impressions‚ values and – most importantly of all – prejudice. Prejudice arises because it is human nature to stereotype new people we meet based on race or how they look before getting to know them. The messageof the story can perhaps best be summed up in the English proverb: You should not judge a book by its cover. The author of “Mr. Know-All”‚ W Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a popular English playwright‚ novelist and short story writer. Maugham is said to have been the highest paid author
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First of all I want to begin with the narrative perspective. In the short story “Mr. Know-All” by William Somerset Maugham there is a first person narrator‚ who takes an active part in the story. He is a very important character. It is not easy to tell whether he is a minor or a major character. On the one hand he is a major character because the way he presents Mr. Kelada influences the reader a lot. On the other hand he is just a minor character because he is only the presenter of Mr. Kelada. The
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Mr. Know-All – Literary analysis THE STORY Mr. Know-All is a story with a moral lesson. The subject is simple. A rich British merchant of Oriental origin‚ named Mr. Kelada‚ meets a group of Westerners on a ship sailing across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Yokohama. His cabin-mate‚ a British citizen who is the nameless narrator of the story‚ dislikes Mr. Kelada even before he sees him. However‚ at the end of the story Mr. Kelada‚ the Levantine jeweler‚ proves to be a real gentleman
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The Escape By Maugham William Somerset Maugham is one of the best known English writers of the 20th century. He was not only a novelist‚ but also a one of the most successful dramatist and short-story writers. Maugham wants the readers to draw their own conclusion about the characters and events described in his novels. His reputation as a novelist is based on the following prominent books: “Of Human Bondage”; “The Moon and Sixpence”; and “The Razor ’s Edge”. Though Maugham doesn’t denounce the
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When? Post-World war I (after 1918). "I did not like Mr. Kelada” - Why? Before their first meeting: His name (Max Kelada) – not English‚ indicates middle-eastern origin (“I should have looked upon it with less dismay if my fellow passenger’s name had been Smith or Brown”). The look of his luggage – too many labels on the suitcases‚ the wardrobe trunk was too big. His prestigious toiletries – filthy (“would have been all the better for a scrub”). After they meet: His body language
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William Somerset Maugham was a British playwright‚ novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest paid author during the 1930s. After losing both his parents by the age of 10‚ Maugham was raised by a paternal uncle who was emotionally cold. Not wanting to become a lawyer like other men in his family‚ Maugham eventually trained and qualified as a doctor. The first run of his first novel‚ Liza of Lambeth (1897)‚ sold out so rapidly that
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”Salvatore” by William Somerset Maugham The story “Salvatore” was written by William Somerset Maugham. He was one of the most popular storytellers. Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. His parents died when he was still a boy. While a student in St. Thomas´s Hospital in London‚ he got to know the life of the poor people of London. His longest novel was “Of Human Bondage”. The book tells the story of the first 30 years of Maugham´s life. William Somerset Maugham died in the South of France where
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Critically examine the plot in “The Ant and the Grasshopper”: Somerset Maugham‟s short story “The Ant and the Grasshopper” bases itself on the well-known fable of La Fontaine of the same title. The exposition presents a brief summary of the fable‚ followed by the narrator‟s expression of bias against the ant in La Fontaine‟s story. Since in the exposition the narrator uses the fable to introduce his story of the Ramsay brothers‚ the reader‟s expectations from the development of the plot are already
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Analysis of Woolf’s Kew Gardens Oakland‚ John. “Woolf’s Kew Gardens.” English Studies 68.3 (1987): 264-274 In the article “Virginia Woolf’s Kew Gardens” Oakland is trying to examine a short story that few people took the time to do. He says‚ “It is not an expression of meaningless life but‚ on the contrary‚ reveals a harmonious‚ organic optimism.” (1) Since she chose to make it such a short piece of work‚ it fits perfectly with her style of writing. She doesn’t make the theme the subject matter
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I caught sight of her at the play and in answer to her beckoning I went over during the interval and sat down beside her. It was long since I had last seen her and if someone had not mentioned her name‚ I hardly think I would have recognized her. She addressed me brightly. “Well‚ its many years since we first met. How time does fly! We’re none of us getting any younger. Do you remember the first time I saw you? You asked me to luncheon.” Did I remember? It was twenty years ago and I was
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