Analysis is “Mr. Know-All”

Analysis

The story under analysis is “Mr. Know-All” which belongs to the pen of the prominent English writer S. Maugham. William Somerset Maugham is one of the most successful dramatists and short-story writers as well as a novelist of considerable rank. He is known for his cynical attitude to mankind. He ridicules many social vices, such as snobbishness, money-worship, pretence, self-interest, etc.

The action takes place on board the ship. The plot is centered upon Max Kelada – the main character of the story. The story is written in a form of the author’s recollections. It is   the first person narration. We can divide it into 3 complete parts under the headlines: the introduction of Mr Kelada, Mr Kelada is a good mixer and an argument with Mr Ramsay.

The story begins with the narrator’s opinion of Kelada. This gives us the opportunity to realize his attitude to the main character. The use of metaphors such as “my heart sank”, “with rage and hatred in my heart” and repetition “I didn’t like Mr. Kelada” reveals his disrespect for Kelada. All the details of his appearance speak of his superiority. The character is characterized directly. A number of epithets e.g. “flashing teeth”, “fleshy hooked nose”, “lustrous and liquid eyes”, “and sleek and curly hair”, “exuberant gestures” make the character vivid and lifelike. A parallel arrangement and a definite rhythmical pattern of the sentences “He knew everyone on board, he ran everything, he was everywhere and always” and oxymoron “best hated man” are meant to accentuate his being unpleasant. The use of antonomasia “Mr. All-Know” produces a definite effect on a reader.

The other characters serve only as background until the argument over pearls, Mrs Ramsay was wearing, created a narration of great tension. Mr and Mrs Ramsay were also the passengers traveling together after a year apart. Mrs Ramsay is a pretty woman and when her husband mentions her pearls being artificial Mr Kelada disagrees with him. At first Mr Kelada is confident and calm. We can gather from his remarks that he is sure of himself and it is mainly achieved with the help of hyperbole “I know all the best pearls in the world”. He bets against Mr Ramsay a hundred dollars. The intonation of his speech grows emotional when suddenly he looks at Mrs Ramsay and his manner changes completely – he admits that he is mistaken. He looses a hundred dollars. Mrs Ramsay retires to her state-room with a headache. This puts him into a very awkward position. It strikes a reader and makes think about the reasons of such behaviour. An envelope pushed under the narrator’s door next day creates an atmosphere of suspense. There is a hundred - dollar banknote in it. This effect is further sharpened by Mr Kelada’s words “If I had a pretty wife I shouldn’t let her spend a year in New York while I stayed at Kobe”. A reader understands that the pearls were real but he is given an opportunity to make his own opinion of the characters. From the narrator’s words “At that moment I did not entirely dislike Mr. Kelada ” a reader can conclude that his previous attitude has changed by the end of the story.

To my mind, here the author reveals some idea about humankind. It is wrong to judge a person. We can’t know ourselves thoroughly how we can know others. You can’t get to know a person in a short time, not from the first impression; you need a longer period of time.

Nobody liked Mr. Kelada and it’s due to his manners, however he proved to be a gentleman. Seeing how frightened and embarrassed Mrs. Ramsay was he understood everything. Mr Kelada was a real Mr.All-Know, because he knew how to act in a situation like that. If he had been really mean and arrogant he wouldn’t have given up. 

Characterizing the style of Maugham one must first of all mention the vividness of narration, brilliant technique of character drawing and his mastership in creating a certain atmosphere. By epithets, metaphors, repetitions, extensive use of exclamatory and interrogative sentences the author brilliantly managed to convey Mr. Kelada and the narrator’s attitude to him. It goes without saying that the story is a real masterpiece.