems to be suggesting that
actually it is easier to settle feuds like the one that is featured in the story than it
is to resolve the conflict between man and nature because nature contains elements such
as wild animals that cannot be controlled.

Secondly, it is
important to realise how this story shows what Saki feels about fate. Clearly, for Saki,
fate is a factor that is beyond human control and unable to be manipulated or managed.
Ulrich's "idiotic chattering laugh" sees the immense irony in this as he is able to see
that the approaching sounds are not men but actually wolves. Their fate is out of their
hands.

So, whilst I suppose Saki could have exchanged the
wolves for a bunch of rabid carnivorous squirrels, we have to accept that wolves
probably work best in this situation. Whilst recognising that it does perhaps build on
stereotypes, we need to be aware of how they function in this short
story.