1、Unit 6 Mr.Know-AllW.Somerset MaughamW.Somerset MaughamBorn January 25,1874,Paris,FranceDied December 16,1965(aged 91),Nice,FranceOccupation Playwright,Novelist,Story WriterNotable works Of Human Bondage The Letter Rain The Razors Edge The Moon and Sixpence Childhood and education Maughams father was
2、 an English lawyer handling the legal affairs of the British embassy in Paris.Since French law declared that all children born on French soil could be conscripted for military service,arranged for William to be born at the embassy,technically on British soil,saving him from conscription into any fut
3、ure French wars.His grandfather,another Robert,had also been a prominent lawyer and cofounder of the English Law Society,and it was taken for granted that William would follow in their footsteps.Maughams mother Edith Mary(ne Snell)was consumptive,a condition for which the doctors of the time prescri
4、bed childbirth.As a result Maugham had three older brothers,already enrolled in boarding school by the time he was three and Maugham was effectively raised as an only child.Childbirth proved no cure for tuberculosis,and Edith Mary Maugham died at the age of 41,six days after the stillbirth of her fi
5、nal son.The death of his mother left Maugham traumatized for life,and he kept his mothers photograph by his bedside until his own death at the age of 91 in Nice,France.William was sent back to England to be cared for by his uncle,Henry MacDonald Maugham,the Vicar of Whit stable,in Kent.The move was
6、catastrophic.Maugham was miserable both at the vicarage and at school.As a result,he developed a talent for applying a wounding remark to those who displeased him.This ability is sometimes reflected in the characters that populate his writings.In 1947,Maugham instituted the Somerset Maugham Award,aw
7、arded to the best British writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a work of fiction published in the past year.Notable winners include V.S.Naipaul,Kingsley Amis,Martin Amis and Thom Gunn.On his death,Maugham donated his copyrights to the Royal Literary Fund.Literary achievementsMaughams li
8、terary achievements also lie with his short stories.Many of them portray the conflict of Europeans in alien surroundings that provoke strong emotions,and Maughams skill in handling plot,in the manner of Guy de Maupassant,is distinguished by economy and suspense.Maughams philosophy of life is usually
9、 reflected in these works as a resigned atheism and a cer-tain skepticism about the extent of mans innate goodness and in-telligence;it is this that gives his work its astringent cynicism.THE STORY Mr.Know-All is a story with a moral lesson.The subject is simple.A rich British merchant of Oriental o
10、rigin,called Mr.Kelada,meets a group of Westerners on a ship sailing across the Pacific Ocean.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 gent
11、leman when he sacrifices his own pride and reputation to save an American ladys marriage.As a result,he earns the respect of the narrator.As one of Maughams most famous short stories,Mr.Know-All tries in a cynical way to criticize the social and racial bias,as well as the hypocrisy of the Western so
12、cial etiquette.Starting from a narrator with a Euro-centric mind,the writer sets out to present to the reader the ingenuousness and straightforwardness of the Levantine Mr.Kelada.One thing worth noticing is that the reader is always unconsciously being manipulated by the writer,who leads us to feel
13、first against the main character,Mr.Kelada,and then discover his true and good characteristics.Details serve as the tools which assist us towards a better understanding of the human nature.Maugham touches here upon a few aspects of the Western characters,such as racism,the self-imposed importance,th
14、e affectedness of social manners,and in a less direct but more powerful way,money and its relationship with sex.Mrs.Ramsays suspected adultery is treated almost permissively,and in line with her prettiness and seemingly modest demeanour,as well as the pomposity and stupidity of her husband indicates
15、 Maughams deep disappointment with the human conditions.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
16、 agree to share a cabin with a person he disliked.Second,it may give us a possible reason for the narrators 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 n
17、eutral 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 even racists.THE CHARACTERS The characters may be divided into different groups:The major characters:Mr.Kelada and the narrator The minor characters:Mr.And Mrs.Rams
18、ay,and the doctor.The prejudiced:the narrator and Mr.Ramsay.The non-prejudiced:Mr.Kelada,the doctor and Mrs.Ramsay.The Oriental:Mr.KeladaThe Westerners:Mr.And Mrs.Ramsay and the narrator.The characters are described by their appearance and characteristics,except for the narrator.THE NARRATION-point
19、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 through his own eyes.Since he is influenced by his
20、 prejudiced 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 l
21、ast episode,the narrator discovers Mr.Keladas 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.CRISIS and TURNING POINT OF THE STORY The cultured pearls topic is the
22、 crisis of the story.The heated argument between Mr.Ramsay and Mr.Kelada reveals their true characters.Mr.Ramsay appears to be a prejudiced person who does his best“to have a fling at the Levantine”.Mrs.Ramsays character is also revealed as being insincere in her relationship with her husband,whom s
23、he had been deceiving.When she was alone in New York for a year,she probably had a lover who gave her the expensive pearls.Nevertheless,she has the decency to secretly return to Mr.Kelada his“lost”money.Mr.Kelada,who has been considered a pushy,inconsiderate and vulgar person,turns out to be a real
24、gentleman who saves Mrs.Ramsays marriage.The narrator also undergoes a change.When he realizes that Mr.Kelada behaves considerately with Mrs.Ramsay,he says“At that moment,I did not entirely dislikeMr.Kelada.”Suddenly,he becomes aware that it is not the right way to judge people.This is the moral les
25、son of the story.REAL PEARLS and CULTURE PEARLS At first glance,real pearls and cultured pearls look the same.But only a closer inspection can reveal what is real and what is imitation.The same goes for people.People from the same nationality seem the same.But only when we get to know them,we see th
26、at each person is different.For example,the narrator in the story dislikes Mr.Kelada because of his name,luggage,appearance and nationality.However,when he sees the true character of Mr.Kelada,he realizes that prejudice is not the right way to judge people.Therefore,the saying DONT JUDGE A BOOK BY I
27、TS COVER is relevant here.The characteristics of Mr Kelada From the narrators perspective in Mr Know-All,Mr Kelada is boisterous,nosy and thinks he knows everything.This is why the other passengers call him Mr Know-All,apparently intending to demean him,but he takes it as a compliment.The fact that
28、he is everywhere and always is something of an irritation to the narrator who cant even find his own seat at dinner as Mr Kelada has arranged him a seat at his table.The narrators prejudice is based on several cultural differences between him and Mr.Kelada:a)A total stranger should address a gentlem
29、an with Mr.and be formal.b)A gentleman shouldnt be pushy.c)A gentleman should be modest.d)A gentleman should keep quiet during meals.e)A gentleman shouldnt be too chatty and argumentative.f)A gentleman shouldnt show off and boast about his super knowledge.g)A gentleman shouldnt be too dogmatic.Mr.Ke
30、lada was a person that seemed to know everything and was involved in everything,not sensing that he was disliked by everybody.He was very chatty and talked as if he had been superior to everybody else.The passengers mocked him and called him Mr.Know-All even to his face.He is happy to share his ille
31、gal liquor which,during Prohibition was an offence.Interestingly,the narrator,whilst consistently stating his dislike of Mr Kelada,takes the drink willingly-a little hypocritically actually-as,for his own reasons,the narrator expects Mr Kelada to treat him with more respect,using mister before his n
32、ame.Mr Kelada has no airs and graces and it is not disrespect,it is just his familiarity-which he has with all the passengers.Mr Kelada is not shy to share his knowledge but this makes him seem arrogant as he is the chap who knew never expecting to be wrong,nor admitting to it until he is faced with
33、 a dilemma when exchanging his expertize with the Ramseys.He is an expert on pearls as he is in the trade and rightly recognizes Mrs Ramseys expensive string of pearls around her neck.Mr Ramsey argues that they are fake and the two men wager a bet.Mr Kelada,uncharacteristically,backs down and admits
34、 his mistake on seeing Mrs Ramseys wide and terrified eyes.Keladas recognition that she may have a secret from her husband,thereby allowing himself to be ridiculed,is a very honorable gesture and Mrs Ramsey is saved the embarrassment of exposure in front of all these people.For all his hearty,jovial
35、,loquacious(very talkative)and argumentative behavior,being quite a nuisance and source of irritation and liking to always be right,Mr Kelada proves his worth when he does not interfere in the Ramseys business.He would rather place himself at the centre of this fine joke revealing a side to his char
36、acter that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.This story shows that first impressions are often misleading and that appearances are sometimes deceptive.Mr.Kelada who is described as a disgusting person who shows off all the time and knows everything better than others,is in reality a sensitive,brav
37、e gentleman who wouldnt hurt others.On the other hand,Mrs.Ramsay,whose modesty and good qualities no one questions,has been unfaithful to her husband.The moral of the story is that we must not judge a book by its cover.Rather than judging a person by his looks,color or origin we should observe his b
38、ehaviour and reactions in difficult situationsHow does the narrator prejudge Mr.Kelada?He judges him by his name and by his belongings which he sees in their cabin.He dislikes the fact that a foreigner could be wealthy(too many labels on his suitcases meaning that Mr.Kelada travels a lot)and his per
39、fume is the very expensive Coty perfume and he has his monogram(the letters of his name M.K.his initials,in gold on his expensive hairbrushes).Discussion 1.Which of those could be considered cultural difference,and which were just a part of Mr.Keladas personality that clashed with that of the narrators?2.What are the authors feelings about Mr.and Mrs.Ramsay?3.Why does the narrator call Mr.Kelada:The best hated man on the ship?The End!Thank you!
