1. Shredni Vashtar- Saki

"Without his imagination, which was rampant under the spur of loneliness, he would have succumbed long ago."

Shows hod dependent he is on his imagination, and how lonely

Mrs De Ropp

-does not like Conradin, takes away his simple pleasures like going in the orchard and toast with tea -sadistic, controlling, harsh

Quotes

"Mrs De Ropp was Conradin's cousin and guardian, and in his eyes she represented those three-fifths of the world that are necessary and disagreeable and real"- largest part of the world are required and unpleasant "And one day, out of Heaven knows what material, he spun the beast a wonderful name, and from that moment it grew into a god and a religion"- the start of his religion, and the ferret who he worshiped "Do one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar."- when precious hen taken away his only refuge is the ferret. He asks the god for something without specifying what he wants as gods are omniscient

Conradin

-10 year old orphan suffering from terminal illness -without his imagination, would have died years ago -hates his guardian with frightening velocity -has nothing to love, lavishes love on a hen -when hen taken away, becomes obsessed with idea of revenge -sinister and frightening about nonchalant way he butter his toast when surrounded by chaos

"Woman"

Conradin refers to Mrs De Ropp as "The Woman". He does not even call her by name, shows dislike

"Conradin was dreadfully afraid of the lithe, sharp-fanged beast, but it was his most treasured possession. Its very presence in the tool-shed was a secret and fearful joy"

He was afraid of the ferret, meaning the worship did not come out of love

Themes

Imagination and reality Inter-personal relationships Religion

"Mrs. De Ropp would never, in her honestest moments, have confessed to herself that she disliked Conradin, though she might have been dimly aware that thwarting him "for his good" was a duty which she did not find particularly irksome. Conradin hated her with a desperate sincerity which he was perfectly able to mask....and from the realm of his imagination she was locked out--an unclean thing, which should find no entrance."

They hate each other, Conradin locks her out of his imagination, the only thing he can truly treasure, a place he escapes to

"Dull, cheerless garden", "blooming in an arid waste", "dismal shrubbery"

Words portraying the hopeless, dying house he lived in

Metaphors

-tool shed is a haven to escape to when life becomes too oppressive -he loves the hen, worships the ferret- symbolises power -hot buttered toast is denied to him, it becomes a symbol for his freedom