To Be a Great Writer . . .

Which qualities make a great writer? Some would say it’s grabbing and maintaining the readers attention. Others might add that a great writer provides provocative insight. Or those, like George James Spears assert that it means to simply stay true to one’s “personal constancy” as a writer, that is individuality. In his critical essay, “The Short Stories” Spears’ asserts that like all great writers, short story author Saki, stays true to his “personal constancy”. Through analysis of various stories by Saki, Spears concludes that certain staple characteristics form Saki’s constancy; such as hoaxes in his plots, a satisfaction for characters that can “lie fluently”, irony, peculiarity, exotic subject choice, bitterness, and sneaky characters. The young reader can learn from Saki’s style by incorporating some of the elements that he uses into their own writing or by creating their own personal constancy through studying his unique techniques.

Saki’s short story, “The Open Window” extolled by Spears as “pure unadulterated humor”, fits Spears’ mold of a classic Saki story almost to a T. The reader should analyze Saki’s use of these core traits in “The Open Window” to better develop a sense of their own constancy as a writer.

The fifteen year old, “self-possessed” niece fits the description of a devious Saki character precisely. In the story, the niece easily deceives Mr. Nuttel into believing that her aunt had a great tragedy befall her when her husband and brothers died on a hunting trip. In this way, she successfully scares Frampton Nuttel into leaving the household. Her character fits the mold of how Spears characterizes most children in Saki’s stories, “Saki's children closely resemble Shakespeare's Puck; they are mischievous and hell-bent imps who delight in vexing those fools called mortals” (Spears). In addition, the niece is able to fabricate two stories on the spot deceiving those around her, thus she can “lie fluently”, another key trait of a character in a Saki story.  First she creates the story about her aunt’s tragedy, and then she lies to her aunt about why Mr. Nuttel left in such a hurry. The narrator’s last line almost shows reverence for her clever lie; asserting that, “Romance at a short notice was her specialty” (Spears), following suit with Spears’ notion that Saki portrays characters that are sneaky or cunning, in a positive light.

Another key characteristic in Saki’s writing according to Spears is humor. Perhaps the best attribute of “The Open Window” according to Spears, is its light-hearted humor, void of any bitterness. Saki uses humor in the story principally through the character of Frampton. From the very beginning of the story, Frampton’s behavior comes across as awkward. His nervous tendencies and stream of consciousness make the reader want to make fun of him and dislike him. He is the gullible character in the story as he is easily deceived by the niece’s trick. Being gullible therefore as portrayed by Saki is a vice, because Saki makes the gullible character unlikable, whereas the clever niece who manipulates the other characters is celebrated.

Lastly, the subject matter of the story is peculiar and ironic, other chief devices of Saki’s writing according to Spears. Beginning with the subject matter, before it is revealed with the last line that the niece had been pulling a hoax all along, the reader for a short period of time is unaware of whether or not the ghosts are real. Such subject matter is rather peculiar and surreal. Additionally, throughout the story Saki presents two instances of irony. The first and principle example is the irony of how Frampton goes to the aunt’s household in hopes of finding solace, but instead gets played for a fool and does not receive any special attention. Second, even though Frampton says he cannot do any physical activity, when he thinks he has seen a ghost he dashes out of the house in a flash, as if he had no physical impairments whatsoever. These ironic elements contribute to the story’s intricacy and humor for the reader to enjoy.

In Spears’ essay he shows the reader how Saki stays true to his constancy utilizing core elements such as hoaxes, lying characters, and irony in his stories. This constancy makes him a strong writer that young readers can develop new skills from. From my own reading of “The Open Window”, I was able to correlate Spears’ characteristics to the characters and elements actually used in Saki’s story, and gain a sense of how Saki maintains his individuality as a writer in his work. In retrospect of the different elements that Saki utilizes in his stories, a young reader can attribute some of these elements into their own writing or draw inspiration from them. Spears calls Saki a “great writer”, giving young writers hope that they can too become great writers if they find their individuality in writing and stay true to it.

Works Cited:

Spears, George James. "The Short Stories." The Satire of Saki:
A Study of the Satiric Art of Hector H. Munro. New York: Exposition Press, 1963. 27-77. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Vol. 115. Detroit: Gale 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Sep. 2011.