Mr. Know All

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MR.

KNOW-ALL
William Somerset Maugham
Born: 25 January 1874
Died: 16 December 1965

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Biography
■ William Somerset Maugham, CH., better known as W. 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.
■ He lost both his parents at age 10.
■ He studied at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School (now part of King's
College London), M.B.B.S., 1897. He trained to be a physician but gave up
medicine to become a full time writer.
■ During the First World War he served with the Red Cross and in the
ambulance corps, before being recruited in 1916 into the British Secret
Intelligence Service, for which he worked in Switzerland and Russia before
the October Revolution of 1917. During and after the war, he travelled in
India and Southeast Asia; these experiences were reflected in later short
stories and novels.

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Notable works

■ Liza of Lambeth- his first novel to be published in 1897


■ Of Human Bondage (1915)
■ The Moon and Sixpence (1919)
■ Cakes and Ale (1930)
■ The Razor's Edge (1944)

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Achievements

■ In 1948 he wrote "Great Novelists and Their Novels" in


which he listed the ten best novels of world literature in his
view.
■ In 1954, he was made a Companion of Honour, which is
conferred on people with outstanding achievements.

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Trivia

■ Somerset Maugham develop a stammer as a child which


stayed with him throughout his life.
■ Maugham used his spying experiences as the basis
for Ashenden: Or the British Agent, a collection of short
stories about a gentlemanly, sophisticated, aloof spy. This
character is considered to have influenced Ian Fleming’s
later series of James Bond novels.

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Mr. Know All
Originally Published in 1924

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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
a cabin with a person he disliked. Second, it may give us a
possible reason for the narrator’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 from the USA to Japan takes 14 days.

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The Plot
■ There are 2 plots in this story:
■ The main plot which deals with the conflicting relations that
Mr. Kelada and the narrator share.
■ The sub plot deals with the relationship between Mr. Max
Kelada and Mr. Ramsay and their discussion on pearls.
■ The two plots are connected. The sub-plot serves to bring
the complications of the main plot to its climax and
solution.

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Narration and Tone

■ The narration is in 1st person where the narrator


sees everything and is intrinsic to the plot.
■ The narrator is kept anonymous. Can you tell why?
■ The tone is sarcastic.

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Characters
■ Who do you think are the major and the minor characters?
■ Can you guess the nationality of:
1. Mr. Max Kelada?
2. The Narrator?
3. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay?
N.B- The Narrator and Mr. Kelada are opposites- in personality
and socially.

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Major Themes

■ In ‘Mr. Know-All’ by W. Somerset Maugham we have the


themes of contempt, control, honour, change, ego,
appearance and honesty.
■ Also racism and prejudice, and shallowness of modern
society which is very judgmental.

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Symbolism

■ Narrator- His anonymity tells us about how generally


people are.
■ The ship becomes the symbol of the world with
people who are prejudiced and even racists.
■ Pearls: For kinds of people we come across (the
genuine and the fake; the real and the unreal; the
original and the imitators)

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Literary Techniques Used in the Story
■ Hyperbole- He was everywhere and always.
■ Irony- Mrs Ramsay, who is described as modest and possessing
a quiet distinction, turns out to be a shallow, selfish adulteress.
■ Metaphor- Mr Kelada was born under a bluer sky than is
generally seen in England.
■ Simile- like a flower on a coat.
■ Oxymoron- 1.the best hated man in the ship. 2. Ramsay smiled
grimly. 3. …a perfect damn fool.

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Lessons Learnt

■ What lessons of life do learn from this story?

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Has all the characteristics of short story
■ Exposition (the introduction of setting, situation and main
characters).
■ Complication (the event that introduces the conflict), rising
action.
■ Crisis (the decisive moment for the protagonist and his
commitment to a course of action).
■ Climax (the point of highest interest in terms of the conflict and
the point with the most action).
■ Resolution/Denouement (the point when the conflict is resolved;
the ending).
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Possible Questions
■ At the beginning of the story the narrator was ‘prepared to dislike’ Max Kelada. What
could be the possible reasons for his dislike?
■ The narrator is heard repeating his dislike for Mr. Kelada many times throughout the
story. What effect do you think, does it create in the story?
■ Describe the differences between the narrator and Mr. Kelada as you understand
from the story.
■ Do you find the title, ‘Mr. Know-All’ apt for the story? Give reasons for your answer.
■ What lessons of life do you learn from Somerset Maugham’s short story ‘Mr. Know-
All’?

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Thank You

“When we come to judge others it is not by ourselves as we


really are that we judge them, but by an image that we have
formed of ourselves from which we have left out everything
that offends our vanity or would discredit us in the eyes of the
world.”
W. Somerset Maugham

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