Mr.

Know All Group 4

THE AUTHOR
WRITER:
Name: William Somerset Maugham (1874 -1965, France)
Genre: Novel, short stories, playwright
Major works:
Of Human Bondage (1915)
The Moon and Sixpence (1919)
The Painted Veil (1925)
Cakes and Ale: or The Skeleton in the Cupboard (1939)
The Razor’s Edge (1944)

MR. KNOW ALL

GENRE: Short Stories, Classics,
SETTING:
Social environment: Accommodation was very difficult
Historical content: WWI just ended
Time: Published in 1924, filmed in 1950
Place: Took place on an ocean – going liner
SUMMARY
- On a boat to Yokohama from San Francisco. The narrator had to share a cabin
with a stranger on the ship. His name was Max Kelada. When the narrator met
Mr. Kelada, he disliked Mr. Kelada immediately. There are also 2 more
important characters that I have mention before it is, Mr. Ramsay who was going
to Japan with his wife for his work.
- The conversation drifted to the subject of pearls that Mrs. Ramsay
was wearing. Mr. Kelada asserted that it was a real one, and he bet a hundred
dollars on it. Mr. Ramsay claimed that his wife had bought it for 18 dollars.
- When Mr. Know All was examining the pearls, he was appealed by Mrs.
Ramsay's face which was begging Mr. Kelada to not reveal the truth about the
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pearls. Then, he admitted that he was wrong and that the chain of pearls was an
imitation. He lost a hundred dollars.
- While the narrator and Mr. Know All were in their cabin, an envelope that
contained a hundred-dollar bill from Mrs. Ramsay was put under the door.
Eventually, the narrator was amazed at Mr. Kelada's generosity.
CHARACTERS
There are four main characters in the story:

Mr. Max Kelada: A dynamic round character.

The Narrator: A dynamic flat character.
Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay: Static flat character.
ACTORS:
Mr. Max Kelada: Đỗ Thụy Hoàng Oanh.
The Narrator: Nguyễn Thành Đạt.
Mr. Ramsay: Trần Thị Vi.
Mrs. Ramsay: Lê Kiều Ái.
The Storyteller + The Steward + others Supporting Character: Khổng Thúy
Nga.
POINT OF VIEW
The story is told in the first person.
The language (tone) of the story is formal and many of the description of what it
means to be British are sarcastic.
PLOT
The story consists of two plots:
The main plot deals with the conflicting relationship between the narrator and
Mr. Kelada.
The sub-plot deals with the relationship between Mr. Kelada and Mr. Ramsay.
They discuss real pearls (nature-made) and cultured pearls (man-made), then
they bet whether Mrs. Ramsay's necklace is made of real pearls or imitation.
The two plots are connected. The sub-plot serves to bring the complications of the
main plot to its climax and solution. In other words, after the narrator discovers

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Mr. Know All Group 4
that Mr. Kelada is in fact a gentleman, he understands he has been prejudiced and
changes his opinion about him.

The unstable situation : Mr.

Kelada and Mr. Ramsay got
caught up in a heated
argument over pearls.
★ The rising action : This
took place from when it was
revealed that Mr. Kelada
was actually in the pearl
business, over to their 100-
dollar bet on the value of
Mrs. Ramsay’s pearl
necklace, and up to the
moment when Mr. Kelada
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Mr. Know All Group 4

inspected the piece of jewelry

carefully to examine whether
he was right or
wrong.
★ The climax : The
pinnacle of the story rested
on the moment when Mr.
Kelada
had to choose between
making a fool out of himself
or winning the bet
triumphantly and ruining a
relationship.

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Mr. Know All Group 4

★ The falling action : when

Mr. Kelada admitted that he
was mistaken.
The unstable situation : Mr.
Kelada and Mr. Ramsay got
caught up in a heated
argument over pearls.
★ The rising action : This
took place from when it was
revealed that Mr. Kelada
was actually in the pearl
business, over to their 100-
dollar bet on the value of

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Mr. Know All Group 4

Mrs. Ramsay’s pearl

necklace, and up to the
moment when Mr. Kelada
inspected the piece of jewelry
carefully to examine whether
he was right or
wrong.
★ The climax : The
pinnacle of the story rested
on the moment when Mr.
Kelada
had to choose between
making a fool out of himself
or winning the bet
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Mr. Know All Group 4

triumphantly and ruining a

relationship.
★ The falling action : when
Mr. Kelada admitted that he
was mistaken.
The unstable situation : Mr.
Kelada and Mr. Ramsay got
caught up in a heated
argument over pearls.
★ The rising action : This
took place from when it was
revealed that Mr. Kelada

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Mr. Know All Group 4

was actually in the pearl

business, over to their 100-
dollar bet on the value of
Mrs. Ramsay’s pearl
necklace, and up to the
moment when Mr. Kelada
inspected the piece of jewelry
carefully to examine whether
he was right or
wrong.
★ The climax : The
pinnacle of the story rested
on the moment when Mr.
Kelada
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Mr. Know All Group 4

had to choose between

making a fool out of himself
or winning the bet
triumphantly and ruining a
relationship.
★ The falling action : when
Mr. Kelada admitted that he
was mistaken.
CLIMAX OF THE STORY

- At the dinner table there is an argument about pearls and the new "cultured
pearls" that the Japanese were creating.

- Mr. Kelada reveals that this is his reason for traveling to Japan.

- He claims to be an expert at identifying cultured and natural pearls, pointing out

Mrs. Ramsay's necklace as a fine example.

- Mr. Ramsay "knowing" his wife bought it for only 18 dollars challenges Mr.
Kelada to a bet of 100 dollars, to prove that he is wrong and that the necklace is
an imitation.

- Both the narrator and Mr. Kelada notice Mrs. Ramsay's discomfort but Mr.
Ramsay does not.

- Recognizing Mrs. Ramsay's terrifying panic and how white her skin was, Mr.
Kelada made a huge effort to hold himself back and admit in public that he was
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Mr. Know All Group 4
mistaken (while he clearly knew he was not). The narrator notices that he flushed
and his hands trembled.

GROUP 4
STT Name Student’s code
1 Khổng Thúy Nga 20041321
2 Đỗ Thụy Hoàng Oanh 20041341
3 Lê Kiều Ái 20034371
4 Trần Thị Vi 20039071
5 Nguyễn Thành Đạt 20045821

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