Unit 1.

2 William Somerset Maugham (1897-1956)

Story: Mr. Know- All

QUESTIONS & PRACTICAL EXERCISES

I. Summary of the story

This story by Somerset Maugham takes place at sea. A narrator we learn almost
nothing about is forced to share a cabin with a man he takes an instant disliking to
because of little more than his name. The narrator finds Mr Kelada hearty, jovial,
loquacious and argumentative. He calls him the best hated man in the ship. It is not
until the man ‘loses’ a bet about pearls that the narrator finds a grudging respect for
him.
The climax of the story develops from an argument over pearls, but when Mr.
Kelada realized Mrs Kelada’s face, he chose to be mistaken about the chain to save
Mrs. Ramsay’s marriage. At the end of the story, Mrs Ramsay decided to return the
hundred dollars to him.

II. Literary Analysis

1. Describe the characters
2 groups:
+ The narrator - an unnamed Englishman and Mr. Ramsay are prejudiced.
+ Mr. Kelada, the doctor and Mrs. Ramsay are the non-prejudiced.
a. The narrator
- The story progresses from the narrator's point of view. He is a typical
Englishman. Through the narrative, we can see that he was a prejudiced,
judgmental, reserved, frigid and closed-minded person. However, at the end
of the story, he became more understanding and relized that he was
mistaken.
 - "When I went on board I found Mr. Kelada's luggage already below. I did
not like the look of it; there were too many labels on the suitcases, and the
wardrobe trunk was too big." "I did not at all like Mr. Kelada." "He was
everywhere and always. He was certainly the best hated man in the ship."
The narrator keeps repeating that he doesn't like Mr. Kelada. We can clearly
see that From the start, the narrator expresses his prejudices against the man
with whom he must share a cabin (Mr. Kelada) for no logical reason.
- But at the end of the story, when Mr. Kelada said he was mistaken about the
chain, the narrator change his opinion: "At that moment I did not entirely
dislike Mr. Kelada."
- The narrator describe Mrs. Ramsay “It shone in her like a flower on a coat –
(modesty)” and “Mrs. Ramsay was a very pretty little thing, with pleasant
manners and a sense of humor”
- In the beginning author liked Mrs. Ramsay. Of course he changed his mind
later but here he again misunderstood a person nature so we can make
conclusion that there are two variants: The narrator is not good in
identification of a real substance of people or it’s not a rare case when
people seem in different for the first impression then they are indeed.
- In the first episode, where he meets with Mr. Kelada, the narrator is more
active, and involved. He observes, comments and judges Mr. Kelada as he
sees him through his own eyes. Since he is influenced by his prejudiced
British society, his judgments are subjective.
- In the second episode, involving the necklace examination, the narrator is
less involved. He is like a cameraman who takes photos and writes down
what he hears objectively. After the chain examination is over, the narrator
becomes subjective again.
- In the last episode, the narrator discovers Mr. Kelada’s true character. As a
result, he undergoes a change – he realizes that people should not be judged
by their looks but by their actions and character. It is the narrator who closes
the story. He changed his point of view.
b. Mr. Kelada
Mr. Kelada showed up as a short and of sturdy build person, he has a dark skin,
hooked nose and curly and sleek hair. He is Chatty, Familiar, Argumentative and
Dogmatic. However, at the end, people have realized that he is a sensitive real
gentleman. He is Oriental/Levantine from one of the British colonies so the
narrator doesn’t like him at first sight
c. Mr. Ramsay
In the eyes of the narrator, Mr. Ramsay is a great heavy fellow. His character trait
is Prejudiced, Stubborn and Insensitive. He is Amercian.
d. Mrs. Ramsay
In the narrator’s opinion, she is A pretty little thing. She is Modest and Quiet. But
at the end of the story, we discover that she is Unfaithful to her husband. She is
also American.

2. Author’s attitude to Mr. Kelade

The narrator criticizes, rejects and judges Mr. Kelada even before he meets him.
He doesn't like his name, possessions (luggage, brush…), character traits and
behavior. Mr. Kelada, on the other hand, offers a helping hand and mercy. The
narrator changes his mind about Mr. Kelada who is revealed as a true gentleman.

3. THE NARRATION- point of view

The story is told in the first person – the narrator sees everything and is a part of
the plot. In part one, where he meets with Mr. Kelada, the narrator is more active,
and involved. He observes comments and judges Mr. Kelada as he sees him
through his own eyes. Since he is influenced by his prejudiced British society, his
judgments are subjective. In part two, involving the necklace examination, the
narrator is less involved. He is like a cameraman who takes photos and writes
down what he hears objectively. After the chain examination is over, the narrator
becomes subjective again. In part three, the narrator discovers Mr. Kelada’s true
character. As a result, he undergoes a change – he realizes that people should not
be judged by their looks but by their actions and character. It is the narrator who
closes the story
4. The crisis of the story
– The Internal Conflicts are Mr Kelada’s struggle with himself in not telling the
true value of Mrs Ramsay’s pearls and The Narrator’s struggle with himself in
putting aside his prejudices about Mr Kelada.
– Four External Conflicts:
+ The narrator’s dislike for Mr. Kelada (Man vs. Man)
+ Mr. Ramsay’s arguments with Mr. Kelada at the doctor’s table (Man vs. Man)
+ Mr. Kelada pushing himself to be accepted by the passengers (Man vs
Society)
+ The debate over cultured pearls (Man vs. Nature)

5. What do pearls symbolize?

The most important symbol in the story is pearls, which represent the idea that
appearances can be deceptive. On the outside, all pearls look the same. Some
(natural pearls) are pure on the inside, while others (cultured pearls) are not. You
don’t know which is which until you examine them further
6. The moral lesson of the story
- Not to judge people by their appearances
- Not to let prejudices and closed-mindedness defer us to see good qualities and
characters in other people
- If we look beyond racial, cultural differences, and look at human qualities, we are
able to like those who are even quite different from us.
I. Linguistic Devices
1. Lexical devices
Epithet
- Mr. Kelada was short and of a sturdy build, clean-shaven and dark skinned, with
a fleshy, hooked nose and very large lustrous and liquid eyes.
- "I am Mr. Kelada," he added, with a smile that showed a row of flashing teeth,
and sat down

Metaphor
- I felt pretty sure that a closer inspection of that British passport would have
betrayed the fact that Mr. Kelada was born under a bluer sky than is generally seen
in England.
Irony
- He spoke with a fluency in which there was nothing English and his gestures
were exuberant.
- We called him Mr. Know-All, even to his face.

Simile
It shone in her like a flower on a coat.

Hyperbole
- "Well, there are plenty more where that came from, and if you've got any friends
on board, you tell them you've got a pal who's got all the liquor in the world."
- He ran everything.
- He was everywhere and always.
- "They'll never be able to get a cultured pearl that an expert like me can't tell with
half an eye."

2. Syntactical devices
Ellipsis
- "It's coming out, it's coming out," he cried. "The ten on the knave."

Inversion
- With rage and hatred in my heart I finished.
IV. Revision: Quizzes and Questions
A. Quiz
1. How do we know Mr. Kelada was British?
a. Because he spoke English.
b. Because of his name.
c. Because of his appearance.
d. Because of his passport.
2. The narrator felt that Mr. Kelada was (–).
a. too informal with him
b. too quiet for him
c. not very friendly
d. not very intelligent
3. There were 3 berths in the cabin, where Mr. Kelada traveled with it Tru False
companion. e
4. Mr. Kelada said that he is American. Tru False
e
5. The prohibition was in force that time. Tru False
e
6. Mr. Kelada appeared to be very intelligent and sagacious. Tru False
Everybody liked him! e
7. Mr. Ramsay was a great heavy fellow. His wife lived in New York Tru False
for a year. e
8. Mrs. Ramsay was quite pure and her clothes showed that fact Tru False
rather unambiguously. She didn't know how to wear her clothes e
and not impressed on anybody.
9. Mr. Kelada were going to Japan. Tru False
e
10. Mr. Kelada and Mr. Ramsay bet on $100. Tru False
e
11. Mr. Kelada couldn't afford to lose a hundred dollars and did Tru False
everything to prevent it. e
12. Ultimately Mr. Ramsay returned $100 to Mr. Kelada. But Max Tru False
Kelada tore the hundred-dollar note into little bits. e
B. Questions
1. Mr. Ramsay and Revision: made a bet at the dinner table. What was the bet
about?
At first, Mr. Keladan lost his bet with Mr. Ramsay and became the laughing stock
of the whole ship because he doesn't want to ruin Mrs. Ramsay's marriage. After
that, when Mr. Ramsay and his wife made a bet at the dinner table, it means that
Mr. Keladan was right. The bet which represented for his honour although was lost
at first but then was returned to him by Mrs. Ramsay. His honour again came back.
2. After Mr. Kelada examines the pearls and returns the necklace, the narratorsays:
"Suddenly he caught sight of Mrs. Ramsay's face. It was so whitethat she looked as
though she were about to faint. She was staring athim with wide and terrified
eyes." What is Mrs. Ramsay so afraid of? Explain.
Mrs. Ramsay was so afraid of that her secret of having a lover when she was in
New York could be revealed. Her marriage could be detroyed if her husband knew
the truth that the expensive pearls was the gift that her lover gave her.
3. At the end of the story the narrator says: "At that moment I did not entirely
dislike Mr. Kelada". What caused him to say this?
The narrator said that because on contrary to his first impression about Mr Kelada
who was a pushy, inconsiderate and vulgar person, he turned out to be a real and
sensitive gentleman. He saved Mrs. Ramsay's marriage depite losing his reputation.
4.. What would you do if you were Mr. Kelada ?
If I were Mr. Kelada, I would act the same way as he did. Although Mrs Ramsay
was unfaithful to his husband, she had reason to do so (Mrs Ramsay and her
husband live apart for 1 year) and now, she did not want to destroy her marriage
and so did his husband.
5.. What would you do if you were Mr. Ramsay?
If I were Mr. Ramsay, I would not live apart from my wife for such a long time.
Therefore, there would not have any secret, my wife would not have any lover and
not need to be afraid of anything. Then I would be the one who give my wife the
expensive pearls.