Mr. Know All
Mr. Know-All
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Literary analysis
THE STORY
Mr. Know- All is a story with a moral lesson. The subject is simple. A rich Britishmerchant of Oriental origin, called Mr. Kelada, meets a group of Westerners on a shipsailing across the Pacific Ocean. His cabin-mate, a British citizen who is the namelessnarrator of the story, dislikes Mr. Kelada even before he sees him. However, at theend of the story Mr. Kelada, the Levantine jeweller, proves to be a real gentlemanwhen he sacrifices his own pride and reputation to save an American lady’s marriage.As a result, he earns the respect of the narrator.
THE SETTING
Time
– a short time after World War I. It is mentioned for two reasons. First, it justifies the accidental meeting in the same cabin of the narrator and Mr. Kelada. The passenger traffic on the ocean-liners was heavy, so the narrator had to agree to share acabin with a person he disliked. Second, it may give us a possible reason for thenarrator’s unjustified antagonism towards Mr. Kelada. Usually, during periods of war,feelings of prejudice and dislike for foreigners grow stronger.
Place
– it takes place on a ship in
INTERNATIONAL WATERS
– a neutral place.The journey for the USA to Japan takes 14 days.The ship becomes the symbol of the world with people who are prejudiced and evenracists.
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 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 throughhis own eyes. Since he is influenced by his prejudiced society, his judgments are subjective .In the second episode
, involving the necklace examination, the narrator is lessinvolved . He is like a cameraman who takes photos and writes down what he hears objectively . After the chain examination is over, the narrator becomes subjectiveagain.In the last episode
,
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Literary analysis
THE STORY
Mr. Know- All is a story with a moral lesson. The subject is simple. A rich Britishmerchant of Oriental origin, called Mr. Kelada, meets a group of Westerners on a shipsailing across the Pacific Ocean. His cabin-mate, a British citizen who is the namelessnarrator of the story, dislikes Mr. Kelada even before he sees him. However, at theend of the story Mr. Kelada, the Levantine jeweller, proves to be a real gentlemanwhen he sacrifices his own pride and reputation to save an American lady’s marriage.As a result, he earns the respect of the narrator.
THE SETTING
Time
– a short time after World War I. It is mentioned for two reasons. First, it justifies the accidental meeting in the same cabin of the narrator and Mr. Kelada. The passenger traffic on the ocean-liners was heavy, so the narrator had to agree to share acabin with a person he disliked. Second, it may give us a possible reason for thenarrator’s unjustified antagonism towards Mr. Kelada. Usually, during periods of war,feelings of prejudice and dislike for foreigners grow stronger.
Place
– it takes place on a ship in
INTERNATIONAL WATERS
– a neutral place.The journey for the USA to Japan takes 14 days.The ship becomes the symbol of the world with people who are prejudiced and evenracists.
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 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 throughhis own eyes. Since he is influenced by his prejudiced society, his judgments are subjective .In the second episode
, involving the necklace examination, the narrator is lessinvolved . He is like a cameraman who takes photos and writes down what he hears objectively . After the chain examination is over, the narrator becomes subjectiveagain.In the last episode
,